Estate & Inheritance Tax Calculator

What to enter in each field

An estate's headline value is only the starting point. A useful estimate needs the taxable estate, lifetime gifts and the applicable credits, each prepared from the records below.

Decedent and return type

The federal calculator covers a U.S.-citizen or U.S.-resident decedent who died in 2026. A nonresident noncitizen generally uses a different return and rules. Domicile for estate tax is a legal determination; it should not be inferred solely from an income-tax filing address. Form 706 instructions · Form 706-NA instructions.

Gross estate and deductions, not the mortgage balance

Inventory the property includible in the gross estate and resolve ownership, joint interests, insurance and trusts. Then use the allowed valuation method. The outstanding mortgage does not simply replace a property's value; deductions belong in the appropriate part of the return. IRS overview of gross estate and deductions.

For a prepared gross estate of $18 million and $2 million of allowed deductions, the tentative taxable estate is $16 million. That arithmetic does not establish whether the $2 million is legally deductible. Entering already-net assets and also entering the same debt as a deduction would understate the result.

Lifetime gifts

Use the IRS gift reconciliation and worksheets for adjusted taxable gifts and gift tax paid or payable. Those are different inputs. A list of every gift ever made or every gift-tax check is not a substitute for the prepared worksheet amounts. Worksheet TG and lines 4 and 7.

This matters even for an estate below the basic exclusion. The calculator adds prepared taxable gifts to the taxable estate before applying the rate table. It then subtracts the separately prepared gift-tax amount and applicable credit.

Portability requires a valid election

A surviving spouse does not automatically receive twice the basic exclusion. DSUE depends on the predeceased spouse's estate, the required election and the applicable spouse rules; a marriage certificate alone does not establish it. Enter a confirmed federal amount, and keep the predeceased spouse's return and election records with the working papers. An unknown DSUE amount is not a reason to assume an additional $15 million. State DSUE, where available, can differ from federal DSUE. IRS estate-tax, portability and filing guidance.

State death taxes can reduce the federal taxable estate

Form 706 deducts eligible state death taxes separately before applying the federal rate table. A $20 million tentative taxable estate with a prepared $1 million state death-tax deduction gives $19 million federal taxable estate and $1.6 million federal estate tax, assuming no gifts, additional exclusion or other credits. Line 3b instructions.

The state liability must first be calculated under that state's rules: its own gift lookback, QTIP election, property allocation or beneficiary classification. Examples include Illinois's interrelated estate-tax calculation, New York's exclusion credit cliff and Maryland's credit for inheritance tax actually paid. The federal deduction has its own requirements and is not always identical to an amount appearing on a state return. The federal form does not simply add an undeducted state tax to an independently calculated federal result.

Liability, payments and distributions stay separate

The calculator separately shows prepared GST and prior payments. A $100,000 liability with $120,000 already paid creates an estimated $20,000 overpayment before other adjustments; it does not change the underlying tax to zero. A refund still depends on the return and tax authority's determination.

The worksheet does not label gross estate minus tax as “what heirs receive.” Administration expenses, debts, joint ownership, trust terms and the will determine what is distributed and who bears each charge.

Check the filing obligation separately

A return may be needed to elect portability or satisfy a filing threshold even where the tax estimate is zero. Federal filing thresholds include relevant gifts. State filing tests can use gross amounts or special rules that differ from tax liability. IRS filing requirements.

Choose the state worksheet

These worksheets have state-specific inputs, current primary-source references and calculated examples. Confirm domicile, property situs and the date of death before using a state model.

Compare the no-tax states. Federal filing, another jurisdiction's tax and estate income remain separate questions.

Inheritance tax: which state, which heir

An estate tax is calculated at the estate level. An inheritance tax can depend on each recipient's relationship and share. Start with the decedent's domicile, property location and date of death, then identify the recipient's legal relationship. A single nationwide “inheritance tax rate” cannot answer those questions.

A sibling shows why the state matters

Consider a prepared $100,000 outright transfer to a 40-year-old sibling, with no special property issues. Before discounts, Kentucky and Maryland exempt that relationship. Nebraska's $100,000 immediate-relative exemption covers this amount. New Jersey Class C produces $8,250 and Pennsylvania's 12% sibling rate produces $12,000.

Those results use Kentucky's current classification, Maryland's exemptions, Nebraska's immediate-relative rule, New Jersey's table and Pennsylvania's rates. They assume the transfer falls within the relevant state's taxing jurisdiction.

Check the year before classifying a niece or nephew

Kentucky's 2026 amendment moved qualifying nieces and nephews into exempt Class A for deaths from January 1, 2026. An older table describing all such recipients as Class B is stale for those deaths. Other states have different classifications. Current Kentucky law and application note.

Use the legal relationship, including adoption, half-blood, stepfamily and marriage rules where applicable. A great-niece, step-grandchild or unmarried partner should not be placed in an exempt category merely because they are part of the family.

Age exemptions are not interchangeable

Nebraska exempts individual recipients under 22 under its ordinary relationship categories. Pennsylvania's zero-rate age provisions instead concern transfers between a qualifying parent and child, with different relevant ages depending on the direction. A young grandchild is not automatically covered by the Pennsylvania child exemption. Nebraska age rule · Pennsylvania age rules.

Apply exemptions once per recipient

Where an exemption is per beneficiary, combine that person's includible transfers before calculating. Two $50,000 transfers to the same New Jersey Class C beneficiary do not create two $25,000 exemptions. Two different beneficiaries do receive their separate exemptions. New Jersey distribution instructions.

Resolve deductions and who pays the tax

The state calculators use prepared net values. A tax-free legacy, a life interest or a contingent trust can require a different calculation from an outright share where the beneficiary bears the tax. Asset situs and exclusions must also be resolved before using a resident worksheet for property connected with another state.

Paying early may change the balance, but a discount requires the actual state's conditions. Pennsylvania can grant a partial discount on a partial qualifying payment; Kentucky changed its discount window for deaths from July 1, 2026. Pennsylvania payment calculator · Kentucky's current windows.

Inheritance tax is separate from federal estate tax

The federal worksheet above concerns the decedent's taxable estate and adjusted gifts. It does not assign a federal inheritance tax rate to each beneficiary. State death taxes can also affect the federal deduction, so the calculations should be reconciled using the returns. IRS Form 706 instructions.