Estimate federal estate tax owed against the lifetime exemption.
Federal estate tax uses a unified credit that shelters estates up to the lifetime exemption. Married couples can effectively double this via portability — the surviving spouse can elect to use the deceased spouse's unused exemption. Only the amount above the exemption is subject to tax, which climbs to a 40% top rate. The unlimited marital deduction allows assets to pass to a US citizen spouse tax-free, deferring the tax until the survivor's death. The exemption amount differs by year; select the year of the estate settlement.
Taxable estate
Taxable excess = max(0, Adjusted gross estate − marital deduction − charitable − lifetime exemption)
Estate tax
Tax = progressive brackets applied to the taxable excess over the exemption
Uses federal estate tax brackets and exemption amounts for the selected tax year. Does not include state estate taxes (except via the optional state estimate), generation-skipping tax, or complex trust strategies. Consult an estate planning attorney.
$13,610,000 per person in 2024; $13,990,000 in 2025; $15,000,000 in 2026 (the One Big Beautiful Bill Act made the elevated exemption permanent and raised it to $15M). Married couples can use portability to combine both exemptions. Select the year matching your filing to see the correct figures.
Portability allows a surviving spouse to use the deceased spouse's unused lifetime exemption (DSUE). The executor must file an estate tax return to elect portability, even if no tax is owed. Without a timely election, the DSUE is lost.
No. The unlimited marital deduction allows any amount to pass to a US citizen spouse estate-tax-free. The tax is simply deferred until the surviving spouse's estate is settled.
Common strategies include irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs), charitable remainder trusts, gifting up to the annual exclusion per recipient, qualified personal residence trusts (QPRTs), and family limited partnerships. The effectiveness of each depends on your estate size and family situation.
You can select 2024, 2025, or 2026 from the Tax Year field at the top. The exemption amount and annual gift exclusion differ by year — this matters for estate planning across years and for late filings.