Estimate Federal + State Estate Tax
Enter the gross estate, deductions, DSUE from a deceased spouse (if any), and the state of domicile. The calculator computes taxable estate, tentative tax under IRC §2001(c), unified credit, federal estate tax due, and state estate tax under the state's 2026 exemption and top-marginal-rate schedule.
Results
What this calculator models
Federal estate tax under Chapter 11 of the Internal Revenue Code, with the OBBBA-permanent $15 million per-person exemption effective January 1, 2026 (Pub. L. 119-21). Above the exemption the marginal rate is 40% under IRC §2001(c). The calculator computes tentative tax on the full taxable estate (plus adjusted taxable gifts post-1976 under §2001(b)) using the graduated §2001(c) schedule, then subtracts the unified credit equal to the tentative tax on the combined applicable exclusion (baseline $15M plus DSUE). The remainder — if positive — is the federal estate tax due.
State estate tax for the 12 states + DC that decoupled from the federal system. Massachusetts (post-Ch. 50 of Acts of 2023), Maine (36 M.R.S. §4102), Rhode Island (R.I. Gen. Laws §44-22-1.1), and Minnesota (Minn. Stat. §291.03) statutorily reference or track the pre-2001 IRC §2011 state death tax credit table — the calculator implements the exact 21-bracket §2011 schedule (0.8% to 16% graduated) for these four states, computed as §2011(taxable estate) − §2011(state exemption). This reproduces the Massachusetts $99,600 uniform credit exactly (§2011($2M) = $99,600) and matches published state DOR tax tables to the dollar. New York's 5% cliff is implemented exactly: below exemption → $0, in cliff zone ($7.35M–$7.7175M) → tax on excess only, above cliff → tax on the entire taxable estate. The other estate-tax states (CT, DC, HI, IL, MD, OR, VT, WA) still use a top-marginal-on-excess upper-bound approximation — for estates significantly above exemption this is close to the actual bill, and for estates near the exemption it over-estimates.
Federal exemption and IRC §2001(c) rate schedule
- 2026 basic exclusion: $15,000,000 per person under OBBBA (Pub. L. 119-21, made permanent effective 2026-01-01).
- Portability under §2010(c)(4): a surviving spouse may add the first spouse's unused exemption (DSUE) to their own — up to $30M combined for a couple.
- Top marginal rate: 40% on any taxable estate above $1M (which is well below the exemption, so every taxable estate that owes federal tax is at 40% marginal).
- Unified credit for 2026: tentative tax on $15M = $345,800 + 40% × ($15,000,000 − $1,000,000) = $5,945,800.
- Filing deadline: Form 706 due 9 months after death; automatic 6-month extension under §6081. Portability election deadline may be extended up to 5 years under Rev. Proc. 2022-32 for non-required filers.
The 12 estate-tax states + DC (2026 exemptions and top rates)
- Massachusetts — $2M exemption, §2011 graduated (0.8%–16%). Exact math. Post-2023 reform (Ch. 50 of Acts of 2023 §11 amending M.G.L. Ch. 65C §2A(a)) eliminated the cliff and adopted the pre-2001 §2011 credit table with a $99,600 uniform credit (which equals §2011($2M) exactly).
- Oregon — $1M exemption (unchanged since 2006), 10–16% graduated. The lowest exemption in the country. Calc uses 16% top-marginal upper-bound.
- Rhode Island — $1,802,431 exemption (2025, indexed), §2011 graduated. Exact math. R.I. Gen. Laws §44-22-1.1(a)(3) statutorily incorporates the federal §2011 credit as of Jan 1, 2001.
- Washington — $3,076,000 exemption (2026, CPI-adjusted under RCW 83.100.020). Two rate regimes in 2026 selected by date of death: SB 5813 (Ch. 421 Laws of 2025) imposed a temporary 10–35% graduated schedule capped at 35% above $9M WA taxable estate for deaths Jan 1 – Jun 30, 2026; SB 6347 (Ch. 353 Laws of 2025) restored the pre-2025 10–20% schedule for deaths on or after Jul 1, 2026 (the calc default). Both regimes modeled as top-marginal-on-excess upper-bound approximations.
- Minnesota — $3M exemption, §2011-variant graduated. Exact within ~0.5%. Minn. Stat. §291.03 subd. 1 uses a modified §2011 schedule that tracks the §2011 table closely.
- Illinois — $4M exemption, 16% top. Historically had a full-value cliff; check current statute. Calc uses 16% top-marginal upper-bound.
- District of Columbia — $4.71M exemption, 16% top. Calc uses 16% top-marginal upper-bound.
- Maryland — $5M exemption, 16% top. Only state with BOTH estate tax AND inheritance tax. Calc uses 16% top-marginal upper-bound.
- Vermont — $5M exemption, 16% flat on excess (post-2020 reform of 32 V.S.A. §7442a). Calc uses 16% top-marginal.
- Hawaii — $5.49M exemption, 20% top. Calc uses 20% top-marginal upper-bound.
- Maine — $7.16M exemption (2026, CPI-indexed under 36 M.R.S. §4062), §2011 graduated (0.8%–16%). Exact math. 36 M.R.S. §4102 incorporates the federal §2011 credit as in effect Dec 31, 2000.
- New York — $7.35M exemption, 16% top, with a 5% cliff under NY Tax Law §952(c). Above $7,717,500 the estate loses the entire exemption. Cliff mechanic implemented exactly.
- Connecticut — $15M exemption, 12% top. Fully matches the federal exemption in 2026 — a non-issue for anyone under $15M. Calc uses 12% top-marginal.
Related tools and reading
- State Estate Tax Field Guide 2026 — the full 12-state + DC + 5-inheritance-state walkthrough with the Massachusetts and New York cliff mechanics, Maryland double-tax, and three worked case studies at $3M / $8M / $22M net estates.
- State Retirement Income Taxation 2026 — companion 50-state field guide for income tax on retirement distributions.
- How to File Form 8606 in 2026 — nondeductible IRA basis tracking that flows into the gross estate.
- Backdoor Roth IRA Calculator — pro-rata rule modeler for post-tax IRA conversions.
- Retirement Calculator — projected balance at death for federal exemption planning.
- Income Tax Calculator — federal + state income tax overlay.
- Net Worth Calculator — quick gross-estate estimate.
- Capital Gains Tax Calculator — step-up-in-basis under IRC §1014 changes the capital gains calculus at death.