Estate and Inheritance Tax Calculator by State

Most estates owe no federal estate tax: the exemption is $15 million a person in 2026, and anything left to a spouse or a charity is deducted first. The states are a different story. 12 states and DC have their own estate tax, all but Connecticut starting well below that, and 5 states tax what heirs receive, at rates that depend on how they were related to the person who died. This calculator puts the federal tax, the state estate tax and each heir's inheritance tax together for one estate.

01The Calculator

02The Same Estate in Every State

What the estate and heirs in the calculator would owe in state tax in each state that charges one. In the other states only the federal tax applies.

State estate tax and inheritance tax only; the federal tax is the same in every state apart from small differences from the deduction for state taxes. Hover over a bar for the figures.

03Where Estates Are Taxed

The states with their own estate tax for deaths in 2026, from the lowest exemption to the highest. An exemption is the amount an estate can be worth, after debts and anything left to a spouse or a charity, before the state tax starts (New York is the exception; see the note below the table).

Washington's figures are for deaths from July 1, 2026, when the state went back to its 10% to 20% schedule and a $3,000,000 exemption; for deaths from January 1 to June 30, 2026 the exemption was $3,076,000 and the top rate 35%. New York charges nothing up to its exemption, but an estate worth more than 105% of it ($7,717,500) is taxed from the first dollar. Massachusetts and Rhode Island use a credit, so the tax starts small just above the exemption. Maryland subtracts any Maryland inheritance tax paid from its estate tax. Iowa ended its inheritance tax for deaths on or after January 1, 2025.

04Inheritance Tax by Relationship

In these states the tax falls on each heir's share, and the rate depends on how the heir was related to the person who died. Spouses and charities pay nothing in all of them; children pay nothing everywhere but Pennsylvania and Nebraska.

Rates apply to each heir's share; "over" amounts are exempt. Pennsylvania: children aged 21 or younger inheriting from a parent pay nothing, and so do parents inheriting from a child aged 21 or younger; the tax is cut by 5% if paid within three months; life insurance is exempt. New Jersey: no tax on a share under $500; Class C pays 11% from $25,000 to $1.1 million, rising in steps to 16% above $1.7 million. Kentucky: nieces and nephews became exempt for deaths from January 1, 2026; rates rise with the size of the share; 5% off if paid within nine months. Nebraska: a county tax; heirs under 22 pay nothing; stepchildren count as children only if the person who died treated them as a child for at least ten years. Maryland: shares of $1,000 or less are not taxed.

05The Federal Exemption Since 2000

The amount each person can leave free of federal estate tax has grown more than twentyfold since 2000, while the top rate fell from 55% to 40%. The law signed on July 4, 2025 set it at $15 million for 2026, rising with inflation after that, and removed the drop to about half that had been scheduled for 2026.

Exemption per person for deaths in each year; hover for the top rate. In 2010 estates could choose no estate tax (with less favorable rules for the cost basis of inherited assets) or the 2011 rules.

06Year-End Planning: What Changes on December 31

• The yearly gift exclusion resets. Each person can give $19,000 to as many people as they like in 2026 without filing a gift tax return or using any exemption ($194,000 a year to a spouse who is not a US citizen). Unused 2026 exclusions do not carry over.
• Gifts can still count at death in some states. New York and Minnesota add back taxable gifts made in the three years before death, Vermont two years, Maine one year, and Connecticut every taxable gift since 2005. A gift that saves state tax in one state can be pulled back into the estate in another.
• Where you live is the main state decision. A state's estate tax applies to its residents' estates (other than real estate and tangible property in another state) and to real estate and tangible property located in the state, whoever owns it. Owning a vacation home in a taxing state can bring a non-resident into that state's tax.
• A late spouse's unused exemption has to be claimed. The federal carry-over (portability) requires an estate tax return for the first spouse to die, even when no tax is due; Hawaii and Maryland allow the same (Maryland also needs a timely Maryland return); the other states do not.
• The 2027 federal exemption is due shortly. The IRS publishes the inflation-adjusted figure each autumn; it had not been announced as of October 31, 2026.

This is general information about how the taxes work, not tax or legal advice. Estate plans turn on details this calculator cannot see; talk to an estate attorney or tax adviser before acting.

07How This Works, and What It Leaves Out

The order. The calculator takes everything the person owned, subtracts debts and expenses, and splits the rest among the heirs by their shares. What goes to a spouse or a charity is deducted. State estate tax is worked out on what is left, using that state's 2026 exemption and rates. Inheritance tax is worked out separately on each heir's share. The federal tax comes last, on the same amount less the state taxes, which are deductible federally, at 40% above $15 million plus any exemption carried over from a late spouse. Lifetime taxable gifts use up the federal exemption, and count for state tax only where that state counts them.

Who pays. Estate taxes are shown as paid from the shares of heirs other than a spouse or a charity, in proportion to their shares, which is how many states' apportionment laws split it when a will says nothing. A will can direct otherwise. Inheritance tax is shown on the heir who receives the share.

What it leaves out.

• Property in more than one state. A resident's real estate or tangible property in another state is usually taxed there instead, and states prorate their tax; the calculator treats everything as located in the home state.
• Non-citizen spouses (the marital deduction then needs a qualified domestic trust), trusts, life insurance and retirement-account rules, farm and small-business deductions, and Pennsylvania's $3,500 family exemption and early-payment discount.
• A state's own unused exemption from a late spouse (Hawaii and Maryland) has to be worked out on that state's return; enter it separately from the federal amount.
• Gifts: the calculator counts each state's own lookback from the three periods you enter. Illinois is computed the way the Attorney General's calculator does it; for Maryland the 16% limit is used, which is the lower of the state's two limits for a resident estate.
• Income tax. Heirs generally get a stepped-up cost basis on inherited assets, and inherited retirement accounts are taxed as income when withdrawn; neither is an estate or inheritance tax.

