Use this free estate tax calculator to screen a large estate against the 2026 federal basic exclusion using gross estate, deductions, spouse transfers, charitable bequests, and prior taxable gifts.
$18,000,000 estate less deductions and 2026 exclusion
This is not the Form 706 tax computation. It is a rough federal exclusion screen before professional estate and tax advice.
Screen whether a large estate might exceed the 2026 federal exclusion.
See how debts, charitable bequests, or spouse transfers change the rough taxable amount.
Account for prior taxable gifts at a high level.
Prepare better questions for an estate attorney or tax professional.
$1,000,000 simplified federal estimate above the 2026 exclusion
$1,760,000 simplified estimate after deductions
$680,000 simplified estimate after reduced exclusion
Need a slower walkthrough, a related calculator, or the full library? These links keep you close to the task you started.
Plain-language answers about when to use the estimate, what your numbers mean, what is left out, and how privacy works.
Use it when you want to test the exact inputs on this page: Screen whether a large estate might exceed the 2026 federal exclusion. See how debts, charitable bequests, or spouse transfers change the rough taxable amount. The result is a check against your assumptions, not proof that a lender, tax app, broker, platform, or provider will use the same number.
Gross estate means the rough total value of the estate before the deductions you enter on this page. Debts and expenses means mortgages, debts, and estate costs you want to subtract in this rough screen. Charitable bequests means amounts going to qualified charities that you want treated as deductions in the estimate. Spouse transfers means amounts passing to a surviving spouse that you want removed from the rough taxable estate. Prior taxable gifts means lifetime taxable gifts that may have already used part of the lifetime exclusion.
It uses the IRS-published 2026 federal basic exclusion amount of $15,000,000 for estates of decedents who die during 2026. If the year of death is different, use the IRS threshold for that year instead.
No. This is a rough exclusion screen. Form 706 uses detailed asset values, deductions, adjusted taxable gifts, credits, elections, schedules, and supporting records. Use this page to spot whether the numbers deserve a professional review, not to file.
Prior taxable gifts can use part of the lifetime exclusion before death. This simplified model subtracts the prior taxable gifts you enter from the 2026 basic exclusion before estimating the amount above the exclusion.
No. Portability and the deceased spousal unused exclusion are handled through Form 706 rules and deadlines. The IRS says a timely, complete Form 706 is generally needed to elect portability, so this page does not try to model it.
In plain language: The calculator subtracts entered debts, charitable bequests, and spouse transfers, reduces the 2026 basic exclusion by prior taxable gifts, then applies a simplified 40% top-rate estimate above the remaining exclusion. If the answer looks wrong, check the gross estate first, then the deduction fields, then prior taxable gifts. This is not the full Form 706 tax computation.
Start with the estimated federal estate tax, then read the supporting lines. Estate before exclusion shows what is left after the deductions you entered. Remaining basic exclusion shows how much of the 2026 exclusion is still left in this simplified screen. Above exclusion is the amount this page applies the 40% estimate to.
Estate tax is complex. This estimate does not run the Form 706 tax computation and does not include state estate tax, generation-skipping tax, full gift tax calculations, portability, valuation discounts, trusts, elections, or legal advice. Use IRS instructions and a qualified professional for filing decisions, portability, tax due dates, and state rules.
Check the year of death, gross estate value, debts, spouse transfers, charity amounts, and prior taxable gifts. Also check whether a state estate tax, inheritance tax, portability election, GST tax, trust, farm, business, or valuation issue needs a professional review.
No. Some states have their own estate tax or inheritance tax rules. This calculator only screens a simplified federal estate tax scenario.
Get professional estate and tax help when the estate may be near the filing threshold, when portability matters, when there are trusts, business interests, farms, non-U.S. issues, large gifts, disputed values, state taxes, or generation-skipping transfers.
IRS Form 706 is generally due within 9 months after the date of death, with an automatic 6-month filing extension available through Form 4768 when requested on time. Tax payments can have their own rules, so do not wait on a calculator result.
No. The calculator runs in your browser tab. Recent answers stay only on the page while you use it, and they are not sent to a server.