No state death tax
Wisconsin Estate and Inheritance Tax in 2026
No current Wisconsin estate or inheritance tax on a 2026 or 2027 death. Wisconsin has no estate tax for deaths after December 31, 2007 and no inheritance tax for deaths from January 1, 1992.
Updated 3 primary sources citedEditorial policy
Wisconsin and federal death-tax estimate
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- Total estimated death taxes
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- Wisconsin death tax
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- Federal estate tax
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Full federal worksheet with credits, GST and payments · What each input means
Estimate federal estate tax after preparing the estate's valuations, deductions, gifts and valid additional exclusion. Historical liabilities, property in another jurisdiction and estate income require separate review.
The primary-source rule for Wisconsin
Wisconsin Revenue gives separate end dates: no estate tax for deaths after December 31, 2007 and no inheritance tax for deaths from January 1, 1992. Its estate and trust income-tax and closing-certificate guidance remains relevant to administration.
Wisconsin transfer by affidavit and marital property
Wis. Stat. § 867.03 lets an heir or trustee transfer property by affidavit when the property subject to administration in Wisconsin does not exceed $50,000 in gross value; § 867.02 sets the same $50,000 ceiling for court-ordered summary assignment.
Wisconsin adopted the Uniform Marital Property Act: Wis. Stat. § 766.31 presumes all property of spouses to be marital property, which works much like community property when one spouse dies.
A closing certificate concerns income administration
Wisconsin Revenue's deceased-taxpayer guidance distinguishes estate tax, inheritance tax and fiduciary income returns. Its two death-tax end dates differ, so an old inheritance notice and an old estate notice cannot be reviewed with one assumed cutoff. For a 2026 death, neither current transfer tax is charged, but the income-tax and closing-certificate parts of the agency page remain relevant.
An executor receiving bank interest or collecting rent during administration should keep that income separate from the decedent's prepared asset values. A Wisconsin fiduciary return can be required even though the death-tax estimate is zero. The page's current income-return examples use their own reporting year; they should not be converted into a 2026 estate-value exemption or a beneficiary inheritance rate.
Wisconsin families with Minnesota or Illinois property should examine those states' estate worksheets when applicable. The local zero result does not establish another state's property allocation. The federal form below also requires completed deduction and gift amounts; a Wisconsin closing certificate does not establish a federal portability election, the available DSUE amount or the final federal tax payable by the estate.
Sources reviewed October 1–2, 2026. Settlement statutes read October 5, 2026. Prepare federal inputs or compare Wisconsin with the other no-tax states.
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