Estate & Gift Taxes in 2026
The federal exemption is $15 million per person. The numbers that matter, portability, and the state-level layer.
Key facts
- Federal estate, gift, and GST exemption for 2026: $15,000,000 per person — $30,000,000 per married couple with portability (IRS).
- The annual gift exclusion is $19,000 per recipient in 2026; annual-exclusion gifts never touch your lifetime exemption.
- 12 states and DC levy their own estate tax and 5 states levy an inheritance tax, often with far lower thresholds (Tax Foundation).
The federal numbers
Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21, signed July 4, 2025), the federal basic exclusion amount is $15,000,000 per individual for deaths and gifts in 2026, indexed for inflation in later years. The top estate- and gift-tax rate remains 40% on amounts above the exemption. Unlike the 2017 tax law, this increase has no scheduled sunset.
Estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer (GST) taxes share this unified exemption: taxable lifetime gifts reduce what's left to shelter your estate at death.
Gifts that never count
Three categories of transfer don't consume any exemption. First, annual-exclusion gifts: up to $19,000 per recipient per year in 2026 ($38,000 for a couple electing gift-splitting), to as many people as you like. Second, direct payments of tuition to a school or medical expenses to a provider, which are unlimited. Third, transfers to a U.S.-citizen spouse, which are unlimited under the marital deduction.
Portability
A surviving spouse can inherit the deceased spouse's unused exemption — but only if the executor files a federal estate tax return (Form 706) electing portability, even when no tax is due. Skipping this filing is a common and irreversible mistake for couples whose combined assets could ever approach the exemption.
Don't forget the states
Per the Tax Foundation's 2025 survey, 12 states and the District of Columbia impose their own estate taxes and five states levy inheritance taxes (paid by the recipient); Maryland imposes both. State exemptions are often far below the federal figure — Oregon's, for example, starts at $1 million — so families well under the federal threshold can still owe state tax. Your state of domicile, and where your real estate sits, both matter.
References
This guide is educational only and is not legal, tax, or investment advice. Laws vary by state and change over time; confirm current figures with the linked primary sources or a licensed professional in your state.
Related guides
What is the federal estate-tax exemption — and what happened to the 2026 sunset?
For years, planners warned of a "cliff" that would cut the lifetime exemption in half. Here is what the basic exclusion amount is, why the sunset mattered, and what Public Law 119-21 changed for 2026.
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