OBBB Estate Tax Exemption 2026 Calculator
Estimate federal estate tax under the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB, P.L. 119-21) — exemption raised and made permanent at $15M per individual / $30M per married couple for deaths in 2026. Includes 40% top bracket, portability (DSUE) and lifetime gift offsets. Free, private, no sign-up.
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What is the OBBB estate tax exemption?
The federal estate and gift tax exemption is the dollar amount each U.S. taxpayer can transfer during life or at death before owing any federal estate tax. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB, P.L. 119-21) signed in July 2025, the exemption was raised to $15,000,000 per individual for deaths and lifetime gifts after December 31, 2025, and the higher amount was made permanent. The original TCJA sunset that would have cut the exemption roughly in half on January 1, 2026 has been repealed.
For married couples, full portability of the deceased spouse's unused exemption (DSUE) is preserved, so a couple with a coordinated estate plan can shield up to $30,000,000. Anything above the available exemption is taxed at the federal rate of 40% (the top bracket remains unchanged from prior law).
How the 2026 calculation works
Federal estate tax is computed in three steps. First, the gross estate is reduced by deductions — debts, funeral and administration expenses, qualifying charitable bequests, and the unlimited marital deduction. Second, post-1976 taxable lifetime gifts are added back to compute the "tentative tax base." Third, the unified credit (the dollar amount equal to tax on $15M of exemption) is subtracted to arrive at federal estate tax due.
Because the exemption is unified across lifetime gifts and estate transfers, every dollar of taxable lifetime gift already filed on Form 709 reduces the amount of exemption left at death. This calculator estimates the tax assuming the simplified 40% marginal rate applies to amounts above the available exemption — sufficient accuracy for planning since 99% of taxable estates are well above the bracket threshold of $1M.
Why this matters for 2026 planning
For estates between roughly $7M and $15M, OBBB removed the "use it or lose it" urgency that drove a wave of 2025 gifting. A taxpayer who already made a large lifetime gift to lock in the higher TCJA exemption does not lose ground — the $15M exemption is permanent — but the planning calculus for 2026 returns to long-term wealth transfer questions rather than short-term political risk. Estates above $15M (or $30M for couples) still face the 40% rate and should continue active gifting, GRATs, and ILIT strategies.
State-level estate or inheritance taxes still apply separately in 12 states plus DC. Those exemptions are often much lower (e.g. $2M in MA and OR, $1M in RI, $7.16M in NY for 2026) and have not changed under federal OBBB. Use this calculator only for the federal portion.
Source: irs.gov — Form 706 instructions and Rev. Proc. 2025-37. Updated May 2026 reflecting OBBB (P.L. 119-21).