unified credit n: a tax credit applied against the unified transfer tax that is a cumulative credit gradually reduced by the amount of credit allowed for gifts made in preceding calendar periods
◇ The total unified credit allowed as of 1987 is $192,800. The amount of the credit to be used in each period cannot exceed that period's tax liability, and so the credit may be gradually used up over a period of years. The unified credit is phased out once the amount of taxable gifts rises above a certain level.
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam-Webster. 1996.