Will I Have to Pay Estate Taxes When I Die? Calculator for 2026
Short answer
For most people, no. The federal estate tax starts above $15,000,000 per person in 2026 ($30,000,000 for a married couple), and the rate on the excess is 40%. But the test is your estate on the day you die, not today. At 7% growth and 2.5% exemption indexing, a single 45-year-old with $2,689,644 today is on track to cross the federal line by age 85, and a couple with about $5,379,288. Real estate gets there faster. Some states tax estates from $1,000,000. Use the calculator below.
Estate tax calculator: will your estate cross the line?
Most calculators test your net worth today. That is the wrong test. Estate tax is charged on what you own on the day you die, which may be 30 or 40 years from now. This one grows your net worth to your age at death, grows the federal exemption too, and tells you the net worth today at which you cross the line.
Estimate only. It assumes one steady growth rate, no spending, no gifts, no charity, no debts and no deductions other than the state tax. State exemptions are today's law; most are not indexed and many will change. Use it to size the problem, not to file.
What would your estate owe, and how do you cover it?
Send your email and I'll send a plain-English read on whether your estate crosses the line, what the bill would be, and the cheapest way to cover it. If you are nowhere near it, I'll say so.
We’ll email it to you. Hans reads every one himself and replies within one business day. Hans Goldstein · NPN 20602398.
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The rules, in plain words
- Federal exemption: $15,000,000 per person for deaths in 2026, so $30,000,000 for a married couple that uses portability. Portability means the surviving spouse inherits the unused exemption, but only if the estate files a federal estate tax return (Form 706) on time.
- Rate: 40% on everything above the exemption (IRC section 2001(c)).
- Indexing: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21) set the exemption at $15,000,000 for 2026 and made it permanent, rising with inflation from 2027. Rev. Proc. 2025-32 confirms the 2026 amount. The calculator lets you pick the inflation rate. 2.5% is the default.
- Spouse: Everything left to a U.S. citizen spouse passes tax free. The tax usually shows up at the second death.
- Due date: The return and the tax are due 9 months after death (IRC section 6075), in cash.
- State tax: 12 states and Washington, DC charge their own estate tax, some starting at $1,000,000 to $2,000,000, and 5 charge an inheritance tax. The calculator includes yours. See estate and inheritance tax by state for every state.
What net worth today crosses the federal line?
This is the table most people never see. It shows the net worth you can have today and still reach the federal exemption by age 85, for a single person, with the exemption rising 2.5% a year. The formula is net worth today = exemption x ((1 + inflation) / (1 + growth)) ^ years. Couples with portability can double every number.
| Your age today | 6% growth | 7% growth | 8% growth | 9% growth | 10% growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | $2,366,362 | $1,411,874 | $846,442 | $509,855 | $308,536 |
| 35 | $2,798,925 | $1,750,232 | $1,099,251 | $693,361 | $439,188 |
| 45 | $3,915,717 | $2,689,644 | $1,853,940 | $1,282,289 | $889,894 |
| 55 | $5,478,116 | $4,133,271 | $3,126,760 | $2,371,441 | $1,803,128 |
| 65 | $7,663,925 | $6,351,744 | $5,273,433 | $4,385,697 | $3,653,548 |
Single person, death at age 85, $15,000,000 exemption in 2026 rising 2.5% a year, all assets growing at the rate shown. If your net worth today is above the number, the model says you cross the line. Married couples with portability: double the number.
Read one row. A 45-year-old growing money at 7% crosses with about $2,689,644 today. A 35-year-old at 8% crosses with about $1,099,251, and a 30-year-old at 7% with about $1,411,874. Growth does the damage, not the starting number. Your investments have to grow faster than inflation, and that is what you are trying to do anyway.
A 30-year-old worth $2 million
How easy is it for a 30-year-old worth $2,000,000 to end up owing estate tax? Easier than almost anyone thinks, because 55 years is a long time for money to compound while the exemption only rises with inflation. Single person, death at 85, $15,000,000 exemption in 2026 rising 2.5% a year, 40% rate:
| Growth per year | Estate at 85 | Indexed exemption | Federal estate tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6% | $49,300,643 | $58,331,596 | $0 |
| 7% | $82,630,003 | $58,331,596 | $9,719,363 |
| 8% | $137,827,712 | $58,331,596 | $31,798,447 |
| 9% | $228,816,523 | $58,331,596 | $68,193,971 |
| 10% | $378,118,285 | $58,331,596 | $127,914,676 |
At 6% growth the answer is no tax. One point later, at 7%, it is about $9,719,363, and at 8% it is about $31,798,447. Put the other way, a 30-year-old whose net worth today is above {{T30_7}} (7% growth) or $846,442 (8%) is on track to cross the line. This is an illustration, not a forecast. Returns are not steady, and the exemption can change.
