Estate Tax Calculator
Tax & IncomeTax on an estate above the exemption.
Estate, exemption & rate
- To heirs$0
- Tax$0
Estate tax breakdown
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Estate value | $0 |
| Less: exemption | ($0) |
| Taxable estate | $0 |
| Federal estate tax (0.0%) | ($0) |
| Passed to heirs | $0 |
Insights
- The estate tax is an effective 0.0% of the whole estate, since the first $0 is exempt.
- This estate falls within the exemption, so no estate tax is due.
Know what this estimate is based on
- Jurisdiction
- United States unless the calculator explicitly says otherwise
- Rules and time period
- Tax years supported by the selected calculator
- Scope and limitations
- Educational estimate only, not a tax return or filing determination. U.S. statutory-threshold tools use USD. Confirm current law and your facts with the relevant authority or a qualified tax professional.
- Source links checked
- Jul 30, 2026
Built and regression-tested by Smart Tools Lab. It has not been individually reviewed by a licensed financial, tax, or legal professional.
How to use
- 01
Enter the estate's total value, the exemption threshold, and the estate tax rate.
- 02
Read the estate tax due, the taxable estate, what passes to heirs, and the effective rate.
- 03
Open Advanced options to subtract deductions (debts, charitable, and spousal transfers) and add a state estate tax rate.
Formula
The calculator first subtracts deductions — debts, charitable gifts, and transfers to a spouse — from the estate to get the net estate, then subtracts the exemption threshold to find the taxable estate (never below zero). It applies the federal estate tax rate and any state estate tax rate to that taxable amount, adds the two for the total tax, and shows what passes to heirs as the estate minus deductions and tax. The effective rate is the total tax divided by the whole estate, which sits well below the headline rate because the exempt portion is untaxed. With no deductions and no state rate, it is simply the estate minus the exemption, taxed at the rate.
Example
Suppose an estate is worth $20,000,000, the exemption is $13,000,000, and the rate is 40%. The taxable estate is $20,000,000 − $13,000,000 = $7,000,000, the tax is $7,000,000 × 40% = $2,800,000, and $17,200,000 passes to heirs — an effective rate of 14%. Now open Advanced options: subtract $5,000,000 of deductions (say a charitable bequest plus debts) and add a 10% state estate tax. The net estate is $15,000,000, the taxable estate falls to $2,000,000, and the tax becomes $800,000 federal plus $200,000 state = $1,000,000, leaving $14,000,000 for heirs and a much lower effective rate.
Definitions
- Estate value
- The total value of everything the deceased owned at death, before deductions or the exemption (0 to 10,000,000,000).
- Exemption threshold
- The amount of an estate that passes free of estate tax; only value above it is taxed (0 to 10,000,000,000).
- Estate tax rate
- The rate applied to the taxable estate above the exemption (0% to 60%).
- Deductions (debts, charity, spouse)
- Amounts that leave the estate before tax — outstanding debts, charitable bequests, and transfers to a spouse (advanced, default 0).
- State estate tax rate
- An additional estate or inheritance tax some regions levy on top of the federal one (advanced, 0% to 30%, default 0).
- Taxable estate
- The estate after deductions and the exemption — the portion the rates actually apply to.
- Passed to heirs
- What beneficiaries receive: the estate minus deductions and the total estate tax.
- Effective rate
- The headline-versus-reality figure: total tax as a percentage of the whole estate.
Good to know
What estate tax is and who it hits
Estate tax is a tax on the transfer of wealth at death, charged on the total value of everything a person owned — property, investments, cash, business interests, and more — before it passes to their heirs. Importantly, it is paid by the estate itself, so beneficiaries receive what is left after the tax is settled rather than being billed individually. The defining feature of estate tax is its large exemption: only the value of an estate above a high threshold is taxed at all, which means the great majority of estates owe nothing. It is, in practice, a tax aimed at substantial wealth. Because the exemption shelters so much, the effective rate on even a taxable estate is usually far below the headline rate, as this calculator's effective-rate figure makes clear. Understanding the structure — total value, minus deductions, minus the exemption, taxed only on the remainder — is the key to seeing why a large estate can still pass most of its value to heirs intact.
The exemption threshold and portability
The exemption is the single most important number in estate tax, because it determines whether an estate is taxed at all and how much escapes. Set high in many systems, it lets a large amount pass completely free of tax, with only the excess facing the rate. In some jurisdictions the exemption is portable between spouses, meaning a surviving spouse can use any unused portion of their late partner's exemption, effectively doubling what a couple can shelter. Exemptions also change over time as laws are updated, and they can differ sharply between the national level and state or local levels, where thresholds are sometimes much lower. The exemption field in this tool lets you model whatever threshold applies to your situation. Because the exemption does so much of the work, estate planning often centres on making full use of it — through portability, trusts, and timing — rather than on the headline rate, which only ever touches the portion above the line.
Deductions: marital, charitable, and debts
Before the exemption is even applied, several things come out of an estate and reduce what is taxable. Debts and liabilities the deceased owed are subtracted, since heirs inherit only net wealth. Charitable bequests are typically fully deductible, so giving part of an estate to charity removes that amount from tax entirely. Most powerful of all in many systems is the unlimited marital deduction: assets passing to a surviving spouse are generally not taxed at the first death, deferring any estate tax until the second spouse dies. The advanced deductions field bundles these reductions so you can see their combined effect on the taxable estate. Used well, deductions can dramatically lower or eliminate the tax — a charitable legacy and a spousal transfer together can take a large estate well below the taxable threshold. Planning which assets go to a spouse, to charity, and to other heirs is therefore a central lever, not an afterthought.
