$14,500,000
$890,000
$356,000
2.37%
$14,144,000
106.54%
$14,500,000
$890,000
$356,000
2.37%
$14,144,000
106.54%
The Estate Tax Calculator estimates the federal estate tax liability on an estate, helping individuals and estate planners understand potential tax obligations after death. The federal estate tax applies to estates exceeding the exemption amount of $13.61 million (2024), with rates ranging from 18% to 40% on the taxable portion.
The estate tax is often called the 'death tax' and applies to the total value of a deceased person's assets — including real estate, investments, business interests, life insurance, retirement accounts, and personal property — minus allowable deductions. Only about 0.1% of estates (roughly 4,000 per year) owe any federal estate tax, due to the generous exemption amount.
Key deductions include the unlimited marital deduction (assets passing to a surviving spouse are tax-free), charitable deductions (bequests to qualified charities), debts and expenses (mortgages, funeral costs, administrative expenses), and state death taxes. The marital deduction effectively doubles the exemption for married couples through portability — the surviving spouse can use any unused portion of the deceased spouse's exemption.
The current $13.61 million exemption (indexed for inflation) is historically high, set by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017. Without Congressional action, this exemption is scheduled to revert to approximately $7 million (adjusted for inflation) after 2025. This potential change makes estate planning particularly urgent for estates in the $7–14 million range.
Estate planning strategies to minimize estate tax include irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs), grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs), charitable remainder trusts (CRTs), annual gift exclusions ($18,000 per recipient in 2024), and family limited partnerships. This calculator provides a starting point for understanding potential exposure.
The calculation follows IRS Form 706 logic:
If your estate is below the $13.61M exemption, no federal estate tax is owed. For taxable estates, the effective rate is much lower than the top 40% rate due to the progressive bracket structure. Some states impose their own estate taxes with lower exemptions (e.g., Oregon: $1M, Massachusetts: $2M).
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A $15M estate with $500k in deductions owes about $298k in estate tax.
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Estate planning with marital and charitable deductions reduces the tax significantly.
The federal estate tax exemption for 2024 is $13.61 million per individual ($27.22 million for married couples using portability). Estates below this threshold owe no federal estate tax.
Under current law, the TCJA's doubled exemption expires after 2025, reverting to approximately $7 million (adjusted for inflation). Congress may extend or modify this provision.
Assets left to a surviving U.S. citizen spouse are completely exempt from estate tax, regardless of amount. This effectively defers estate tax until the second spouse's death.
Portability allows a surviving spouse to use the deceased spouse's unused estate tax exemption. If the first spouse used $3M of their $13.61M exemption, the survivor gets an extra $10.61M, for a total of $24.22M.
The top federal estate tax rate is 40%, applying to the portion of the taxable estate exceeding $1 million (after the exemption is applied). The graduated rates range from 18% to 40%.
Twelve states plus DC impose their own estate tax: Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. Exemptions range from $1M to $13.61M.
Common strategies: maximize marital deduction, make annual gifts ($18,000/recipient/year), establish irrevocable trusts (ILIT, GRAT, CRT), donate to charity, use family limited partnerships for valuation discounts, and purchase life insurance in an ILIT.
Yes, if the deceased owned the policy or had incidents of ownership. To exclude life insurance from the estate, place it in an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT) at least 3 years before death.
You can give $18,000 per recipient per year (2024) without using any of your lifetime estate/gift tax exemption. A married couple can give $36,000 per recipient. There's no limit on the number of recipients.
Form 706 must be filed if the gross estate plus adjusted taxable gifts exceed the exemption ($13.61M in 2024). Even if no tax is owed, filing is recommended to elect portability for the surviving spouse.
Roboculator Team
The Roboculator Team explains calculations, planning tools, and practical formulas in clear language for real-life situations.
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