The planning idea has a name: 1031 + 453 + ILIT = tax alpha. Part of a real estate sale goes into a 1031 exchange, part is sold on installment under IRC section 453, and the payments fund life insurance owned by an irrevocable life insurance trust, so the death benefit sits outside your estate. When you hold suspended passive losses, the losses can shelter the gain in each payment (the interest is still taxed), so the tax they save pays the premium. Education only, not tax advice. An estate attorney drafts the trust.
Why real estate makes this worse
- It compounds quietly. A $1,500,000 rental or farm growing 5% a year is worth about $10,500,000 in 40 years. Most owners do not run that number.
- It is not cash. The tax is due 9 months after death, in cash. If the estate is a building, a farm and a brokerage account, heirs may have to sell the property, often in a hurry and at a discount, to pay the bill.
- Debt does not save you as much as it feels like it does. Mortgages reduce the taxable estate, but you can only deduct what you still owe at death.
Step-up in basis is not the same as no estate tax
Two different rules apply at death and people mix them up.
- Step-up in basis (IRC section 1014) resets the tax cost of what you leave to its value at death. Your heirs can sell a building you bought for $400,000 and pay little or no capital gains tax. This is an income tax benefit.
- Estate tax is a separate tax on the total value at death. The same step-up happens whether or not the estate owes any estate tax. A large estate gets the step-up and the 40% bill.
Retirement accounts get no step-up. IRAs and 401(k)s are taxed as income when heirs take the money out, on top of any estate tax.
What to do if the calculator says you cross the line
- Put life insurance in an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT). An attorney drafts the trust and the trust owns the policy. At death the payout arrives income tax free and is not part of your taxable estate, so it does not add to the tax it is there to pay. The cash is ready when the bill is due, and the family keeps the property.
- Use the annual exclusion. In 2026 you can give $19,000 per recipient ($38,000 for a married couple giving together) with no gift tax return and no use of your exemption. Those gifts, made to an ILIT, are how the premiums usually get paid.
- Make lifetime gifts. Gifts above the annual exclusion use your lifetime exemption, but they move the future growth of the asset out of your estate. That matters most for real estate you expect to appreciate. Gifts need a gift tax return and a clear eye on the income tax basis your heirs lose (no step-up on gifted property).
- Sell the property smartly, and pay for the policy with the proceeds. If you own a property with suspended passive losses, a structured installment sale can spread the gain over years. Those carried-forward passive losses can offset the passive gain, which can leave the payments with a tax bill near zero. Losses only offset passive gain, so it depends on how much you have built up. The payments can then fund the ILIT premiums, so the same sale that handles the income tax also prepays the estate tax.
The right mix depends on your age, health and what you own. I run the numbers for free. Trusts must be drafted by an attorney licensed in your state.
The questions people search
If you came here asking "do I have to pay estate tax" or "how much net worth to pay estate tax," the calculator above answers it for your age, your growth rate and your state. The frequently asked questions below cover the rest.
Related reading
- Estate and inheritance tax by state, 2026 (all 50 states)
- Death and taxes with Hans: what your family gets and what they owe
- Inherited annuity tax calculator
- Inherited IRA 10-year rule
- Indexed universal life by buyer type
Want to know what your estate would owe, and how to cover it?
I'm Hans Goldstein, an Enrolled Agent (admitted to practice before the IRS) and independent licensed insurance producer, NPN 20602398. Tell me your age, what you own and where you live, and I'll send back what your estate would owe at death and the cheapest way to cover it.
Rather talk it through? Or book 15 minutes on Hans’s calendar, or call 213-414-2808.
Hans Goldstein · 213-414-2808 · NPN 20602398, independent licensed insurance producer appointed with multiple A-rated carriers
We’ll email it to you. Hans replies within one business day. Privacy Policy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Disclosure
This article is general education, not tax or legal advice for your situation. Federal figures are for 2026 (P.L. 119-21, Rev. Proc. 2025-32) and later years are projections that depend on inflation and on Congress. State figures are each state's 2026 law as of October 27, 2026 and change often. The calculator is an estimate that uses one steady growth rate and ignores spending, gifts, debts, charity, deductions, special farm or business rules and out-of-state property. Trusts must be drafted by an attorney licensed in your state. Hans Goldstein is an Enrolled Agent, admitted to practice before the IRS, and an independent licensed insurance producer (CA license 4273294, NPN 20602398) who may be paid a commission if you buy life insurance through him.