About the Inheritance & Estate Tax Estimator
Most estates owe nothing federally: in 2026 the exemption is $15,000,000 per person, made permanent by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and indexed from 2027. The states are a different story. Oregon taxes estates above $1,000,000, Massachusetts above $2,000,000, and New York has a cliff that can turn a few hundred thousand dollars of extra value into a six-figure bill. Five states also charge heirs inheritance tax, at rates that depend on how they were related to the person who died.
This estimator runs the federal computation the way Form 706 does — the 18–40% unified schedule, lifetime taxable gifts, the marital and charitable deductions, a late spouse’s unused exclusion, and the deduction for state death taxes — then applies every state estate tax and every state inheritance tax by heir class. Each state’s exemption, brackets and quirks were checked on 2026-09-27 against its own revenue department, statute or Attorney General, and each result links the source. Where a state publishes worked examples, our engine reproduces them to the dollar.
Stated plainly: this is an estimate, not legal advice. Trusts, business and farm valuation discounts, special-use valuation, QTIP elections and generation-skipping tax are beyond it, and real estates often turn on them. Use it to see whether tax is in play and roughly how much, then take that to an estate attorney. Everything runs in your browser; nothing you type is sent anywhere.
More details: lifetime gifts, a late spouse’s exemption, property in another state
Only the part of each gift above the annual exclusion ($19,000 per recipient in 2026), i.e. what was reported on Form 709. Some states add back only recent gifts, so split them by when they were made.
Split what is left after the spouse and charity between named heirs. Inheritance-tax states charge each heir separately, by relationship.
How to Use the Estate & Inheritance Tax Estimator
Enter the value of everything the person owned at death, the state they lived in, and their debts and final expenses. If they were married, enter what passes to the surviving spouse; add any charitable bequests; then choose who receives the rest and how many people share it. The result splits into federal estate tax, state estate tax and state inheritance tax, with each step shown and the state source linked. Open More details for lifetime gifts, a late spouse’s unused exclusion and real estate in another state.
The Federal Estate Tax in 2026
The tax is figured on the taxable estate — the gross estate minus debts, expenses, charitable bequests, what passes to a U.S.-citizen spouse, and state death taxes paid — plus lifetime taxable gifts. The unified rate schedule runs from 18% to 40%, but a credit wipes out the tax on the first $15,000,000 (the credit is $5,945,800), so in practice every dollar above the exclusion is taxed at 40%. A $20,000,000 taxable estate owes $2,000,000. Lifetime taxable gifts use up the same exclusion, which is why they are added back at death. A surviving spouse can add the first spouse’s unused exclusion (portability), but only if the first estate files a Form 706 electing it — even when no tax is due.
State Estate Taxes: Lower Exemptions, Odd Shapes
| State | 2026 exemption | Top rate | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon | $1,000,000 | 16% | Lowest threshold; fixed since 2012 |
| Rhode Island | $1,838,056 | 16% | Indexed credit |
| Massachusetts | $2,000,000 | 16% | Credit, so no cliff |
| Minnesota | $3,000,000 | 16% | 3-year gift addback |
| Washington | $3,000,000 | 20% | Rates changed twice in 12 months |
| Illinois | $4,000,000 | 16% | Threshold, not credit: steep just above it |
| District of Columbia | $4,988,400 | 16% | Indexed yearly |
| Maryland | $5,000,000 | 16% | Also has inheritance tax; state portability |
| Vermont | $5,000,000 | 16% | Flat rate; 2-year gift addback |
| Hawaii | $5,490,000 | 20% | State portability |
| Maine | $7,160,000 | 12% | 1-year gift addback |
| New York | $7,350,000 | 16% | The cliff at $7,717,500 |
| Connecticut | $15,000,000 | 12% | Gift tax; $15M cap |
Only Hawaii and Maryland allow portability at the state level, which is why married couples in the other states often leave the first spouse’s share, up to the state exemption, in a credit-shelter (bypass) trust instead of outright to the survivor. Leave everything to the spouse and the first spouse’s state exemption is simply lost; the subscriber panel prices that difference.
