Estate Tax Calculator
Calculate federal and state estate tax owed on any estate value, the net amount passing to heirs, and the effective tax rate after exemptions are applied.
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Enter your values above to see the results.
Tips & Notes
- ✓Married couples can effectively double the federal exemption through portability — a surviving spouse can use the deceased spouse unused exemption (DSUE) by filing an estate tax return even when no tax is owed.
- ✓The annual gift tax exclusion ($18,000 per recipient in 2024) allows transferring wealth tax-free without using the lifetime exemption — giving $18,000 to each of 5 grandchildren transfers $90,000 annually with no tax.
- ✓Irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs) can keep life insurance proceeds out of the taxable estate while providing liquidity for heirs to pay estate taxes without selling illiquid assets.
- ✓Charitable giving reduces the taxable estate dollar-for-dollar — bequests to qualifying charities or charitable remainder trusts can significantly reduce estate tax while achieving philanthropic goals.
- ✓The step-up in cost basis at death eliminates capital gains on appreciated assets for heirs — assets inherited receive a new basis equal to fair market value at the date of death, which is a significant benefit for appreciated investment portfolios.
- ✓State estate tax thresholds as low as $1 million in some states (Oregon) mean residents with moderate wealth face state estate tax even if far below the federal exemption.
Common Mistakes
- ✗Not planning for the potential 2026 exemption reduction — the federal exemption is scheduled to drop from $13.61 million to approximately $7 million after 2025 without Congressional action.
- ✗Ignoring state estate taxes — 12 states and DC impose estate taxes with exemptions far below the federal threshold, creating significant tax for moderately wealthy residents of those states.
- ✗Overlooking the step-up in cost basis benefit — heirs who sell inherited assets are taxed only on appreciation after the date of death, not the original purchase price, making estate planning around this benefit valuable.
- ✗Not using the annual gift tax exclusion consistently — systematic gifting of $18,000 per recipient per year over 10-20 years can transfer millions out of a taxable estate completely tax-free.
- ✗Treating retirement account balances as part of the estate tax calculation without considering income tax on distributions — traditional IRA and 401k balances in the estate face both estate tax and income tax on eventual distributions.
- ✗Not consulting an estate planning attorney for large estates — the interaction between estate tax, gift tax, generation-skipping transfer tax, and income tax at death requires specialized planning that generic calculators cannot capture.
Estate Tax Calculator Overview
An estate tax calculator determines what portion of a large estate is subject to federal and state estate taxes, the total tax liability, and what heirs actually receive after taxes. The federal estate tax applies only to estates above the exemption threshold — $13.61 million per individual in 2024 — meaning most Americans are unaffected. However, this exemption is scheduled to be cut roughly in half after 2025 unless Congress acts, which will bring significantly more estates into taxable territory.
State estate taxes add another layer for residents of the 12 states and Washington DC that impose their own estate tax, often at lower exemption thresholds than the federal level.
What each field means:
- Estate Value — the total gross estate value including all assets: real estate, investments, retirement accounts (for estate tax purposes), business interests, and personal property
- Federal Exemption — the exclusion amount per person ($13.61 million in 2024); estates below this pay no federal estate tax
- State Estate Tax Rate — your state rate if applicable; state exemptions and rates vary significantly
What your results mean:
- Taxable Estate — estate value minus the federal exemption; the amount subject to federal estate tax
- Federal Tax — tax owed on the taxable estate using progressive federal estate tax rates
- State Tax — state estate tax based on your state rate and applicable exemption
- Total Tax — combined federal and state estate tax
- Net to Heirs — the estate value minus all taxes; what beneficiaries actually receive
- Effective Rate — total tax as a percentage of gross estate value
Example — $20,000,000 estate, $13,610,000 federal exemption, 5% state estate tax:
Gross estate: $20,000,000 Federal exemption: $13,610,000 Taxable estate: $6,390,000 Federal estate tax (rates 18-40% progressive): approximately $2,431,800 State estate tax (5% on full estate above state exemption): approximately $400,000 Total estate tax: $2,831,800 Net to heirs: $17,168,200 Effective total rate: 14.2% of the full $20 million estate The first $13.61 million passes to heirs entirely tax-free.
