Estate Tax Calculator
Estimate your federal estate tax liability for 2026. Enter your total estate value, deductions, and prior lifetime exemption usage to see how much tax your heirs may owe — and how much of your $15 million unified credit remains. Updated for 2026 OBBBA rules.
The gross value of all assets in your estate: real estate, investments, retirement accounts, life insurance death benefits, and personal property.
Funeral expenses, outstanding debts, mortgages, executor fees, attorney fees, and other administrative costs.
Amounts bequeathed to qualified charities. Fully deductible from the taxable estate.
Prior lifetime gifts above the annual exclusion already reported on Form 709. Reduces estate exemption dollar-for-dollar.
$15,000,000 for 2026 per individual under OBBBA.
🏛 Estate Tax Results
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Taxable Estate
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Form 706 Required?
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Exemption Remaining
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Effective Tax Rate
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📊 Estate Tax Breakdown
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Estate tax rates are progressive (18%–40%) and apply only to amounts exceeding the remaining exemption.
💡 What this means
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📚 Estate Planning Resources
📚 See top-rated estate planning & trust guides on Amazon →📝 How to use this estate tax calculator
- Enter your total estate value — the gross value of all your assets including real estate, investments, retirement accounts, life insurance death benefits, and personal property.
- Enter deductions — funeral expenses, outstanding debts, mortgages, executor fees, attorney fees, and other administrative costs that reduce the taxable estate.
- Enter charitable bequests — amounts left to qualified charities, which are fully deductible from the taxable estate.
- Enter prior lifetime exemption usage — the total of prior gifts above the annual exclusion already reported on Form 709. This reduces your estate tax exemption dollar for dollar.
- Enter the total estate tax exemption — $15,000,000 for 2026 per individual under OBBBA. Married couples get $30,000,000 combined.
- Check the marital deduction box — if the entire estate passes to a U.S. citizen spouse, the estate tax is deferred until the surviving spouse's death.
- Click Calculate — see your taxable estate, whether Form 706 is required, estate tax owed, remaining exemption, and effective tax rate.
📌 5 tips to minimize estate tax
- ✓ Use the annual gift exclusion every year. You can give $19,000 to each recipient annually without using your lifetime exemption. With 3 kids and 4 grandchildren, that's $133,000/year tax-free. Over 10 years, you can transfer over $1.3M without touching the estate exemption.
- ✓ Leverage the unlimited marital deduction. Assets passing to a U.S. citizen spouse are 100% deductible. This defers estate tax until the second death. Consider a bypass trust to capture both spouses' exemptions.
- ✓ Give to charity. Charitable bequests are fully deductible from the taxable estate. A charitable remainder trust can provide income during your lifetime while reducing the taxable estate.
- ✓ Own life insurance outside the estate. If an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) owns the policy, the death benefit is not included in your taxable estate. This can save hundreds of thousands in estate tax on large policies.
- ✓ Consider valuation discounts. Family limited partnerships and closely-held business interests may qualify for valuation discounts (lack of marketability, minority interest), reducing the taxable estate value by 20%–40%.
Disclaimer: This calculator provides federal estate tax estimates for educational purposes only. The 2026 exemption ($15,000,000) and tax rates reflect the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). Estate tax rules may change. This tool does not account for state-level estate or inheritance taxes, the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax, special-use valuation, or complex trust structures. Consult an estate planning attorney or tax professional for personalized advice regarding your specific situation.
Related Tools
Estate tax is one piece of your wealth-transfer and tax planning toolkit. These six calculators cover the rest — from gift tax to capital gains and retirement savings.
- Gift Tax Calculator — calculate gift tax liability with the $19,000 annual exclusion and $15M lifetime exemption.
- Capital Gains Tax Calculator — calculate capital gains tax on the sale of investments, real estate, or other assets.
- Income Tax Calculator — estimate your income tax liability with provincial/federal brackets.
- Estimated Tax Calculator — calculate quarterly estimated tax payments for self-employment and investment income.
- Land Transfer Tax Calculator — calculate land transfer tax on property purchases, relevant to estate real-estate transfers.
- Retirement Savings Calculator — calculate how much to save each month for retirement, complementing estate planning.