Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Wiktionary
n. A tax based on the value of the property of a deceased person, and charged on the beneficiaries of the estate.
WordNet
n. a tax on the estate of the deceased person [syn: estate tax, death tax, death duty]
Wikipedia
In the United Kingdom, Inheritance Tax is a transfer tax. It was introduced with effect from 18 March 1986 replacing Capital Transfer Tax. The current rate charged is 40% of the value of estates over £325,000, or 36% if at least 10% of the estate is given to charity.
An inheritance or estate tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property or a levy on the estate (money and property) of a person who has died.
International tax law distinguishes between an estate tax and an inheritance tax—an estate tax is assessed on the assets of the deceased, while an inheritance tax is assessed on the legacies received by the estate's beneficiaries. However, this distinction is not always observed; for example, the UK's "inheritance tax" is a tax on the assets of the deceased, and strictly speaking is therefore an estate tax. For historical reasons, the term death duty is still used colloquially (though not legally) in the UK and some Commonwealth countries.
Usage examples of "inheritance tax".
Patrice's father had died in '71 just one week and two days before the passage of the hundred percent inheritance tax bill.
What you're really concerned about here is some really constructive inheritance tax planning, possibly involving the creation of an offshore trust.