Timing of death and the repeal of the Swedish inheritance tax

• We study how a two-step repeal of the Swedish inheritance tax affected the timing of deaths.
• The inheritance tax was first repealed for surviving spouses from January 1, 2004, and then altogether from January 1, 2005.
• Dying on New Years Day was more likely than dying on New Years Eve among those with tax incentives to do so.
• The timing of deaths was affected during a longer period surrounding the repeals.
• Economic incentives seem to affect even the timing of death.

In response to the repeal of the Swedish inheritance tax people postponed death to avoid taxes. This is an example of the far-reaching behavioral effects of economic incentives and of unintended consequences of policy changes. Using individual data, including information on taxable estates, we find that deceased with, compared to those without, tax incentives to postpone death were 10 percentage points more likely to die the day after rather than the day before the repeal. An extended analysis suggests that the timing of deaths was affected not only during these two days but during a longer surrounding period.