# § 2206. Liability of life insurance beneficiaries
Unless the decedent directs otherwise in his will, if any part of the gross estate on which tax has been paid consists of proceeds of policies of insurance on the life of the decedent receivable by a beneficiary other than the executor, the executor shall be entitled to recover from such beneficiary such portion of the total tax paid as the proceeds of such policies bear to the taxable estate. If there is more than one such beneficiary, the executor shall be entitled to recover from such beneficiaries in the same ratio. In the case of such proceeds receivable by the surviving spouse of the decedent for which a deduction is allowed under section 2056 (relating to marital deduction), this section shall not apply to such proceeds except as to the amount thereof in excess of the aggregate amount of the marital deductions allowed under such section.
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**Source Credit**: (Aug. 16, 1954, ch. 736, 68A Stat. 402; Pub. L. 94–455, title XX, § 2001(c)(1)(H), Oct. 4, 1976, 90 Stat. 1852.)
## Editorial Notes
### Amendments
1976— substituted “the taxable estate” for “the sum of the taxable estate and the amount of the exemption allowed in computing the taxable estate, determined under section 2051” after “policies bear to”.
## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
### Effective Date of 1976 Amendment
Amendment by applicable to estates of decedents dying after , see , set out as a note under .