How to use the estate tax calculator
Choose the year of death and enter the value of everything in the estate: real estate, investments, cash, other property, retirement plans and life insurance you own. Then enter the debts and costs, gifts to charity and what is left to a spouse, and any taxable gifts made during your life. The calculator shows the taxable estate, how much of the exemption it uses and the federal estate tax due.
What is the estate tax?
The federal estate tax is a tax on the property a person leaves when they die. Only estates above the exemption pay it: $15,000,000 per person in 2026, raised each year for inflation from 2027. A married couple can protect twice that, $30,000,000, because a surviving spouse can use the unused exemption of the one who died. Above the exemption the tax is 40%.
Estate tax formula
- Gross estate: everything you own at death, including real estate, investments, retirement accounts and life insurance you own.
- Deductions: debts, funeral and administration costs, state death taxes, gifts to charity and everything left to a spouse.
- Tax base: the taxable estate plus the taxable gifts you made during your life.
- Tax: the rates of 18% to 40% apply to the tax base, minus the credit that covers the exemption.
Because the exemption is far above the point where the top rate starts, the result comes down to estate tax = (tax base − exemption) × 40% whenever the tax base is over the exemption.
Estate tax calculator example
An estate of $20,000,000 with $500,000 of debts and costs has a taxable estate of $19,500,000. Adding $1,000,000 of lifetime taxable gifts gives a tax base of $20,500,000 in 2026. That is $5,500,000 over the exemption, so the estate tax is 40% of it: $2,200,000, or 11% of the whole estate.
Federal estate tax by estate size in 2026
| Taxable estate | One exemption | Two exemptions (portability) |
|---|---|---|
| $10,000,000 | $0 | $0 |
| $15,000,000 | $0 | $0 |
| $20,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $0 |
| $30,000,000 | $6,000,000 | $0 |
| $50,000,000 | $14,000,000 | $8,000,000 |
| $100,000,000 | $34,000,000 | $28,000,000 |
With no lifetime taxable gifts. The last column is for a surviving spouse who also has the unused exemption of the spouse who died first.
Estate and gift tax rates
| Tax base | Rate | Tax on the amounts below |
|---|---|---|
| $0 to $10,000 | 18% | $0 |
| $10,000 to $20,000 | 20% | $1,800 |
| $20,000 to $40,000 | 22% | $3,800 |
| $40,000 to $60,000 | 24% | $8,200 |
| $60,000 to $80,000 | 26% | $13,000 |
| $80,000 to $100,000 | 28% | $18,200 |
| $100,000 to $150,000 | 30% | $23,800 |
| $150,000 to $250,000 | 32% | $38,800 |
| $250,000 to $500,000 | 34% | $70,800 |
| $500,000 to $750,000 | 37% | $155,800 |
| $750,000 to $1,000,000 | 39% | $248,300 |
| Over $1,000,000 | 40% | $345,800 |
The credit for the exemption cancels the tax on every bracket below it, so in practice only the 40% rate is paid.
Exemption and gift tax exclusion by year
| Year | Estate and lifetime gift exemption | Yearly gift exclusion per recipient |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $13,990,000 | $19,000 |
| 2026 | $15,000,000 | $19,000 |
Ways to lower the estate tax
- Yearly gifts: gifts up to the annual exclusion, $19,000 per recipient in 2026, leave the estate without using any exemption. Paying tuition or medical bills directly to the school or provider doesn't count as a gift either.
- Charity: bequests to qualified charities are deducted in full.
- Spouse: everything left to a spouse who is a U.S. citizen is deducted, and portability passes the unused exemption to the survivor.
- Life insurance: a policy owned by an irrevocable life insurance trust instead of by you is usually kept out of the estate.
Estate tax in Excel
With the tax base in B1, =MAX(0,B1-15000000)*40% gives the federal estate tax for 2026. For the example, B1 = 20500000 returns $2,200,000.
Related calculators
Heirs don't pay income tax on an inheritance, but money withdrawn from an inherited traditional IRA is taxed: the RMD calculator covers the required withdrawals and the income tax calculator the tax on them. To plan how long savings last before they become an estate, use the retirement calculator.