Updated October 18, 2026. Quick answer: Schedule G reports lifetime transfers that the instructions pull back into the gross estate. They fall into five groups: certain gift taxes, other transfers within 3 years of death, transfers with a retained life estate, transfers taking effect at death, and revocable transfers. The records are gift tax returns and trust or transfer documents.
What goes on Schedule G
“Complete Schedule G (Form 706) and file it with the return if the decedent made any of the transfers described in (1) through (5) later”, or if the answer to Part IV, line 12 or 13a is yes. The form’s line 12 asks “Did the decedent make any transfer described in sections 2035, 2036, 2037, or 2038?”
Every schedule opens with the same caution. “If any assets to which the special rule of Regulations section 20.2010-2(a)(7)(ii) applies are reported on this schedule, do not enter any value in the last three columns.” It then points the reader to the instructions for Part V, item 10, which explain how to estimate and report the value of those assets.
Types 1 and 2: gift taxes and transfers within 3 years of death
The first type is gift tax. “Enter on Schedule G (Form 706), line 4, the total value of the gift taxes that were paid by the decedent or the estate on gifts made by the decedent or the decedent’s spouse within 3 years of death.” “The date of the gift, not the date of payment of the gift tax, determines whether a gift tax paid is included in the gross estate under this rule.” To sort the amounts, the instructions say “you should carefully examine the Forms 709 filed by the decedent and the decedent’s spouse”. The gift tax return is covered on the Form 709 who must file page.
The second type is “Other transfers within 3 years of death (section 2035(a)).” These include “Any transfer by the decedent with respect to a life insurance policy within 3 years of death.” They are reported “regardless of whether a gift tax return was required to be filed for them when they were made.”
Types 3, 4 and 5: retained interests, death-time transfers and revocable transfers
Type 3 is “Transfers with retained life estate (section 2036).” The instructions describe them as “transfers by the decedent in which the decedent retained an interest in the transferred property.” The retained rights include “The right to income from the transferred property.” and “The right to the possession or enjoyment of the property.” On informal arrangements: “A retained life estate does not have to be legally enforceable. What matters is that a substantial economic benefit was retained.”
Type 4 is “Transfers taking effect at death (section 2037).” “A transfer that takes effect at the decedent’s death is one under which possession or enjoyment can be obtained only by surviving the decedent.”
Type 5 is “Revocable transfers (section 2038).” “The gross estate includes the value of any transferred property that was subject to the decedent’s power to alter, amend, revoke, or terminate the transfer at the time of the decedent’s death.” “Only the part of the transferred property that is subject to the decedent’s power is included in the gross estate.”
For family transfers there is also a valuation note: “Sections 2701 through 2704 provide rules for valuing certain transfers to family members.”
How to fill in the schedule
“All transfers (other than outright transfers not in trust and bona fide sales) made by the decedent at any time during life must be reported on Schedule G (Form 706), regardless of whether you believe the transfers are subject to tax.”
Number each item: “number each transfer consecutively beginning with” one. For the description, “list the name of the transferee and the date of the transfer, and give a complete description of the property.”
The valuation instruction is “Transfers included in the gross estate should be valued on the date of the decedent’s death under column (vi), or, if alternate valuation is elected, according to section 2032, under column (v).” For partial inclusion: “then only a corresponding part of the value of the property should be included in the value of the gross estate.”
Where the number comes from
The figures come from the gift tax returns, trust instruments and property records. The instructions say “If a transfer, by trust or otherwise, was made by a written instrument, attach a copy of the instrument to Schedule G (Form 706).” If a discount was taken on a transfer, “attach a statement to Schedule G (Form 706) that lists the line number and item number from that schedule and identifies the total effective discount taken”. Transfers not described in the instructions are handled separately: “the transfers should not be shown on Schedule G (Form 706).” For gifting rules during life, see the gift tax limit page.
Where it goes next
Each schedule feeds one item of Part V, the recapitulation, on the form. The form’s caption for this schedule reads “Total transfers during the decedent’s lifetime. Schedule G, line 5”. The Part V instructions list which schedules to attach: “Schedule G (Form 706), if the decedent made any of the lifetime transfers to be listed on that schedule or if you answered” The same instructions say “If the gross estate does not contain any assets of the type specified by a given item, enter zero for that item.” They add “Entering zero for any of items 1 through 9 is a statement by the executor, made under penalties of perjury, that the gross estate does not contain any includible assets covered by that item.”
For the alternate value column, the Part V instructions say not to enter amounts there “unless you elected alternate valuation on Part III, line 1.” That election is explained on the Part III elections page and the alternate valuation date page, and the recapitulation is covered on the Parts 4 and 5 page. The return itself is explained on the Form 706 page.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads the Form 706 revision dated August 2025 and the Instructions for Form 706 revision dated July 2026. They are the current files irs.gov served on 2026-10-18, byte-identical to the archived copies used here. The instructions state “For decedents dying after December 31, 2025.” The form itself says “To be filed for decedents dying after December 31, 2024.” Check the revision date printed on your Form 706 and the instruction edition for the year of death, and use the line numbers on that revision.
Common mistakes
- Using the date the gift tax was paid. The instructions say “The date of the gift, not the date of payment of the gift tax, determines whether a gift tax paid is included in the gross estate under this rule.”
- Assuming an informal arrangement does not count. The instructions say “A retained life estate does not have to be legally enforceable.”
- Leaving off a transfer because it seems non-taxable. The instruction is that transfers “must be reported on Schedule G (Form 706), regardless of whether you believe the transfers are subject to tax.”
Related: Form 706, Form 709 who must file, and gift tax limit.
Sources
- Instructions for Form 706 (Rev. July 2026): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i706.pdf
- Form 706 (Rev. August 2025), United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f706.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 18, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.