2026 tax year
Estate tax calculator
The federal estate tax reaches very few estates, the 2026 exclusion is $15 million per person.
Federal estate tax applies only to what an estate is worth above the exclusion, which is $15,000,000 per person for 2026. Below that, the vast majority of estates, nothing is owed. Above it, the excess is taxed near the 40% top rate. A surviving spouse can add the unused exclusion of the first spouse to die, potentially doubling it.
Everything owned: home, accounts, business, life insurance you owned.
These reduce the exclusion left for the estate.
Up to another $15,000,000 via portability.
Enter the estate value.
Worked example, a $20,000,000 estate
An individual dies in 2026 with a $20,000,000 estate and no prior taxable gifts:
| Figure | Amount |
|---|---|
| Gross estate | $20,000,000 |
| Exclusion | − $15,000,000 |
| Taxable estate | $5,000,000 |
| Estimated federal estate tax | $2,000,000 |
Only the $5,000,000 above the $15,000,000 exclusion is taxed, at roughly 40%, for $2,000,000. Had this person been a widow or widower who had ported their late spouse's exclusion, the combined $30,000,000 would have covered the whole estate and the tax would be zero.
Questions
How much can you inherit before paying estate tax?
An estate owes federal estate tax only on value above $15,000,000 for 2026. Heirs themselves pay no federal tax to receive an inheritance, estate tax is paid by the estate, before assets are distributed. Fewer than one estate in a thousand owes it.
What is portability?
When one spouse dies, the survivor can elect to carry over the deceased spouse's unused exclusion (the DSUE) by filing an estate-tax return. That can give the survivor up to $30,000,000 of combined exclusion. But only if the return is filed, even when no tax is otherwise due.
What counts in the gross estate?
Nearly everything the person owned or controlled at death: real estate, bank and investment accounts, business interests, retirement accounts, and life insurance the deceased owned. Transfers to a spouse or charity are generally deductible, and lifetime taxable gifts reduce the exclusion left for the estate.
Do states have their own estate tax?
Several states levy an estate tax with a much lower exclusion than the federal one, and a few levy an inheritance tax on heirs. So an estate can owe state tax while owing no federal tax. Check your state; this calculator is federal only.
Related tools
- Gift tax calculator lifetime gifts share the exclusion
- Inheritance tax calculator the heir's side
- Capital gains calculator stepped-up basis
Estimate for the 2026 tax year, modeling the taxable estate at the 40% top rate. Marital, charitable and other deductions can reduce it. Not tax or legal advice.