08Sources

• Federal: IRS - What's new, estate and gift tax
• Federal: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (2026 inflation adjustments)
• Federal: 26 USC 2001 (rate table, computation)
• Federal: 26 USC 2010 (basic exclusion, DSUE)
• Federal: 26 USC 2056 (marital deduction, non-citizen spouse)
• Federal: IRS newsroom (no 2027 inflation release as of Oct 29 2026)
• Connecticut estate tax: CT DRS - Estate and Gift Tax Information; KeyBank 2026 state summary (data as of Oct 1 2025)
• Hawaii estate tax: HRS 236E-8 rate schedule; HRS 236E-6 applicable exclusion; HRS 236E-2 definitions; Creative Planning 2026 state estate taxes (updated Jun 5 2026)
• Illinois estate tax: Illinois AG estate tax instruction sheet (2023 decedents); Much Shelist via National Law Review - What is the Illinois estate tax rate (Jun 24 2021); Creative Planning 2026 state estate taxes (updated Jun 5 2026); KeyBank 2026 state summary
• Maine estate tax: Maine Revenue Services - Estate Tax (706ME); 36 MRSA 4119 inflation adjustment
• Maryland estate tax: Md. Tax-General 7-309; Maryland Comptroller Form MET-1 (2026, Rev. 07/26)
• Massachusetts estate tax: Mass. DOR - Massachusetts estate tax guide; Form M-706 instructions (deaths on/after 8/1/25); Mass. DOR Form M-706 (deaths on or after 8/1/25), Table B
• Minnesota estate tax: Minn. Stat. 291.03; Minn. Stat. 291.016
• New York estate tax: NY DTF - Estate tax; NY Tax Law 952; NY ET-706 instructions; Faegre Drinker - NY extended clawback (Apr 3 2026)
• Oregon estate tax: ORS 118.010 (public.law mirror); Oregon DOR estate tax
• Rhode Island estate tax: RI Division of Taxation ADV 2025-27; RI H 7312 (2026) text; BillTrack50 - H 7312 status (dead 6/11/2026)
• Vermont estate tax: 32 VSA 7442a; 32 VSA 7402
• Washington estate tax: WA DOR estate tax tables; RCW 83.100.020; WA House Bill Report ESB 6347; BDO - Washington enacts millionaires tax, estate changes (Apr 28 2026); Stokes Lawrence via Legal 500 (Mar 31 2026)
• District of Columbia estate tax: DC OTR 2026 Form D-76
• Pennsylvania inheritance tax: PA Department of Revenue - Inheritance Tax; 72 P.S. 9116 - Rate of inheritance tax (FindLaw, current as of 2026-01-01); Philadelphia Register of Wills - Inheritance Tax; Montour County Register of Wills - Inheritance Tax FAQ; Wealth Strategies Journal - PA inheritance tax rate reduced to 0% for parent to child 21 and under (HB 262, 2019)
• New Jersey inheritance tax: NJ Division of Taxation - Inheritance Tax Rates; NJ Division of Taxation - Transfer Inheritance Tax Beneficiary Classes; NJ Form O-10-C General Information - Inheritance and Estate Tax (01-17, R-13); N.J.S.A. 54:34-2 (Justia, 2025 code); N.J.S.A. 54:34-1 (Justia, 2025 code); N.J.A.C. 18:26-2.6 Class C rates
• Kentucky inheritance tax: KRS 140.070 - Classification of beneficiaries; rates (effective 2026-04-27, LRC note: applies to deaths on or after 2026-01-01); KRS 140.080 - Exemptions (effective 2026-04-27); KY Legislature - 2026 HB 869 record (Acts ch. 198, signed 2026-04-27); KRS 140.060 - Exempt transfers to charitable, educational, religious institutions and public bodies; KRS 140.030 - Life insurance proceeds; KY Department of Revenue - Inheritance and Estate Tax; KY Department of Revenue - Inheritance Tax Guide 92F101 (1-21)
• Nebraska inheritance tax: Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-2004 (immediate relatives); Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-2005 (remote relatives); Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-2006 (all others); Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-2007.04 (charitable exemption); Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-2002 (property taxable; trust life insurance; three-year rule); LB 838 (2026) slip law; McGrath North - The Nuts and Bolts of Nebraska's Inheritance Tax (2008; county administration, life insurance); Ballotpedia - Nebraska 2026 ballot measures
• Maryland inheritance tax: Md. Code Tax-General 7-203 (exemptions); Md. Code Tax-General 7-204 (rate); Maryland Register of Wills - Taxes; Maryland Comptroller - Form MET-1 (Rev. 07/26), line 14a Maryland inheritance tax paid; Maryland Comptroller - Administrative Release 30 (credit for inheritance tax paid); Md. Code Tax-General 7-309 (estate tax exclusion); Maryland General Assembly - HB 17 (2026), Chapter 504
• Credit table used by Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Illinois: Mass. DOR Form M-706 (deaths on or after 8/1/25), Table B

Rules checked against these sources on October 31, 2026, for deaths in 2026. Related: Capital Gains Tax Calculator · RMD Calculator · Social Security Calculator · all Financial Tools