US Estate Tax Calculator: Gift Tax and Lifetime Exemption

US federal estate tax: 2026 exemption and annual gifting

US federal estate tax takes 40% of the estate above the lifetime exemption, set at $15 million per person in 2026 ($30 million for a married couple using portability of the deceased spouse's exemption). The tool projects your estate, removes tax-free annual gifts ($19,000 per recipient per donor) and shows how much tax those gifts avoid.

How the tool calculates

• Remaining exemption = $15M ($30M for a couple) − taxable gifts already reported on Form 709.
• Annual gifts = amount per recipient, capped at $19,000 ($38,000 for a couple), × number of recipients.
• Projected estate: each year, (estate − gifts) × (1 + growth).
• Tax = (projected estate − remaining exemption) × 40%.

Example (default values)

Married couple, $22M estate, $3M of past taxable gifts, 4 recipients at $19,000 a year for 10 years, 6% growth. Remaining exemption: $27M. After $760,000 of gifts the estate reaches $38,336,804; the taxable $11,336,804 gives $4,534,722 of tax. Without the gifts the tax would be $4,959,460, so the gifts save $424,738. Heirs receive $34,562,083 in total, gifts included.

Assumptions and limits

• The exemption stays at its 2026 amount over the whole horizon, although it will be indexed for inflation, so projected tax is overstated.
• For couples the tool assumes both exemptions are used (portability election) and ignores the unlimited marital deduction that defers tax to the second death.
• Flat 40% on the excess; no state estate or inheritance taxes.
• The "TCJA expiry" option recalculates with an exemption of about $7M per person: that scenario no longer matches the law since the OBBBA and is off by default.

This is an estimate, not legal or wealth-planning advice.

Sources and dates: $15M exemption and $19,000 annual exclusion for 2026, IRS release IR-2025-103 of 09/10/2025 (Rev. Proc. 2025-32); exemption made permanent and indexed by the OBBBA (P.L. 119-21 of 04/07/2025), effective 01/01/2026 (checked on 14/10/2026).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the federal estate tax exemption in 2026?

$15 million per person for deaths in 2026 (IRS, IR-2025-103), or $30 million for a couple electing portability of the first spouse's exemption. Above that, the tax rate is 40%. The OBBBA made this amount permanent and indexed for inflation from 2027.

Did the exemption drop on 1 January 2026 as planned?

No. The TCJA would have taken it back to about $7 million per person in 2026, but the OBBBA of 4 July 2025 set it at $15 million and made it permanent. The tool's "TCJA expiry" option is now only a comparison with the old scenario and is off by default.

How much can I give each year without using my exemption?

$19,000 per recipient per donor in 2026, or $38,000 for a married couple giving together. These gifts do not use up the lifetime exemption. In the default example, raising gifts from $19,000 to $38,000 per recipient lifts the 10-year tax saving from $424,738 to $849,476.

Do past taxable gifts reduce the exemption?

Yes. Gifts above the annual exclusion, reported on Form 709, count against the unified gift and estate exemption. The tool subtracts the amount you enter: with $3M already used, a couple keeps $27M of its $30M exemption.

Is this tool really free?

Yes, all tools on Kristools are 100% free and accessible without registration.

Is my data protected?

Yes. All processing is performed directly and securely inside your browser. No personal data is sent to our servers.