EX: How estate size affects the tax burden $10,000,000 estate: $0 federal tax (below exemption), state tax if applicable $15,000,000 estate: federal taxable $1.39M, tax approximately $488,000 $20,000,000 estate: federal taxable $6.39M, tax approximately $2.43M $30,000,000 estate: federal taxable $16.39M, tax approximately $6.32M $50,000,000 estate: federal taxable $36.39M, tax approximately $14.24M at 40% top rate The 40% top rate only applies to amounts well above the exemption — effective rates are much lower.
Federal estate tax rates — 2024:
| Taxable Estate | Rate | Tax on Portion |
|---|---|---|
| $0 to $10,000 | 18% | $1,800 |
| $10,001 to $500,000 | 28-34% | up to $164,100 |
| $500,001 to $1,000,000 | 37% | up to $185,000 |
| Above $1,000,000 | 40% | 40 cents per dollar |
State estate taxes — states with estate tax (selected):
| State | Exemption | Top Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | $2,000,000 | 16% |
| Oregon | $1,000,000 | 16% |
| Washington | $2,193,000 | 20% |
| New York | $6,940,000 | 16% |
The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act doubled the federal estate tax exemption — but this provision expires December 31, 2025. If Congress does not act to extend it, the exemption reverts to approximately $7 million per person (inflation-adjusted from the pre-2018 level). This would bring estates currently exempt from federal tax into taxable territory, making estate planning more urgent for individuals with estates in the $7-$14 million range.
Frequently Asked Questions
Very few Americans pay federal estate tax. Only estates exceeding the federal exemption ($13.61 million per individual in 2024) owe any federal estate tax. Married couples can combine exemptions through portability, effectively sheltering up to $27.22 million. The IRS reports that fewer than 0.1% of deaths result in a federal estate tax return showing tax owed. However, the TCJA-doubled exemption expires after 2025 — if not extended, the exemption reverts to approximately $7 million, bringing significantly more estates into taxable territory.
The gross estate includes essentially all property owned at death: real estate (at fair market value), investment accounts, bank accounts, retirement accounts (traditional IRA, 401k balances are included even though future distributions will also be taxed), business interests, life insurance proceeds if the deceased owned the policy, annuities with remaining value, personal property, and certain assets transferred within 3 years of death. The gross estate is reduced by allowable deductions (funeral expenses, debts, mortgages, charitable bequests, and the marital deduction for assets passing to a surviving spouse) to arrive at the taxable estate.
The unlimited marital deduction allows a US citizen spouse to inherit any amount from a deceased spouse completely free of federal estate tax. This defers — but does not eliminate — the estate tax. When the surviving spouse later dies, their estate (which now includes the inherited assets) is subject to estate tax above their own exemption. The portability election allows the surviving spouse to use the deceased spouse unused exemption (DSUE), effectively combining both exemptions. Without portability planning, a couple effectively wastes the first-to-die exemption if everything passes to the survivor. Estate planning for married couples typically prioritizes using both exemptions.
The gift and estate taxes are unified — they share a single lifetime exemption ($13.61 million in 2024). Taxable gifts made during life reduce the remaining exemption available at death. Annual gifts below the exclusion ($18,000 per recipient in 2024) do not count against the lifetime exemption. Gifts above the annual exclusion use the lifetime exemption and must be reported on a gift tax return (Form 709), though tax is only owed when the lifetime exemption is exhausted. The unified system prevents avoiding estate tax by giving everything away before death.
Common strategies for estates approaching or above exemption levels: annual gifting using the $18,000 per recipient exclusion to systematically reduce estate value; irrevocable trusts that remove assets from the taxable estate; charitable giving or charitable remainder trusts; life insurance in an irrevocable life insurance trust to provide liquidity for taxes without increasing the taxable estate; family limited partnerships that apply valuation discounts to transferred business interests; and grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs) that pass appreciation to heirs with minimal gift tax. All strategies require careful implementation and ongoing compliance — consult an estate planning attorney.
When someone dies, the cost basis of appreciated assets in their estate is adjusted to fair market value at the date of death — a step-up in basis. Heirs who subsequently sell the asset pay capital gains tax only on appreciation after the date of death, not on the original purchase price. A stock purchased at $10,000 that is worth $100,000 at death has a $100,000 step-up basis for the heir — selling it for $100,000 produces zero capital gains tax. This eliminates the embedded capital gains on a lifetime of investment appreciation, making the estate tax exemption even more valuable for estates with significant unrealized gains.