Estate Tax Calculator
2026 federal estate tax with the $15 million exemption.
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This estate tax calculator estimates the US federal estate tax due when someone dies in 2026. It subtracts debts, expenses and charitable and marital bequests, adds lifetime taxable gifts, applies the 2026 basic exclusion of $15 million plus any unused exclusion from a deceased spouse (portability), and taxes the rest at 40%.
What is a Estate Tax Calculator?
The federal estate tax is a tax on the transfer of property at death. It applies only to estates larger than the basic exclusion amount, which is $15 million per person in 2026 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and is indexed for inflation in later years. Most estates owe nothing.
Transfers to a US-citizen spouse and to charity are deductible, and lifetime taxable gifts use up part of the same exclusion. A surviving spouse can also use the deceased spouse’s unused exclusion (portability) if it was elected on a timely estate tax return. This estate tax calculator combines these pieces into an estimate.
How does the Estate Tax Calculator work?
The calculator subtracts debts, expenses and charitable and marital bequests from the gross estate to get the taxable estate, then adds lifetime taxable gifts. It subtracts the 2026 exclusion of $15 million plus any DSUE amount and applies the 40% top rate to the remainder, which is how the unified credit works once an estate is above the exclusion.
How to use the Estate Tax Calculator step by step
- Enter the gross estate: homes, investments, business interests, life insurance owned, retirement accounts.
- Enter debts and expenses.
- Enter charitable and spousal bequests.
- Enter lifetime taxable gifts.
- Enter any DSUE amount from a deceased spouse.
- Read the estimated tax.
Estate Tax Calculator example with real numbers
A widow dies in 2026 with a gross estate of $20 million, $500,000 of debts and expenses, and $1 million of taxable gifts made during her life. Her late husband’s estate did not elect portability.
| Example input | Value |
|---|---|
| Gross estate (everything owned at death) | $20,000,000 |
| Debts, funeral and administration expenses | $500,000 |
| Charitable bequests | $0 |
| Bequests to a US-citizen spouse (marital deduction) | $0 |
| Lifetime taxable gifts (above annual exclusions) | $1,000,000 |
| Unused exclusion from a deceased spouse (DSUE) | $0 |
| Example output | Value |
|---|---|
| Estimated federal estate tax | $2,200,000 |
| Taxable estate | $19,500,000 |
| Plus lifetime taxable gifts | $1,000,000 |
| Tax base | $20,500,000 |
| Exclusion available (2026 + DSUE) | $15,000,000 |
| Amount taxed at 40% | $5,500,000 |
| Unused exclusion left | $0 |
Her tax base is $20,500,000. After the $15 million exclusion, the estate tax calculator estimates $2,200,000 of federal estate tax.
Key features of this Estate Tax Calculator
- 2026 $15 million exclusion
- Charitable and marital deductions
- Lifetime gifts
- Portability (DSUE)
- 40% top rate
Who should use the Estate Tax Calculator?
Who is this Estate Tax Calculator for?
- High-net-worth families
- Executors and heirs
- Estate planners
- Financial advisers
Practical use cases
- Checking if an estate owes federal tax
- Planning lifetime gifts
- Seeing the value of portability
- Comparing charitable bequest options
Key benefits
- Current: 2026 exclusion.
- Complete: gifts and portability.
- Clear: taxable amount shown.
- Private: runs in your browser.
Tips for better results
- File an estate tax return to elect portability even if no tax is due.
- Annual exclusion gifts ($19,000 per recipient in 2026) do not use the lifetime exclusion.
- Life insurance owned by you is part of your estate.
- Check your state: some have much lower estate tax thresholds.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Forgetting life insurance and retirement accounts.
- Ignoring state estate or inheritance taxes.
- Missing the portability election.
- Confusing estate tax with income tax on inherited assets.
Limitations of this Estate Tax Calculator
- A simplified federal estimate only.
- Valuation, discounts and credits are not modelled.
- Non-citizen spouses have different rules.
Estate Tax Calculator vs other ways to calculate
| Item | 2026 figure |
|---|---|
| Basic exclusion per person | $15,000,000 |
| Married couple with portability | Up to $30,000,000 |
| Top estate tax rate | 40% |
| Annual gift exclusion | $19,000 per recipient |
For required withdrawals from inherited and retirement accounts, see the RMD calculator. For tax on selling inherited assets, use the US capital gains tax calculator.
Privacy and data handling
This Estate Tax Calculator runs entirely in your browser. The numbers you type are not sent to Qorico or stored on any server, and nothing is saved after you close the page. The Copy and Download buttons create the result on your own device. If the page has analytics turned on, it may count that a calculation happened, but it does not record the values you entered.
Estate Tax Calculator FAQs
What is the estate tax exemption in 2026?
$15 million per person, or up to $30 million for a married couple using portability.
What is the federal estate tax rate?
The top rate is 40%, which effectively applies to the amount above the exclusion.
Do heirs pay estate tax?
The estate pays federal estate tax before assets pass to heirs. Some states have a separate inheritance tax paid by heirs.
What is portability?
A surviving spouse can use the deceased spouse’s unused exclusion if it was elected on the estate tax return.
Do lifetime gifts reduce the exemption?
Yes. Taxable gifts above the annual exclusion use up part of the lifetime exclusion.
Is life insurance included in the estate?
Yes, if you owned the policy or had incidents of ownership.
Related tools
Sources and references
We checked the method and the current figures used in this Estate Tax Calculator against these official and primary sources:
- IRS: Internal Revenue Service
- IRS: Estate tax
- IRS: Frequently asked questions on estate taxes
- IRS: Frequently asked questions on gift taxes
Written and reviewed by the Qorico Team
