(a) In general.

(1) The regulations in this part (part 20, subchapter B, chapter I, title 26, Code of Federal Regulations) are designated “Estate Tax Regulations.” These regulations pertain to (i) the Federal estate tax imposed by chapter 11 of subtitle B of the Internal Revenue Code on the transfer of estates of decedents dying after August 16, 1954, and (ii) certain related administrative provisions of subtitle F of the Code. It should be noted that the application of many of the provisions of these regulations may be affected by the provisions of an applicable death tax convention with a foreign country. Unless otherwise indicated, references in the regulations to the “Internal Revenue Code” or the “Code” are references to the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended, and references to a section or other provision of law are references to a section or other provision of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended. Unless otherwise provided, the Estate Tax Regulations are applicable to the estates of decedents dying after August 16, 1954, and supersede the regulations contained in part 81, subchapter B, chapter I, title 26, Code of Federal Regulations (1939) (Regulations 105, Estate Tax), as prescribed and made applicable to the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 by Treasury Decision 6091, signed August 16, 1954 (19 FR 5167, Aug. 17, 1954). The regulations in this part do not reflect the amendments made by the Foreign Investors Tax Act of 1966 (80 Stat. 1539).

(2) Section 2208 makes the provisions of chapter 11 of the Code apply to the transfer of the estates of certain decedents dying after September 2, 1958, who were citizens of the United States and residents of a possession thereof at the time of death. Section 2209 makes the provisions of chapter 11 apply to the transfer of the estates of certain other decedents dying after September 14, 1960, who were citizens of the United States and residents of a possession thereof at the time of death. See §§20.2208-1 and 20.2209-1. Except as otherwise provided in §§20.2208-1 and 20.2209-1, the provisions of these regulations do not apply to the estates of such decedents.

(b) Scope of regulations—(1) Estates of citizens or residents. Subchapter A of Chapter 11 of the Code pertains to the taxation of the estate of a person who was a citizen or a resident of the United States at the time of his death. A “resident” decedent is a decedent who, at the time of his death, had his domicile in the United States. The term “United States”, as used in the estate tax regulations, includes only the States and the District of Columbia. The term also includes the Territories of Alaska and Hawaii prior to their admission as States. See section 7701(a)(9). A person acquires a domicile in a place by living there, for even a brief period of time, with no definite present intention of later removing therefrom. Residence without the requisite intention to remain indefinitely will not suffice to constitute domicile, nor will intention to change domicile effect such a change unless accompanied by actual removal. For the meaning of the term “citizen of the United States” as applied in a case where the decedent was a resident of a possession of the United States, see §20.2208-1. The regulations pursuant to subchapter A are set forth in §§20.2001-1 to 20.2056(d)-1.

(2) Estates of nonresidents not citizens. Subchapter B of Chapter 11 of the Code pertains to the taxation of the estate of a person who was a nonresident not a citizen of the United States at the time of his death. A “nonresident” decedent is a decedent who, at the time of his death, had his domicile outside the United States under the principles set forth in subparagraph (1) of this paragraph. (See, however, section 2202 with respect to missionaries in foreign service.) The regulations pursuant to subchapter B are set forth in §§20.2101-1 to 20.2107-1.

(3) Miscellaneous substantive provisions. Subchapter C of Chapter 11 of the Code contains a number of miscellaneous substantive provisions. The regulations pursuant to subchapter C are set forth in §§20.2203-1 through 20.2209-1.

(4) Procedure and administration provisions. Subtitle F of the Internal Revenue Code contains some sections which are applicable to the Federal estate tax. The regulations pursuant to those sections are set forth in §§20.6001-1 to 20.7101-1. Such regulations do not purport to be all the regulations on procedure and administration which are pertinent to estate tax matters. For the remainder of the regulations on procedure and administration which are pertinent to estate tax matters, see part 301 (Regulations on Procedure and Administration) of this chapter.

(c) Arrangement and numbering. Each section of the regulations in this part (other than this section and §20.0-2) is designated by a number composed of the part number followed by a decimal point (20.); the section of the Internal Revenue Code which it interprets; a hyphen (-); and a number identifying the section. By use of these designations one can ascertain the sections of the regulations relating to a provision of the Code. For example, the regulations pertaining to section 2012 of the Code are designated §20.2012-1.

[T.D. 6296, 23 FR 4529, June 24, 1958, as amended by T.D. 6526, 26 FR 414, Jan. 19, 1961; T.D. 7238, 37 FR 28717, Dec. 29, 1972; T.D. 7296, 38 FR 34191, Dec. 12, 1973; T.D. 7665, 45 FR 6089, Jan. 25, 1980; T.D. 8522, 59 FR 9646, Mar. 1, 1994; T.D. 9849, 84 FR 9238, Mar. 14, 2019]