Estate Tax Calculator

Federal estate tax due —

Taxable estate: —
Tax base (estate + gifts): —
Total exclusion available: —
Applicable credit: —
Amount above the exclusion: —
Tax as share of gross estate: —
Left after debts and estate tax: —

US federal estate tax applies only to the part of the taxable estate plus lifetime taxable gifts that exceeds the basic exclusion: $13.61 million for 2024, $13.99 million for 2025 and $15 million for 2026. Above that line the top bracket is 40%. A $20 million estate in 2025 with no deductions owes 40% of $6.01 million, or $2,404,000.

About this tool

Executors, estate planners and families sizing up a large estate use this to see whether federal estate tax applies and roughly how much. Enter the gross estate, the deductions for debts, a surviving spouse and charity, any adjusted taxable gifts made during life, and an unused exclusion ported from a spouse who died earlier. The calculator runs the unified schedule in IRC section 2001(c), subtracts the applicable credit for the chosen year and shows each line of the working. It covers the federal tax only: a dozen states and the District of Columbia levy their own estate tax with much lower thresholds, and the generation-skipping transfer tax, state death-tax deductions and foreign tax credits are left out.

How to use it

Pick the year of death
The exclusion changes each year; 2024, 2025 and 2026 figures are built in.
Enter the gross estate and deductions
Add debts and costs, the marital deduction and charitable bequests in their own fields.
Add lifetime gifts and any DSUE
Taxable gifts reported on Form 709 are added back; a ported DSUE amount raises the exclusion.
Read the tax and the working
The tax due, the credit and the amount above the exclusion update as you type, with each step listed.

Examples

$20 million estate, 2025

Year of death: 2025
Gross estate: 20000000

Result Federal estate tax due: $2,404,000
Taxable estate: $20,000,000
Tax base (estate + gifts): $20,000,000
Total exclusion available: $13,990,000
Applicable credit: $5,541,800
Amount above the exclusion: $6,010,000
Tax as share of gross estate: 12.02%
Left after debts and estate tax: $17,596,000

Taxable estate = $20,000,000 − $0 − $0 − $0 = $20,000,000
Tax base = $20,000,000 + adjusted taxable gifts $0 = $20,000,000
Tentative tax on $20,000,000 (IRC 2001(c) schedule) = $7,945,800
Exclusion 2025 = $13,990,000 + DSUE $0 = $13,990,000; applicable credit = $5,541,800
Estate tax = max(0, $7,945,800 − $5,541,800) = $2,404,000

With no deductions or prior gifts, only the $6.01 million above the 2025 exclusion is taxed, all of it in the 40% bracket.

$18 million estate with a $500,000 bequest to charity, 2026

Year of death: 2026
Gross estate: 18000000
Debts, funeral and administration costs: 500000
Charitable deduction: 500000

Result Federal estate tax due: $800,000
Taxable estate: $17,000,000
Tax base (estate + gifts): $17,000,000
Total exclusion available: $15,000,000
Applicable credit: $5,945,800
Amount above the exclusion: $2,000,000
Tax as share of gross estate: 4.44%
Left after debts and estate tax: $16,700,000

Taxable estate = $18,000,000 − $500,000 − $0 − $500,000 = $17,000,000
Tax base = $17,000,000 + adjusted taxable gifts $0 = $17,000,000
Tentative tax on $17,000,000 (IRC 2001(c) schedule) = $6,745,800
Exclusion 2026 = $15,000,000 + DSUE $0 = $15,000,000; applicable credit = $5,945,800
Estate tax = max(0, $6,745,800 − $5,945,800) = $800,000

Deductions bring the taxable estate to $17 million, which is $2 million above the $15 million exclusion for 2026.

