Once the value of the "gross estate" is determined, the law provides for various "deductions" (in Part IV of Subchapter A of Chapter 11 of Subtitle B of the Internal Revenue Code) in arriving at the value of the "taxable estate." Deductions include but are not limited to:* Funeral expenses, administration expenses, and claims against the estate[13];
* Certain charitable contributions[14];
* Certain items of property left to the surviving spouse[15].
* Beginning in 2005, inheritance or estate taxes paid to states or the District of Columbia[16].
Of these deductions, the most important is the deduction for property passing to (or in certain kinds of trust for) the surviving spouse, because it can eliminate any federal estate tax for a married decedent. However, this unlimited deduction does not apply if the surviving spouse (not the decedent) is not a U.S. citizen[17]. A special trust called a Qualified Domestic Trust or QDOT must be used to obtain an unlimited marital deduction for otherwise disqualified spouses