What is the 2024 federal estate tax exemption?

The 2024 federal estate tax exemption is $13.61 million per individual, or $27.22 million for married couples using portability. Amounts above this threshold are taxed at rates up to 40%.

What happens to the estate tax exemption in 2026?

The TCJA doubled the exemption in 2018. If Congress doesn't extend it, the exemption reverts to approximately $7 million (inflation-adjusted) on January 1, 2026. This could expose many more estates to federal estate tax.

Do all states have an estate tax?

No. Only about 12 states plus Washington D.C. impose estate taxes. Oregon and Massachusetts have the lowest thresholds at $1 million. States like Texas, Florida, and California have no estate tax.

What is the marital deduction?

The unlimited marital deduction allows you to transfer any amount to a U.S. citizen spouse completely free of estate tax. However, it defers the tax — the surviving spouse's estate may owe tax later unless planning is done.

How can I reduce estate taxes?

Common strategies include gifting assets now (using the annual $18,000 per-person gift exclusion or lifetime exemption), charitable bequests, irrevocable trusts, and life insurance held in an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT).

🌅Retirement

How Much Will Estate Taxes Take From Your Estate?

How much will estate taxes take?

What This Does

The federal estate tax is often called the "death tax," but for most Americans it's a non-issue — the 2024 exemption is $13.61 million per individual ($27.22 million for married couples using portability). Only estates above these thresholds owe federal estate tax. However, if your estate could approach these levels — or if you live in one of the 12 states with their own estate taxes at much lower thresholds — planning now can save your heirs hundreds of thousands of dollars. States like Oregon and Massachusetts tax estates over just $1 million. There's also an urgent planning window right now: the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) provisions that doubled the exemption are set to sunset after December 31, 2025. If Congress doesn't act, the exemption reverts to roughly $7 million (inflation-adjusted) in 2026 — cutting the threshold nearly in half and suddenly exposing many more estates to federal tax. This calculator estimates your federal and state estate tax exposure, models the difference between current law and the 2026 sunset scenario, and shows how strategies like marital deductions and charitable giving reduce your taxable estate. Use it to have an informed conversation with your estate attorney before the window closes.

When Should You Use This?

→Estimating whether your estate will owe federal or state estate taxes
→Modeling how the 2025 TCJA sunset could affect your estate tax bill after 2025
→Calculating how much a marital deduction or charitable gift reduces your taxable estate
→Comparing estate tax exposure across states if you're considering relocating
→Preparing for an estate planning meeting with an attorney or financial advisor

Example Scenario

Robert and Linda, both 68, have a combined estate of $22 million — their home, investment accounts, and a small business. Under 2024 law with portability, their combined exemption is $27.22M and they owe no federal estate tax. But if TCJA sunsets in 2026, their combined exemption drops to roughly $14M, leaving $8M exposed to the 40% estate tax rate — a potential bill of $3.2 million. Their attorney recommends making large gifts now while the higher exemption still applies.

⚠️ TCJA Planning Window — Act Before December 31, 2025

The current $13.61M federal exemption (doubled under TCJA) is scheduled to sunset to ~$7M after 2025 unless Congress acts. If your estate could be affected, consult an estate attorney before year-end to lock in gifts at the current exemption.

Estate Tax Calculator

Federal + State · 2024 vs 2026 Sunset · Gifting Scenarios · State Comparison

Results update in real time as you adjust any input.

Estate Details

Gross Estate Value

All assets: real estate, investments, business interests, life insurance

Debts & Liabilities

Charitable Deduction

Marital Deduction

Unlimited for U.S. citizen spouse

State

Married with Portability

Doubles federal exemption to $27,220,000 (2024)

About This Calculator

This estate tax calculator computes federal and state estate taxes under both current 2024 law and the projected 2026 TCJA sunset scenario. Federal tax uses the 40% flat rate above the applicable exemption ($13,610,000 in 2024, approximately $7,000,000 projected for 2026, both doubled for married couples using portability). State taxes use simplified top-rate estimates for the 10 states with estate taxes. Taxable estate = gross estate − debts − charitable deduction − marital deduction. All results update in real time as you adjust any of the six inputs.

An estate distribution donut PieChart (always visible) shows heirs receive, federal tax, and state tax as proportional segments with progress bars. The 2024 vs 2026 tab renders a grouped bar chart comparing federal tax and net estate under both laws, with a detailed comparison table. The States tab shows a horizontal bar chart of total tax burden (federal + state) across all 11 state options, with your state highlighted, plus a sortable table. The Gifting tab renders a multi-line chart of tax (2024 law = accent, 2026 sunset = dashed red) and net estate (dashed emerald) at four gift levels ($0 to $5M), plus a gifting scenarios table with savings vs no gifting.

Planning score (0–100) penalises effective tax rate, sunset risk, and state tax exposure. Dynamic accent: emerald (No Federal Tax), indigo (Low Exposure, eff. rate under 5%), amber (Moderate, 5–15%), orange (High, 15–25%), red (Very High, above 25%). TCJA sunset alert auto-triggers when sunset would increase federal tax. The calculator supports spousal portability (doubles exemption) via checkbox. Educational disclaimer is included on all outputs. This is for informational purposes only — not legal or tax advice.