$30 million estate, part to spouse, ported exclusion

Year of death: 2025
Gross estate: 30000000
Marital deduction: 10000000
Ported DSUE amount: 13610000

Result Federal estate tax due: $0
Taxable estate: $20,000,000
Tax base (estate + gifts): $20,000,000
Total exclusion available: $27,600,000
Applicable credit: $10,985,800
Amount above the exclusion: $0
Tax as share of gross estate: 0%
Left after debts and estate tax: $30,000,000

Taxable estate = $30,000,000 − $0 − $10,000,000 − $0 = $20,000,000
Tax base = $20,000,000 + adjusted taxable gifts $0 = $20,000,000
Tentative tax on $20,000,000 (IRC 2001(c) schedule) = $7,945,800
Exclusion 2025 = $13,990,000 + DSUE $13,610,000 = $27,600,000; applicable credit = $10,985,800
Estate tax = max(0, $7,945,800 − $10,985,800) = $0

A $10 million marital deduction plus a $13.61 million DSUE amount from an earlier-deceased spouse push the exclusion above the $20 million taxable estate.

How it is calculated

Tax = max(0, T(taxable estate + adjusted taxable gifts) − T(basic exclusion + DSUE))

T(x): tentative tax from the IRC 2001(c) schedule: 18% on the first $10,000 rising to $345,800 + 40% above $1,000,000
taxable estate: gross estate minus debts and expenses, the marital deduction and the charitable deduction
basic exclusion: $13,610,000 (2024), $13,990,000 (2025), $15,000,000 (2026)
DSUE: deceased spousal unused exclusion amount elected on the first spouse's return

Form 706 computes a tentative tax on the combined tax base and subtracts the applicable credit, which is the tentative tax on the exclusion amount. Gift tax already paid is ignored here, which is a simplification for estates whose prior gifts stayed within the exclusion. Because every current exclusion is far above $1 million, any tax due falls entirely in the 40% bracket.

Sources

Estate tax — Internal Revenue Service
Instructions for Form 706 — Internal Revenue Service

When not to use it

For state estate or inheritance taxes, which use their own thresholds and brackets.
When gift tax was actually paid on lifetime gifts, since that payment is credited on Form 706 and is not modelled here.
For non-resident non-citizen decedents, whose US estate has a $60,000 exemption instead.

Common mistakes

Leaving out life insurance proceeds the decedent owned or controlled, which belong in the gross estate.
Entering every lifetime gift instead of only the amount above each year's annual gift exclusion.
Claiming a DSUE amount when the first spouse's executor never filed Form 706 to elect portability.

Frequently asked questions

Who has to pay federal estate tax?

The estate pays it, not the heirs, and only when the taxable estate plus adjusted taxable gifts exceeds the basic exclusion for the year of death. In 2025 that is $13,990,000 per person, so the large majority of estates owe nothing. A Form 706 may still be needed to elect portability.

What changed for 2026?

The 2025 budget law set the basic exclusion at $15,000,000 for deaths in 2026, indexed for inflation afterwards, instead of letting it drop to roughly half as earlier law scheduled. The 40% top bracket stayed the same.

How does the marital deduction work?

Property passing outright or in a qualifying trust to a surviving spouse who is a US citizen is deducted in full. That defers the tax to the second death, when the survivor's estate may also use the first spouse's unused exclusion through portability.

Why are lifetime gifts added back?

The gift and estate taxes share one exclusion. Taxable gifts made after 1976 use part of it, so they are added to the taxable estate before the schedule is applied. Gifts within the annual exclusion, $19,000 per recipient in 2025, are not added.

What is the DSUE amount?

The deceased spousal unused exclusion is the part of a spouse's exclusion left unused at death. If the executor elects portability on a timely Form 706, the survivor adds it to their own basic exclusion.

When is the estate tax return due?

Form 706 is due nine months after the date of death. A six-month extension to file is available with Form 4768, but the tax itself is still due at nine months.

Cite this tool

Using this tool in an assignment, article or report? Copy a citation, or a link for your website.

APA

Tools Directory Editorial Team. (2026, October 24). Estate Tax Calculator. Tools Directory. Retrieved October 27, 2026, from https://tools.milunir.com/finance/payroll-and-benefits/estate-tax-calculator/

MLA

Tools Directory Editorial Team. “Estate Tax Calculator.” Tools Directory, 24 Oct. 2026, https://tools.milunir.com/finance/payroll-and-benefits/estate-tax-calculator/. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Tools Directory Editorial Team. “Estate Tax Calculator.” Tools Directory. Last modified October 24, 2026. Accessed October 27, 2026. https://tools.milunir.com/finance/payroll-and-benefits/estate-tax-calculator/.

Link

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