The federal estate tax is a tax on the right to transfer property at death. Most families never pay it, because the exemption is high — but once a combined estate crosses the line, the tax hits hard at a 40% top rate. This calculator estimates your federal estate tax exposure under 2024 rules: enter the gross value of the estate, any allowable deductions, and the lifetime exemption, and it shows the taxable estate, the tax owed, the effective rate, and what your heirs actually keep after the IRS takes its share.
Drag the sliders and every figure updates instantly. Test a range of gross estate values around the $13.61M threshold to see how quickly a moderate growth scenario flips an estate from zero tax to a seven-figure bill.
How to Use
- Enter the Gross Estate Value — the fair market value of everything the deceased owned or controlled on the date of death. That includes bank and brokerage accounts, real estate, retirement accounts, business interests, vehicles, art, and even life insurance proceeds payable to the estate.
- Add Estate Deductions if you know them. Common deductions are funeral and admin costs, executor and attorney fees, mortgages and unpaid debts, property passing to a US-citizen spouse (the unlimited marital deduction), and charitable bequests. Leave this at zero if you just want a fast upper-bound estimate.
- Set the Lifetime Exemption. The 2024 default is $13.61M per person ($27.22M per married couple). Under current law this sun-sets on January 1, 2026 to roughly $7M per person, so adjust the slider if you are modeling a 2026 or later scenario.
- Choose the Top Federal Estate Rate. The 40% default matches the top bracket; leave it unless you are modeling a future law change.
- Read the result card. The Taxable Estate is the amount left after the exemption and deductions; Federal Estate Tax Owed is the highlighted bottom-line number; What Heirs Receive After Tax is the gross estate minus that tax.
Remember this is a simplified estimate. The actual Form 706 applies graduated brackets (18% on the first $10,000 of taxable estate, rising to 40% above $1M), credits, state estate taxes, and portability elections between spouses. For estates near or above the exemption, sit down with an estate attorney or CPA before filing.
The Estate Tax Formula
The federal estate tax is calculated in three clean steps:
Adjusted Gross Estate = Gross Estate − Allowable Deductions Taxable Estate = max(0, Adjusted Gross Estate − Lifetime Exemption) Estate Tax Owed = Taxable Estate × Top Rate (40% for 2024)
Where the top rate is 40% for any taxable estate above $1M. The graduated brackets below that threshold (18%, 20%, 22%… up to 39%) are worth at most a few thousand dollars on estates large enough to owe anything at all, which is why most online calculators — and this one — use the flat 40% simplification. The effective tax rate on the gross estate will look much smaller than 40% because the exemption shields the first $13.61M.
Worked example on a $15M estate with no deductions and the full $13.61M exemption: adjusted gross estate is $15,000,000; taxable estate is $1,390,000; tax owed is $556,000; effective rate on the gross estate is about 3.71%; heirs keep $14,444,000.
If the gross estate is at or below the exemption, the taxable estate floors at zero and the tax owed is zero — even if the estate is worth $13.6M, no federal estate tax is due.
What Counts Toward the Gross Estate
The IRS definition is broader than most people expect. On the date of death, the estate includes:
- Cash and deposits — checking, savings, CDs, money market accounts.
- Investments — stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, crypto, and brokerage balances at date-of-death value (or the alternate valuation date six months later, if elected).
- Real estate — homes, land, rental properties, and any interest in a partnership that holds real estate.
- Retirement accounts — IRA, 401(k), 403(b), and annuity balances. These are also income in respect of a decedent (IRD), so beneficiaries may owe income tax on distributions on top of estate tax.
- Business interests — closely held stock, partnership units, LLC memberships, and sole-proprietorship assets.
- Life insurance — proceeds paid to the estate, or policies the deceased owned any incident of ownership over.
- Vehicles, jewelry, art, collectibles — appraised fair market value.
- Certain lifetime gifts — gifts above the annual exclusion ($18,000 per donee in 2024) reduce the remaining lifetime exemption.
The unlimited marital deduction means anything left to a US-citizen spouse is not taxed at the first death — the tax is deferred until the survivor dies, at which point both spouses' exemptions can be used if portability was elected on the first spouse's Form 706.
