Self-employment & estate
Does federal estate tax apply? A calculator for the 2026 exclusion
An estate tax calculator for 2026: families compare a taxable estate with the $15,000,000 ($30,000,000 for a married couple using portability)2026 · IRS exclusion and see the federal tax at 40%2026 · IRS and what reaches heirs.
Included on every plan, even the free Practitioner plan. No card needed.
How is federal estate tax calculated in 2026?
Subtract the basic exclusion ($15,000,000 ($30,000,000 for a married couple using portability)2026 · IRS) from the taxable estate; the excess is taxed at an effective 40%2026 · IRS, because the exclusion absorbs the lower brackets. Lifetime taxable gifts reduce the exclusion, and the marital and charitable deductions reduce the taxable estate. Most estates owe nothing federally; state estate taxes can still apply.
The fourth quarter, during annual gifting reviews
The question often comes from adult children or from clients who just sold a business or a property and saw their net worth on paper. With exclusion figures in the headlines, clients want to know whether they are anywhere near the threshold before they pay for estate planning, and they search before year-end gifting decisions.
What the client types into a search box
“will my kids have to pay estate tax”
How a client works through it
Enter the taxable estate
Total assets less debts and deductions, as the client understands them.
Check the exemption
The 2026 basic exclusion is prefilled; clients can change it to test scenarios.
Check the rate
The top federal rate is prefilled.
See tax and net to heirs
Estate tax, the taxable amount above the exemption and the net to heirs.
What lands in your inbox
When a client asks your firm to review the result, the request arrives as a contact record with their inputs and results attached, by email and, on paid plans, by webhook to your CRM.
Received
Estate value, the exemption entered and the rate show where the family stands. Estates near the exclusion suggest portability and gifting conversations. Large estates suggest an engagement involving an attorney. An exemption entered below the federal figure may mean the client is thinking about a state tax.
What does 'net to heirs' show?
Estate Tax is the federal tax on the Taxable Estate above the Exemption Applied. Net to Heirs is the Estate Value minus that tax, before state taxes, costs of administration and income tax on inherited retirement accounts.
For estates below the exemption the tax is zero, and the useful output is the margin: how much growth or a future inheritance it would take to cross the line.
Results shown: Estate Tax · Taxable Estate · Exemption Applied · Estate Value · Net to Heirs.
An estate above the exclusion
An unmarried client's taxable estate is $17,000,000. Subtracting a $15,000,000 exclusion leaves $2,000,000, taxed at 40%: $800,000 of federal estate tax, leaving $16,200,000 to heirs before state taxes and expenses. The same estate held by a married couple using portability would owe nothing federally.
How do CPA firms and planners use an estate tax estimate?
For most visitors, the calculator delivers good news: no federal estate tax. That is still valuable, because it moves the conversation to the issues that matter for them, such as state estate taxes, basis step-up, beneficiary designations and incapacity planning.
For the clients who are near or above the exclusion, it starts a high-value engagement: lifetime gifting, trusts, portability elections and coordination with estate attorneys.
Follow-ups this request opens
- Review a portability election for a surviving spouse
- Plan annual and lifetime gifts and file gift tax returns
- Estimate state estate or inheritance tax exposure
- Coordinate with the family's estate attorney on trusts
What this calculator leaves out
- Portability, the marital deduction and the charitable deduction are not modeled.
- Lifetime taxable gifts that reduce the exclusion are not included.
- State estate and inheritance taxes are excluded.
- Applies the top rate to the excess rather than the full graduated schedule.
Platform disclaimer shown under the calculator: Estimates only. Applies the top 40% federal rate to the amount above the exemption (the 2026 basic exclusion is $15,000,000 per person). Lifetime taxable gifts, state estate or inheritance taxes, the marital/charitable deductions and portability are not modeled. Consult an estate-planning attorney.
Compliance note for firms
Estate planning involves legal work, and recommending trusts or gifting strategies goes beyond tax arithmetic. CPAs and EAs should keep advice within their competence under Circular 230 and refer legal drafting to attorneys. Advisers should avoid presenting the calculator as a planning recommendation.
