Lifestyle · estate
Death & money: will your estate owe tax?
A point-in-time estate calculator asks what you'd owe today. This asks the real planning question: what will your estate be worth at the end, and will it owe tax then?
The estate tax is a future problem, not a today problem. So the useful question is what your net worth grows to by the end, not what it is now. This projects your estate forward to your expected age at death, then runs it through the same verified engines as the estate and state-estate calculators: the 2026 federal $15 million exclusion, the 40% rate, and your state's estate tax.
Deducted from the taxable estate.
Enter your net worth and time horizon.
Worked example
Two estates projected from age 55 to 85 at 6%, one comfortable, one large:
| Measure | $2,000,000 in California | $12,000,000 in Washington |
|---|---|---|
| Projected estate at death | $15,672,462 | $77,292,853 |
| Federal estate tax | $268,985 | $24,917,141 |
| State estate tax | $0 | $25,975,899 |
| Total death tax | $268,985 | $50,893,040 |
The $2,000,000 estate grows to $15,672,462 but still owes no federal estate tax, it's under the $15M exclusion. And nothing to California, which has no estate tax. The $12,000,000 estate grows past $15M and into Washington's estate tax, showing how projection, not today's balance, is what decides the bill.
Questions
Why project forward instead of using today's net worth?
Because the estate tax applies at death, and 30 years of growth can carry an estate from comfortably under the exclusion to well over it. Planning is about the future value, which is exactly what point-in-time calculators miss.
Isn't the federal exclusion enormous?
Yes, $15 million per person in 2026, $30 million for a married couple using portability, so the federal estate tax reaches very few estates. State estate taxes are the real story for most: a dozen-odd states tax estates, some starting at $1 million.
How does a charitable bequest help?
Gifts to charity at death are fully deductible from the taxable estate, dollar for dollar. For a large estate, a bequest can drop it below a threshold and eliminate tax on the rest.
Related tools
- Estate tax calculator the point-in-time federal version
- State estate & inheritance tax the state layer
- Inheritance tax what heirs owe on what they receive
Projects net worth on a steady assumed return, then applies the verified 2026 estate rules. An estimate, not a plan. Not tax or legal advice.