Portability of unused deceased spousal exclusion

  • June 4, 2015
  • Mark Hughes CPA CFE

Portability, an estate and gift tax provision, allows the personal representative (or executor) of a deceased spouse to make an election on the decedent’s estate tax return to transfer or “port” such deceased spouse’s unused exclusion amount (called the “DSUE amount”) to the surviving spouse.

For an excellent analysis of this topic, read Portability of the Unused Spousal Exclusion by Abbot Downing.