Not legal advice. See our disclaimer and the guide to compliance for client calculators.
2026 figures this page relies on
| Figure | Value | Tax year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal estate tax basic exclusion (per person) | $15,000,000 ($30,000,000 for a married couple using portability) | 2026 | IRS |
| Top federal estate tax rate | 40% | 2026 | IRS |
The same values drive the calculator. Full list on the 2026 figures page.
Terms your client sees in the calculator
These definitions appear in the calculator's collapsible Definitions block, so clients don't have to call to ask what a label means.
- Estate tax
- A federal tax on the transfer of property at death, paid out of the estate before assets pass to heirs. It applies only to the value above the exemption. This calculator applies the top 40% federal rate to that excess, the 2026 figure stated in its assumptions, and does not model state taxes.
- Taxable estate
- The value of everything owned at death, less debts, funeral and administration expenses, and deductions such as the marital and charitable deductions. It is the figure the exemption is subtracted from. The calculator treats your entry as already net of those items, so enter the value after deductions.
- Basic exclusion amount
- The amount of an estate shielded from federal estate tax. For 2026 the basic exclusion is $15,000,000 per person (IRS, 2026), reduced by any lifetime taxable gifts. Only value above it is taxed. The calculator subtracts it from the taxable estate to find the amount subject to tax.
- Estate tax rate
- The percentage applied to the amount above the exemption. The federal rate schedule is graduated, but because the exemption absorbs the lower brackets, estates above it in effect pay the top 40% rate on each excess dollar (the 2026 figure this calculator uses). The field can be changed to test other assumptions.
- Portability
- An election that lets a surviving spouse use the deceased spouse’s unused exemption. With it, a married couple can shield up to $30,000,000 in 2026 (IRS, 2026). It is made on a timely filed estate tax return for the first spouse to die. The calculator does not apply it automatically; enter the combined exemption if it applies.
- Lifetime taxable gifts
- Gifts made during your lifetime above the annual gift tax exclusion. They use up part of the same exemption that covers the estate at death, so less exemption is left for the estate. This calculator does not track gifts; reduce the exemption you enter by any lifetime taxable gifts already made.
In our glossary: Estate tax exclusion · Portability
Estate Tax Planning calculator: questions from firms and clients
What is the federal estate tax exclusion for 2026?
$15,000,000 ($30,000,000 for a married couple using portability)2026 · IRS.
What rate applies above the exclusion?
Effectively 40%2026 · IRS, because the exclusion absorbs the lower brackets of the graduated schedule.
Does the calculator include portability?
No. A surviving spouse can use the deceased spouse's unused exclusion if a timely estate tax return elects portability. That is a key planning point the firm should raise.
Do lifetime gifts matter?
Yes. Taxable gifts above the annual exclusion use up part of the lifetime exclusion. The calculator does not subtract them, so clients who have made large gifts should tell the firm.
What about state estate taxes?
Several states have their own estate or inheritance taxes with much lower thresholds. The calculator covers federal tax only.
Do retirement accounts count?
Yes, they are part of the estate, and heirs also pay income tax when they withdraw from inherited pre-tax accounts.
Is this calculator a substitute for an estate plan?
No. It answers one question, federal estate tax exposure, and the answer is a starting point for planning.
Which plan includes it?
Every plan, including the free Practitioner plan, which runs up to 5 calculators at once alongside the other tax tools. Firm (up to 50) and Network (no cap) add webhooks and white-label. See pricing.
No question matches that filter. Clear it to see them all, search the whole site, or ask us directly; we reply within one business day.
Clients who ask this usually ask next
Charitable Giving Tax Savings
how much will my donation save me on taxes this year
Net Worth
what is my net worth
Inherited IRA RMD
do I have to take money out of my inherited IRA
All “Self-employment & estate” calculators · Everything in Taxes
Next entry
Answer the October question before the client calls
Embed the Estate Tax Planning calculator on your firm's site in an afternoon and receive requests with the numbers already filled in.
Firm and Network plans include a 14-day trial. Cancel before it ends and you pay nothing.