Estate Tax Calculator
Estimate federal estate tax owed against the lifetime exemption.
About Estate Tax Calculator
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.
Formulas
Taxable estate
Taxable excess = max(0, Adjusted gross estate − marital deduction − charitable − lifetime exemption)
- AGE
- Adjusted Gross Estate = Gross estate − debts & expenses
- Exemption
- Per-person exemption for the selected year; doubled with portability
Estate tax
Tax = progressive brackets applied to the taxable excess over the exemption
- T
- Taxable amount above exemption
- l_i, u_i, r_i
- Lower bound, upper bound, rate of bracket i
Worked example
With the default values below, Estate Tax Calculator returns Federal Estate Tax of $0. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Tax yearone of 2026, 2025, 2024
- 2026
- Gross Estate Valueminimum 0 $
- 5,000,000 $
- Debts, Mortgages & Expensesminimum 0 $
- 200,000 $
- Charitable Bequestsminimum 0 $
- 0 $
- Marital Deduction (Bequest to Surviving Spouse)minimum 0 $
- 0 $
- Filing Statusone of Single (one exemption), Married (portability — two exemptions)
- Single (one exemption)
- Prior Taxable Gifts (Lifetime)minimum 0 $
- 0 $
- Include Estimated State Estate Tax?
- No
- State Exemptionminimum 0 $
- 1,000,000 $
- State Top Rate (%)accepts 0–20
- 16
Results
- Federal Estate Tax
- $0
- Total Tax (Federal + State)
- $0
- Net Estate to Heirs
- $4,800,000
- Taxable Estate
- $4,800,000
- Lifetime Exemption Available
- $15,000,000
- Taxable Amount Above Exemption
- $0
- Effective Rate on Gross Estate
- 0.00%
- Federal Marginal Rate
- 0%
- State Estate Tax
- $0
- Tax Year
- 2026
Step by step
- 1Using 2026 tax year rules2026 figures from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, reflecting the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
- 2Gross estate (fair market value)= $5,000,000
- 3Adjusted gross estate (less debts & expenses)= $4,800,000
- 4Taxable estate (less marital & charitable deductions)= $4,800,000
- 5Lifetime exemption available= $15,000,000
- 6Taxable excess above exemption= $0
- 7Federal estate tax= $0
- 8Net estate to heirs= $4,800,000
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 10 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
- 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.
- This is an estimate for general information and not professional financial, tax or legal advice. See the full disclaimer for the limits that apply to this kind of calculator.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the federal estate tax exemptions for each year?
$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.
What is portability?
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.
Does money left to a spouse count for estate tax?
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.
Are there ways to reduce the taxable estate?
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.
Which tax year does this use?
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.