The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 32: Taxation and Finance

Chapter 189: Uniform Estate Tax Apportionment Act

• § 7301. Definitions

  As used in this chapter:

  (1) “Estate” means the gross estate of a decedent as determined for the purpose of federal estate tax and the estate tax payable to this State.

  (2) “Person” means any individual, partnership, association, joint stock company, corporation, government, political subdivision, governmental agency, or local governmental agency.

  (3) “Person interested in the estate” means any person entitled to receive, or who has received, from a decedent or by reason of the death of a decedent any property or interest therein included in the decedent’s estate. It includes a personal representative, guardian, and trustee.

  (4) “State” means any state, territory, or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

  (5) “Tax” means the federal estate tax and the estate tax payable to this State and interest and penalties imposed in addition to the tax.

  (6) “Fiduciary” means executor, administrator of any description, and trustee. (Added 1975, No. 240 (Adj. Sess.), § 11.)

• § 7302. Apportionment

  Unless the will otherwise provides, the tax shall be apportioned among all persons interested in the estate. The apportionment shall be made in the proportion that the value of the interest of each person interested in the estate bears to the total value of the interests of all persons interested in the estate. The values used in determining the tax shall be used for that purpose. (Added 1975, No. 240 (Adj. Sess.), § 11.)

• § 7303. Procedure for determining apportionment

  (a) The Probate Division of the Superior Court having jurisdiction over the administration of the estate of a decedent shall determine the apportionment of the tax. If there are no probate proceedings, the Probate Division of the Superior Court of the county wherein the decedent was domiciled at death upon the application of the person required to pay the tax shall determine the apportionment of the tax.

  (b) If the Probate Division of the Superior Court finds that it is inequitable to apportion interest and penalties in the manner provided in section 7302 of this title, because of special circumstances, it may direct apportionment thereof in the manner it finds equitable.

  (c) The expenses reasonably incurred by any fiduciary and by other persons interested in the estate in connection with the determination of the amount and apportionment of the tax shall be apportioned as provided in section 7302 of this title and charged and collected as a part of the tax apportioned. If the Probate Division of the Superior Court finds it is inequitable to apportion the expenses as provided in section 7302 of this title, it may direct apportionment thereof equitably.

  (d) If the Probate Division of the Superior Court finds that the assessment of penalties and interest assessed in relation to the tax is due to delay caused by the negligence of the fiduciary, the court may charge the fiduciary with the amount of the assessed penalties and interest.

  (e) In any suit or judicial proceeding to recover from any person interested in the estate the amount of the tax apportioned to the person in accordance with this chapter, the determination of the Probate Division of the Superior Court in respect thereto shall be prima facie correct. (Added 1975, No. 240 (Adj. Sess.), § 11; amended 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 238a, eff. February 1, 2011.)

• § 7304. Method of proration

  (a) The fiduciary or other person in possession of the property of the decedent required to pay the tax may withhold from any property distributable to any person interested in the estate, upon its distribution to him or her, the amount of tax attributable to his or her interest. If the property in possession of the fiduciary or other person required to pay the tax and distributable to any person interested in the estate is insufficient to satisfy the proportionate amount of the tax determined to be due from the person, the fiduciary or other person required to pay the tax may recover the deficiency from the person interested in the estate. If the property is not in the possession of the fiduciary or other person required to pay the tax, the fiduciary or the other person required to pay the tax may recover from any person interested in the estate the amount of the tax apportioned to the person in accordance with this chapter.

  (b) If property held by the fiduciary is distributed prior to final apportionment of the tax, the distributee shall provide a bond or other security for the apportionment liability in the form and amount prescribed by the fiduciary, with the approval of the Probate Division of the Superior Court having jurisdiction of the administration of the estate. (Added 1975, No. 240 (Adj. Sess.), § 11; amended 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 238a, eff. Feb. 1, 2011.)

• § 7305. Allowance for exemptions, deductions, and credits

  (a) In making an apportionment, allowances shall be made for any exemptions granted, any classification made of persons interested in the estate, and for any deductions and credits allowed by the law imposing the tax.

  (b) Any exemption or deduction allowed by reason of the relationship of any person to the decedent or by reason of the purposes of the gift shall inure to the benefit of the person bearing such relationship or receiving the gift, except that when an interest is subject to a prior present interest that is not allowable as a deduction, the tax apportionable against the present interest shall be paid from principal.

  (c) Any deduction for property previously taxed and any credit for gift taxes or death taxes of a foreign country paid by the decedent or the decedent’s estate shall inure to the proportionate benefit of all persons liable to apportionment.

  (d) Any credit for inheritance, succession, or estate taxes or taxes in the nature thereof in respect to property or interests includable in the estate shall inure to the benefit of the persons or interests chargeable with the payment thereof to the extent that, or in proportion as, the credit reduces the tax.

  (e) To the extent that property passing to or in trust for a surviving spouse or any charitable, public, or similar gift or bequest does not constitute an allowable deduction for purposes of the tax solely by reason of an inheritance tax or other death tax imposed upon and deductible from the property, the property shall not be included in the computation provided for in section 7302 of this title, and to that extent no apportionment shall be made against the property. The sentence immediately preceding shall not apply to any case where the result will be to deprive the estate of a deduction otherwise allowable under 26 U.S.C. § 2053(d) relating to deductions for State death taxes on transfers for public, charitable, or religious uses. (Added 1975, No. 240 (Adj. Sess.), § 11; amended 2021, No. 105 (Adj. Sess.), § 555, eff. July 1, 2022.)

• § 7306. No apportionment between temporary and remainder interests

  No interest in income and no estate for years or for life or other temporary interest in any property or fund shall be subject to apportionment as between the temporary interest and the remainder. The tax on the temporary interest and the tax, if any, on the remainder shall be chargeable against the corpus of the property or funds subject to the temporary interest and remainder. (Added 1975, No. 240 (Adj. Sess.), § 11.)

• § 7307. Exoneration of fiduciary

  Neither the fiduciary nor other person required to pay the tax shall be under any duty to institute any suit or proceeding to recover from any person interested in the estate the amount of the tax apportioned to the person until the expiration of the three months next following final determination of the tax. A fiduciary or other person required to pay the tax who institutes the suit or proceeding within a reasonable time after the three months’ period shall not be subject to any liability or surcharge because any portion of the tax apportioned to any person interested in the estate was collectible at a time following the death of the decedent but thereafter became uncollectable. If the fiduciary or other person required to pay the tax cannot collect from any person interested in the estate the amount of the tax apportioned to the person, the amount not recoverable shall be equitably apportioned by the court among the other persons interested in the estate, who are subject to apportionment. (Added 1975, No. 240 (Adj. Sess.), § 11.)

• § 7308. Action by nonresident; reciprocity

  Subject to this section, a fiduciary acting in another state or a person required to pay the tax who is a resident in another state may institute an action in the courts of this State and may recover a proportionate amount of the federal estate tax or an estate tax payable to another state or of a death duty due by a decedent’s estate to another state from a person interested in the estate who is either a resident in this State or who owns property in this State subject to attachment or execution. For the purposes of the action, the determination of apportionment by the court having jurisdiction of the administration of the decedent’s estate in the other state shall be prima facie correct. The provisions of this section shall apply only if the state in which such apportionment was made affords a substantially similar remedy. (Added 1975, No. 240 (Adj. Sess.), § 11; amended 2021, No. 105 (Adj. Sess.), § 556, eff. July 1, 2022.)

• § 7309. Short title

  This chapter may be cited as the Uniform Estate Tax Apportionment Act. (Added 1975, No. 240 (Adj. Sess.), § 11.)