Federal versus state estate and inheritance taxes
Estate taxation is often layered. A national estate tax with a high exemption may sit alongside a separate state or regional tax, and the two can have very different thresholds and rates. In some places the local tax kicks in at a much lower exemption than the federal one, so an estate that owes nothing nationally still faces a state bill. It also matters whether the local charge is an estate tax, levied on the whole estate, or an inheritance tax, charged to each heir based on what they receive and their relationship to the deceased — children, for instance, are often taxed more lightly than distant relatives. The advanced state-rate field lets you stack a second layer on top of the federal calculation. When planning, it is essential to check the rules where the deceased lived and owned property, because the interaction of national and local taxes, and of estate versus inheritance systems, can change the result substantially.
Reducing a taxable estate with gifts and trusts
For estates large enough to face tax, the most effective planning happens long before death. Lifetime gifting within annual exclusions moves wealth — and all its future growth — out of the estate completely free of tax, year after year. Larger gifts draw on the shared lifetime exemption, removing assets now so that any later appreciation falls outside the taxable estate. Trusts add more tools: certain structures can hold assets for heirs while keeping them, and their growth, out of your estate, and others can lock in today's valuations or fund life-insurance proceeds outside the estate. Charitable trusts can blend giving with income. The common thread is acting early, because most of these techniques reward time. This calculator shows the estate-tax outcome for a given estate; pairing it with the Gift Tax calculator lets you test how a programme of lifetime gifts steadily shrinks the estate that will eventually be taxed, often turning a large projected bill into a modest one.
Valuation, liquidity, and practical planning
Beyond the headline math, estate tax raises practical problems that catch families off guard. Everything in the estate must be valued at death — not just cash and listed shares, but homes, private businesses, art, and land, which can be hard to price and may require professional appraisal. A high valuation can inflate the tax even if no cash is available to pay it. That liquidity problem is real: an estate rich in property or a family business but short on cash may have to sell assets, sometimes at a bad time, just to cover the tax, which is typically due within months. Planning ahead addresses this — life insurance held outside the estate, setting aside liquid funds, or arranging instalment payment where allowed. Keeping good records of asset values and basis also smooths the process and supports the deductions claimed. Use this tool to estimate the likely tax early, so the estate has a plan to pay it without forcing a fire sale, and revisit the numbers as the estate and the law change.
Inheritance tax, heirs, and reading the result
It helps to be clear about what the headline estate-tax figure does and does not tell you. This tool reports the tax the estate pays before distribution and what is left for heirs in aggregate, but it does not divide the inheritance among individual beneficiaries or model a separate inheritance tax some of them might owe. In systems with an inheritance tax, each heir is taxed on their own share, often at rates that depend on how closely related they are to the deceased — a surviving spouse or child may pay little or nothing, while a distant relative or unrelated friend can face a steep rate on the same amount. That is a different calculation layered on top of, or instead of, the estate tax shown here. The effective-rate figure is the most useful number for perspective, because it reveals how gently most estates are actually taxed once the large exemption is taken into account; an estate can carry a 40% headline rate yet an effective rate in the teens. Reading the result well also means treating it as a planning estimate, not a filed return: real estates involve valuations that can be argued, trusts that change who owns what, deductions whose eligibility turns on detail, and rules that shift with each change in the law. Use the number to understand the scale of the problem and to test how deductions, the exemption, and a state rate move it, then bring in proper advice for a large or complex estate. The goal here is not a precise filing but a clear enough picture to decide whether and how to act while there is still time to plan.
Frequently asked questions
Who actually pays the estate tax?
The estate itself pays before anything is distributed, so heirs receive their inheritance after the tax has been settled. This differs from an inheritance tax, which is charged to each beneficiary on what they personally receive.
What is the difference between estate tax and inheritance tax?
Estate tax is levied on the whole estate before distribution, based on its total value; inheritance tax is levied on each heir's share after distribution, often at rates that depend on their relationship to the deceased. Some places have one, some the other, some both.
What does the exemption do?
The exemption shelters a large amount of the estate from tax entirely, so only value above the threshold is taxed. Because most estates fall under it, relatively few actually owe estate tax — and the exemption is why the effective rate is far below the headline rate.
What reduces a taxable estate?
Debts owed at death, charitable bequests, and transfers to a surviving spouse are typically deductible, lowering the taxable estate. Lifetime gifting and certain trusts can shrink it further before death — the advanced deductions field models the at-death reductions.
Is there a separate state estate tax?
In some regions, yes. A state or local estate or inheritance tax can apply on top of the national one, sometimes with a lower exemption, so a estate that owes little federally can still face a meaningful state bill. Add the state rate in Advanced options to include it.
How can I reduce estate tax?
Common approaches include lifetime gifting within exclusions, charitable giving, spousal transfers, and trusts that move assets and their future growth out of the estate. The Gift Tax calculator shows how steady gifting today lowers the estate that is taxed later.