Examples
Example 1 — The headline $15M estate. A widower leaves a $15M estate, no deductions, 2024 exemption of $13.61M. Taxable estate is $1,390,000; federal estate tax at 40% is $556,000; heirs receive about $14.44M. Effective rate on the gross estate is just 3.7% — but that $556,000 is still paid in cash within nine months of death, which is why liquidity planning matters.
Example 2 — Married couple, $25M. A combined $25M estate with both spouses using portability gets a $27.22M exemption. Taxable estate is zero; federal estate tax owed is $0. The same $25M for a single person would leave a taxable estate of $11.39M and a tax bill of $4,556,000 — a dramatic illustration of why the marital deduction and portability election matter.
Example 3 — Sun-setting scenario. Same $15M estate, but death occurs in 2026 when the exemption has dropped to roughly $7M. Taxable estate becomes $8M; tax owed jumps to $3,200,000. Sliding the exemption slider down is the fastest way to see how much the 2026 sunset could cost a family that does no gifting.
Example 4 — Deductions in action. A $14M estate with $500,000 in funeral, legal, and charitable deductions. Adjusted gross estate is $13.5M, which is below the $13.61M exemption — taxable estate is zero and tax owed is $0. Half a million dollars of well-documented deductions can completely eliminate the federal estate tax on an estate just under the threshold.
FAQ
What is the 2024 federal estate tax exemption?
For 2024 the federal estate and gift tax exemption is $13,610,000 per person, or $27,220,000 per married couple. That means an estate below $13.61M owes no federal estate tax at all. Under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, this exemption sun-sets on January 1, 2026 to roughly $7M per person unless Congress acts.
What is the federal estate tax rate?
The top federal estate tax rate is 40%. The tax is actually graduated from 18% on the first $10,000 of taxable estate up to 40% on amounts over $1M, but because the graduated tiers apply only to the portion above the multi-million-dollar exemption, the effective rate on any estate large enough to owe tax is almost exactly 40%. This calculator uses the 40% simplification.
Is estate tax the same as inheritance tax?
No. The estate tax is paid by the deceased's estate on the way out, and is a federal tax (plus a handful of states). An inheritance tax is paid by the recipient heir, and exists only in six states (Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) with exemptions that shield most immediate family. Most Americans owe neither.
Do I have to file an estate tax return?
Form 706 is required when the gross estate (plus adjusted taxable gifts) exceeds the lifetime exemption in the year of death — $13.61M for 2024. Even when no tax is due, executors of married couples should file Form 706 at the first death to elect portability of the deceased spousal unused exclusion (DSUE), so the surviving spouse can use both exemptions later.
Can gifts reduce the estate tax?
Yes. You can give up to $18,000 per donee per year in 2024 ($36,000 per couple) free of gift tax and without touching the lifetime exemption. Larger gifts eat into the $13.61M unified credit dollar-for-dollar. Spending down the estate through annual exclusion gifts, 529 plan front-loading, or a grantor retained annuity trust (GRAT) are common tools for high-net-worth families facing the 2026 sunset.
Do life insurance proceeds count in the estate?
If the deceased owned the policy (or held any incident of ownership, such as the right to change beneficiaries), the death benefit is included in the gross estate. Many families move policies into an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) three years or more before death so the payout passes outside the taxable estate.
Are retirement accounts double-taxed?
Partly. The IRA or 401(k) balance is included in the gross estate for estate tax, and non-spouse beneficiaries who inherit traditional pre-tax accounts must also pay income tax on distributions (under the SECURE Act, usually within ten years). Roth IRAs avoid the income tax but are still in the estate for estate tax purposes.
Disclaimer
This estate tax calculator is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, accounting, or financial advice. Estimates use the simplified flat 40% top-rate model and 2024 exemption figures; actual Form 706 results depend on graduated brackets, credits, deductions, state-level estate or inheritance taxes, portability elections, alternate valuation, and future law changes. Always confirm your estate plan with a qualified estate planning attorney or CPA before filing or making irrevocable decisions.