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Estate Tax Calculator

Screen documented gross estate and adjusted taxable gifts against a verified Form 706 filing threshold—without estimating estate tax or distributions.

Use this result well

Inputs that matter
Gross estate from current records, adjusted taxable gifts, any applicable legacy specific gift-tax exemption, and the verified filing threshold for the year of death
Output to expect
Form 706 filing comparison amount and the amount above or below the entered threshold
How it works
IRS filing-threshold screen only: add the three entered comparison components and test whether the sum is more than the entered year-of-death threshold
  • Confirm citizenship/residency/domicile, included property, valuation date, adjusted taxable gifts, legacy specific exemption, and the current threshold with Form 706 instructions or a qualified preparer.
  • This screen does not calculate deductions, taxable estate, unified credit, estate tax, state tax, or distributions; portability or a nonresident/noncitizen path can require filing regardless of this comparison.

Choose your path

Built around the job you need to finish

Screen one documented U.S. citizen/resident estate against the verified year-of-death Form 706 filing threshold without claiming taxable estate, tax due, or net distributions.

Executor gathering current records

Check whether the documented comparison amount crosses the current filing threshold.

Enter gross estate, adjusted taxable gifts, any applicable legacy specific exemption, and the verified year-of-death threshold.

Can reproduce the threshold screen and knows a full Form 706 analysis is still required.

Surviving spouse considering portability

Avoid treating a below-threshold amount as proof no return is needed.

Run the numeric screen, then follow the portability-specific Form 706 route regardless of estate size.

Preserves the timely portability decision instead of relying on the threshold result.

Representative with nonresident/noncitizen facts

Recognize that the ordinary citizen/resident screen is not the applicable filing test.

Stop at the scope warning and use Form 706-NA, treaty, domicile, and U.S.-situated-asset guidance.

Does not apply the $15M citizen/resident threshold as a universal rule.

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Reference & details

How it works

Use Prepared Record Values

The tool does not value property or decide what belongs in the gross estate. Use a consistent date, ownership scope, and amount prepared from current records and applicable Form 706 guidance.

Inputs = documented gross estate + documented adjusted taxable gifts + applicable legacy specific exemption

Apply the Filing Comparison

IRS describes the ordinary citizen/resident filing screen as gross estate increased by adjusted taxable gifts and the specific gift-tax exemption, compared with the filing threshold for the year of death.

Filing Comparison Amount = Gross Estate + Adjusted Taxable Gifts + Specific Gift-Tax Exemption

Keep Filing and Tax Separate

A comparison amount more than the threshold indicates a filing-threshold path, not the estate tax. A full return applies valuation, schedules, deductions, prior transfers, rates, credits, elections, and other rules the calculator does not model.

Screened Excess = max(0, Filing Comparison Amount - Entered Threshold)

Updated: August 2026

Example Scenarios

An executor has a prepared gross-estate amount and prior taxable-gift record for a 2026 citizen/resident decedent.

Gross Estate: $14,400,000Adjusted Taxable Gifts: $900,0002026 Filing Threshold: $15,000,000

Filing comparison amount: $15,300,000; amount above entered threshold: $300,000; tax remains unresolved

The documented components add exactly to the entered threshold; the IRS wording for this ordinary screen is more than the threshold.

Comparison Amount: $15,000,000Entered Threshold: $15,000,000

Not above the entered threshold; confirm portability and every other filing path separately

A surviving spouse may need a timely Form 706 portability election even when the ordinary comparison is below the threshold.

Comparison Amount: $6,000,000Portability Review: Required outside this calculator

Numeric screen is below threshold; portability filing decision remains open

FAQ

The current IRS estate-tax FAQ lists $15,000,000 for a 2026 citizen/resident decedent. Verify the official year-of-death threshold when you use the tool because law, status, and form instructions control.

The filing comparison is not the tax computation. Form 706 separately addresses property inclusion and valuation, deductions, adjusted taxable gifts, rates, credits, elections, generation-skipping transfer tax, and other schedules.

Yes. IRS identifies portability as a separate filing path regardless of estate size, and nonresident/noncitizen estates with U.S.-situated assets can follow Form 706-NA and treaty rules. State estate or inheritance filings are also outside this screen.

About Estate Tax Calculator

Use this page for one narrow Form 706 filing-threshold screen. Enter the gross estate, adjusted taxable gifts, any applicable legacy specific gift-tax exemption, and the verified threshold for the year of death. The result does not determine property inclusion or value, deductions, taxable estate, unified credit, portability, state tax, tax due, or distributions.