Estate Tax Calculator

• Uses the 2026 federal basic exclusion of $15,000,000 per person and the 18% to 40% rate schedule in the tax code.
• Subtracts debts and costs, charitable bequests and the unlimited marital deduction, adds back lifetime taxable gifts, and applies a late spouse's unused exclusion.
• Estimates state estate tax for Washington, New York, Maine and Connecticut from their published 2026 rates, and flags the other estate tax states against their thresholds.
• Gives an information notice for inheritance-tax states (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Kentucky, Nebraska and Maryland), where the tax depends on who inherits.

How to use this calculator

Enter the gross estate, debts and settlement costs, marital status, the amount left to a spouse if married, and the state where the person lived. Open Advanced to add charitable bequests, taxable gifts made during life, gift tax already paid, or the unused exclusion inherited from a spouse who died earlier.

The result shows federal and state estate tax, how much passes to heirs, a step-by-step federal calculation and a table of the tax at other estate sizes.

The federal estate tax in 2026

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act set the federal basic exclusion at $15,000,000 per person for deaths and gifts in 2026, with inflation increases from 2027. Before that law, the exclusion was due to fall to about half. A married couple can shelter up to $30,000,000 between them through portability.

The tax is worked out on a rate schedule that runs from 18% to 40%, but the exclusion is applied as a credit equal to the tax on the first $15,000,000 (a "unified credit" of $5,945,800). The practical effect is that every dollar above the exclusion is taxed at 40%. Gifts made during life and bequests at death share the same exclusion.

Most estates owe nothing. The tax applies only when the estate plus lifetime taxable gifts is larger than the exclusion, after deductions.

How the federal tax is calculated

Taxable estate   = gross estate - debts and expenses - charity
                   - marital deduction - state estate tax
Tax base         = taxable estate + lifetime taxable gifts
Tentative tax    = rate schedule (18% to 40%) on the tax base
Unified credit   = rate schedule on (exclusion + spouse's unused exclusion)
Estate tax       = tentative tax - unified credit - gift tax already paid

State estate tax is deductible for federal purposes, so the calculator works out the state tax first and subtracts it before the federal tax.

A worked example

With the starting values, a single person leaves a $20,000,000 estate with $500,000 of debts and costs. The taxable estate is $19,500,000, which is $4,500,000 over the exclusion, so federal estate tax is $1,800,000 and $17,700,000 passes to heirs.

If the same person had made $2,000,000 of taxable gifts during life, those gifts are added back and the tax rises to $2,600,000. A widowed person whose late spouse's executor passed on $5,000,000 of unused exclusion owes $0. A married person who leaves $10,000,000 to a spouse owes $0, because the marital deduction reduces the taxable estate to $9,500,000.

State tax can be larger than federal tax. In Washington, the same estate owes $2,990,000 of state tax and, after deducting it, $604,000 of federal tax, a total of $3,594,000. In Maine the state tax is $1,300,800.

New York has a cliff. An estate of $7,600,000 after deductions is just over the $7,350,000 exclusion and owes $592,000. At $10,000,000, more than 105% of the exclusion, the whole estate is taxed and the bill is $1,067,600.

State estate taxes in 2026

Twelve states and the District of Columbia have their own estate tax, most with exemptions far below the federal one. The calculator estimates the tax for the four states whose 2026 rates it could confirm from official sources as a simple schedule, and checks the others against their thresholds:

• Washington: $3,000,000 exclusion for deaths on or after July 1, 2026, then 10% to 20%. (Deaths from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026 had a $3,076,000 exclusion for 2026 and rates up to 35%; a 2026 law restored the lower rates.)
• New York: $7,350,000 exclusion, rates of 3.06% to 16% on the whole estate once it passes 105% of the exclusion.
• Maine: $7,160,000 exclusion, then 8%, 10% and 12%.
• Connecticut: $15,000,000 exemption, then a flat 12%, with combined gift and estate tax capped at $15 million.
• Threshold check only: Oregon ($1,000,000), Rhode Island ($1,838,056), Massachusetts ($2,000,000), Minnesota ($3,000,000), Illinois ($4,000,000), District of Columbia (about $4,988,400), Maryland ($5,000,000), Vermont ($5,000,000) and Hawaii ($5,490,000). Top rates are 16%, or 20% in Hawaii.