Inheritance Tax: It Depends Who You Are
- Pennsylvania taxes nearly everyone except a spouse: 4.5% for children, grandchildren and parents, 12% for siblings, 15% for everyone else. Children 21 or younger inheriting from a parent pay 0%, and paying within three months earns a 5% discount.
- New Jersey exempts spouses, children, grandchildren and parents; siblings and children’s spouses pay 11–16% after $25,000 each; nieces, nephews and friends pay 15–16% from the first dollar.
- Kentucky moved nieces and nephews into its exempt class for deaths from January 1, 2026; in-laws, aunts and uncles pay 4–16%, others 6–16%.
- Nebraska taxes even children, at 1% above $100,000 each, and exempts anyone under 22. Maryland charges 10% only to collateral and unrelated heirs.
Inheritance tax follows the residence of the person who died, plus any real estate they owned in an inheritance-tax state — never the heir’s own address. Life insurance paid to a named beneficiary is exempt in all five states.
What This Estimator Leaves Out
Trusts beyond a simple credit-shelter comparison, valuation discounts on business and real-estate interests, special-use valuation for farms, QTIP and other elections, generation-skipping transfer tax, foreign property and non-resident aliens, and the order in which a will says taxes are paid. State non-resident computations are apportioned pro rata, which matches most states’ forms but not every one. Each is real, and each is a reason the final number belongs to an estate attorney.
Related tools: heirs who receive appreciated assets get a stepped-up basis, explained in the Capital Gains Tax Calculator; add up what is in the estate with the Net Worth Tracker; make sure accounts and passwords can actually be found with the Digital Legacy Planner; and see what an inherited IRA requires in the RMD Calculator. Browse every Personal Finance tool.
Estimates for planning, not legal or tax advice. Federal: Rev. Proc. 2025-32 and the Form 706 instructions (Rev. July 2026). States: each state’s revenue department, statute or Attorney General, verified 2026-09-27; sources are linked in the results. Exemptions that index change every January.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much can I inherit without paying federal estate tax in 2026?
The federal estate tax is paid by the estate, not the heir, and only on the part of an estate above $15,000,000 per person in 2026. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act set that figure and made it permanent, indexed for inflation from 2027. A married couple can shelter $30,000,000 if the survivor elects portability of the first spouse's unused exclusion, and anything left to a U.S. citizen spouse or to charity is deducted in full.
What is the difference between estate tax and inheritance tax?
An estate tax is charged on the whole estate before it is distributed, regardless of who inherits. An inheritance tax is charged on each heir's share, at a rate set by how closely the heir was related to the person who died. Spouses are exempt from both. Children are exempt from inheritance tax in every state that has one except Pennsylvania (4.5%) and Nebraska (1% above $100,000).
Which states have an estate or inheritance tax in 2026?
Twelve states and the District of Columbia have an estate tax: Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Five have an inheritance tax: Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, so Maryland has both. Iowa repealed its inheritance tax for deaths from 2025. State exemptions are far lower than the federal one, from $1,000,000 in Oregon to $15,000,000 in Connecticut.
What is the New York estate tax cliff?
New York exempts estates up to $7,350,000 in 2026, but the exemption shrinks as the estate goes above it and disappears completely at 105% of the amount, $7,717,500. Above that, the whole estate is taxed from the first dollar, so an estate just over the line owes about $735,000 in New York tax where one just under the exclusion owes nothing. Charitable bequests that bring the taxable estate back under the exclusion are a common planning response.
Do I pay tax on money I inherit?
Usually not income tax, and in most states nothing at all. The estate pays any federal or state estate tax before distribution. You owe inheritance tax only if the person who died lived in, or owned real estate in, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey or Pennsylvania and you are not in an exempt class. Inherited traditional IRAs and 401(k)s are the exception: withdrawals are taxable income to you. This estimator is not legal advice; an estate attorney should review any real estate plan.
