The phrase "2024 estate tax returns" can mean two different things in IRS research. It may refer to returns filed during calendar year 2024, or to returns for people who died in 2024. Those are different populations. A sound comparison starts by identifying which one a table uses.
The two IRS cohorts
The IRS publishes both filing-year and year-of-death estate tax tables. The filing-year page says its tables cover returns filed during a single calendar year. Because an estate tax return is generally due nine months after death and can receive an extension, a filing-year table may include returns for deaths from several years.
The year-of-death page uses a different rule. It says the tables cover returns filed for decedents who died in the same year and whose estates were subject to the same tax law and similar economic conditions. That design makes the year-of-death tables useful for studying a death cohort, but it does not make them interchangeable with the filing-year tables.
| IRS label | Cohort is organized by | What the count can describe | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Filing year 2024 | Calendar year the return was filed | Form 706 filing activity during 2024 | The number of deaths in 2024 |
| Year of death 2019 | Calendar year the decedent died | Returns filed for decedents who died in 2019 | All deaths in 2019 or all estates in that year |
The years in the table above are examples of the two definitions, not a comparison of their counts.
Why the filing date and death date diverge
The timing of Form 706 creates a built-in gap between the two dates. The IRS says an estate tax return is generally due nine months after the decedent's date of death. An executor can request an automatic six-month extension. Some returns are also filed for a portability election, and special relief can allow a portability return later than the ordinary deadline.
As a result, a return filed in 2024 might relate to a person who died in 2023, 2022, or another year. The IRS's Publication 5332 makes the same point in its filing-year discussion: most returns filed in one year are for decedents who passed away in the prior calendar year, but the filing cohort is not limited to that year of death.
What the 2024 filing-year example says
Publication 5332, revised July 2026, reports 7,195 estate tax returns filed in 2024 and 9,024 filed in 2023. Those are filing-year counts. The publication also reports that the 2024 returns were part of a filing-year series covering 2015 through 2024.
The 7,195 figure can support a statement about the volume of Form 706 returns filed in calendar year 2024. It cannot support a statement that 7,195 people died in 2024, that 7,195 estates entered probate in 2024, or that the number of 2024 deaths fell by comparison with another year-of-death table.
For a related discussion of filing-year counts and their limits, see estate tax filing statistics. That article also separates filing activity from the federal filing threshold, which is determined using the year of death.
What the year-of-death tables are designed to answer
The IRS year-of-death tables currently list selected years, including 2019, 2016, 2013, and earlier years. Table 1 reports estate tax returns and values for tax purposes by tax status and size of gross estate. Table 2 reports date-of-death values by the same general classifications.
These tables are better suited to questions such as: How many returns were filed for decedents who died in a specified year? How did reported estate values vary within that death cohort? What tax status and gross-estate categories appear in the cohort?
They still do not count every death or every estate. The Form 706 population is limited by filing rules and can include portability filings. A year-of-death table is therefore a tax-return study organized around death year, not a national census of deaths, probate cases, or inherited property.
Do not turn the two series into one trend
The IRS's 2024 filing-year count and its 2019 year-of-death table answer different questions. Combining them into a line chart or percentage change would mix a processing-year cohort with a death-year cohort. The result would not have a consistent denominator or time basis.
Use one series at a time:
- For filing activity, compare filing-year tables with other filing-year tables, and retain the same table definition and units.
- For death-cohort analysis, compare year-of-death tables with other year-of-death tables, while checking the tax-law and economic conditions noted by the IRS.
- When a source changes from one series to the other, label the break instead of describing it as a continuous trend.
In a matter file, record both dates. The year of death helps identify the applicable filing threshold and Form 706 instructions. The filing date helps explain the IRS statistic or the chronology of the estate's tax records. Keep the two fields separate in spreadsheets, research notes, and citations.
Use in investigative research
Aggregate Form 706 data can provide tax-reporting context, but it cannot identify a parcel, owner, beneficiary, probate docket, or title issue. For a property-specific question, trace the matter-level records and preserve the date attached to each document. The investigative research service page describes the source-tracing work needed when an estate question goes beyond an aggregate tax table.
Method and limitations
This article was reviewed August 8, 2026. It uses the IRS SOI estate tax statistics landing page, the filing-year tables page, the year-of-death tables page, Publication 5332 revised July 2026, and the IRS estate tax FAQ and Form 706 instructions. The article compares the published cohort definitions and uses the 2024 filing-year count as an example. It does not combine filing-year and year-of-death counts, estimate deaths, or infer probate volume.
The current IRS year-of-death page lists selected years rather than a continuous annual series. Readers should confirm the table title, tax year, unit, revision date, and cohort definition before using any spreadsheet value.
Frequently asked questions
Does an IRS Form 706 filing-year count equal the number of deaths that year?
No. It counts returns filed during a calendar year. The IRS says returns filed in one calendar year may concern decedents who died in several different years.
What does an IRS year-of-death table group?
It groups returns filed for decedents who died in the same year. That is a death cohort, not a count of every person who died or every estate that existed in that year.
Can filing-year and year-of-death counts be combined into one trend?
No. Keep the series separate unless a source provides a method that harmonizes their definitions.
**Professional disclaimer:** This article is general research, not legal, tax, accounting, fiduciary, financial, or title advice. Filing requirements depend on the facts of the estate, the year of death, and applicable federal and state rules.
Sources
- IRS, SOI estate tax statistics, accessed August 8, 2026.
- IRS, SOI estate tax filing-year tables, accessed August 8, 2026.
- IRS, SOI estate tax year-of-death tables, accessed August 8, 2026.
- IRS, Publication 5332, Estate Tax Returns Filed for Wealthy Decedents, Filing Years 2015-2024, revised July 2026.
- IRS, Frequently asked questions on estate taxes, accessed August 8, 2026.
- IRS, Instructions for Form 706, accessed August 8, 2026.