Several of these states tax the whole estate once it crosses the threshold, or use calculations tied to an old federal credit, so a simple table would mislead. Check with the state revenue department or an estate attorney.

Inheritance taxes

An inheritance tax is charged on what each heir receives, and the rate depends on the heir's relationship to the person who died. Spouses are exempt everywhere, and children are exempt in most of these states. Five states have one in 2026:

• Pennsylvania: 0% for a spouse, 4.5% for children and other lineal heirs, 12% for siblings and 15% for others, with a 5% discount for paying within three months.
• New Jersey: spouses, children, grandchildren and parents are exempt; siblings and others pay roughly 11% to 16%.
• Kentucky: close relatives are exempt; others pay roughly 4% to 16%.
• Nebraska: about 1%, 11% or 15% depending on the relationship, after exemptions.
• Maryland: 10% for heirs other than close relatives, in addition to its estate tax.

Iowa's inheritance tax ended for deaths on or after January 1, 2025. Because the tax depends on each bequest, this calculator shows a notice for these states rather than a figure.

Gifts, step-up and the annual exclusion

In 2026 you can give up to $19,000 to any number of people (each spouse can give $19,000 from their own funds, so $38,000 for a couple) without using any of your exclusion or filing a gift tax return. Splitting a gift made from only one spouse's funds requires both spouses to consent and a gift tax return (Form 709). Larger gifts use up the exclusion and are added back when the estate tax is worked out.

Assets inherited at death generally get a "step-up" in basis to their value on the date of death, so heirs who sell soon after owe little or no capital gains tax. Assets given away during life keep the giver's original basis. For estates under the exclusion, keeping appreciated assets until death can save more tax than giving them away.

Ways estates reduce the tax

People with estates near or above the exemption commonly use a handful of well-established techniques. Each has costs and rules that need an attorney, but knowing them helps frame the conversation:

• Annual exclusion gifts. Giving $19,000 a year to each child and grandchild moves money out of the estate without touching the exemption. Paying tuition or medical bills directly to the school or provider is also excluded, with no dollar limit.
• Portability. Filing Form 706 after the first spouse's death preserves that spouse's unused exclusion for the survivor. It costs a return, but can protect millions.
• Charitable giving. Bequests to charity are fully deductible, and charitable trusts can provide income to the family as well.
• Irrevocable life insurance trusts. A policy owned by a trust rather than by you stays out of the gross estate.
• Lifetime gifts of growth assets. Giving assets expected to rise in value moves the future growth out of the estate, at the cost of losing the step-up in basis.

In states with low exemptions, such as Oregon, Massachusetts and Washington, simple steps like making sure each spouse owns enough to use their own state exemption can matter more than any federal planning, because most states do not allow portability.

Assumptions and limitations

• Deaths in 2026. The exclusion and state figures are for 2026 and were checked on October 22, 2026.
• Values are entered by you. The calculator does not value assets, apply valuation discounts or special-use valuation, or decide which assets are in the estate.
• Simplified state rules. New York's three-year add-back of gifts is not applied, Connecticut's tax base is the estate plus lifetime taxable gifts, and nine states are a threshold check only.
• Not modelled: the generation-skipping transfer tax, credits for foreign death taxes, tax on prior transfers, non-citizen spouse rules beyond a notice, and income tax on retirement accounts that heirs inherit.
• Not legal advice. Estate planning depends on wills, trusts, titling and beneficiary forms, so speak to an estate attorney.

Common mistakes

Forgetting life insurance. A policy you own counts in your gross estate even though the payout goes straight to the beneficiary.

Skipping Form 706 for the first spouse. Portability only works if the executor files a timely estate tax return, even when no tax is due.

Looking only at the federal exemption. A $3,000,000 estate owes no federal tax but can owe state tax in Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts, Minnesota or Rhode Island.

Ignoring income tax on retirement accounts. Heirs of a traditional IRA or 401(k) pay income tax as they withdraw it, on top of any estate tax.

Frequently asked questions