Estate Tax Calculator
Will your estate owe federal tax? Compare your estate to the 2026 exemption ($15M per person) to see your potential exposure.
Example: with Total estate value? 5,000,000 · Status Individual ($15M exemption) · Residence & other real estate 0 · Stocks, bonds & other investments 0 · Savings, CDs & checking balance 0 · Vehicles, boats & other property 0 · … → Estimated federal estate tax: $0.
Computed by the calculator below using its default values. Change any input to see your own numbers.
Asset breakdown (optional — adds to total estate value above)
Deductions
Federal estate tax brackets (IRC §2001(c))
Progressive marginal rates applied to the taxable amount above your exemption.
Estate planning and trust resources
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Very few estates owe federal estate tax because the exemption is so high — $15,000,000 per person in 2026 (up from $13.99M in 2025), effectively $30,000,000 for a married couple using portability. Above the exemption, the rate climbs progressively to 40%. Many states also levy their own estate or inheritance tax with far lower thresholds. Add itemized assets, deductions, and lifetime gifts below for a more detailed estimate, or just use the single total-estate-value field for a quick check.
How it’s calculated & sources
Gross estate = total estate value + any itemized asset categories you fill in (real estate, investments, savings, vehicles/property, retirement plans, life insurance, business interests, other assets). Deductions = marital deduction + charitable deduction + debts & administrative expenses. Remaining exemption = your status’s federal exemption − lifetime taxable gifts already used. Taxable estate = max(0, gross estate − deductions − remaining exemption). Estimated tax applies the progressive federal estate tax brackets under IRC §2001(c) to that taxable amount (18% on the first bracket, stepping up to a flat 40% on amounts over $1,000,000 above the exemption threshold) — not a single flat 40% on the whole excess, which slightly overstates tax on estates just above the exemption. Effective rate = estimated tax ÷ gross estate.
The federal estate tax exemption for 2026 is $15,000,000 per individual ($30,000,000 for a married couple using portability), per IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32, which implements the permanent increase to the basic exclusion amount under IRC §2010(c)(3) enacted by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) of 2025 — up from $13.99M in 2025. This replaces the prior law’s scheduled post-2025 reduction.
Sources: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (2026 inflation adjustments); 26 U.S.C. §2001(c) (federal estate tax rate schedule); corroborated by Kiplinger and other estate-planning publishers reporting the same $15M/2026 figure.
Federal only — state estate or inheritance taxes are not modeled and vary widely by state. Results update as you type and are general estimates, not personalized financial, tax, medical or legal advice. Verify with a professional.
Worked example
A $5M estate for an individual is well under the 2026 $15M exemption, so no federal estate tax is due — though a state estate tax still could apply. For contrast: a $20M individual estate with no deductions or prior gifts has a taxable amount of $5M above the exemption; applying the IRC §2001(c) brackets to that $5M (not a flat 40%) works out to roughly $1.9M of federal estate tax, an effective rate of about 9.7% on the full $20M estate — illustrating why the effective rate stays well under the 40% top marginal rate even for estates meaningfully above the exemption.
Frequently asked questions
What’s changing in 2026?
The federal exemption is set to drop to roughly half its current level after 2025 unless Congress acts — making gifting and trust planning timely for large estates.
Does my state have an estate tax?
Possibly — about a dozen states levy estate or inheritance taxes, several with exemptions around $1–2M. Check your state; this tool is federal only and does not model state estate or inheritance tax.
What’s the 2026 federal exemption?
$15,000,000 per individual (up from $13.99M in 2025), or $30,000,000 for a married couple using portability, per IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), enacted in 2025, made this higher exemption permanent starting in 2026 instead of letting it roughly halve as prior law had scheduled.
How do lifetime gifts affect my exemption?
The federal gift and estate tax exemption is unified: taxable gifts made during your life (above the annual gift exclusion, $19,000 per recipient in 2026) use up part of your lifetime exemption, leaving less available at death. Enter your total lifetime taxable gifts already used and the calculator subtracts that from the current exemption before computing your taxable estate.
Is the estate tax really a flat 40%?
No — 40% is only the top marginal rate on amounts more than $1,000,000 above your exemption. The federal estate tax is progressive, starting at 18% on the first $10,000 of taxable amount and stepping up through several brackets (see the table above) before reaching 40%. That is why the effective rate on the whole estate is usually much lower than 40%, even for estates well above the exemption.