Inheritance Tax Calculator
Price what a beneficiary actually receives — inheritance tax is set by who you are to the deceased, not by how large the estate was.
Inheritance Tax Calculator
Results recalculate instantly on every keystroke. Nothing you type is transmitted.
What this result does not account for
- Results are a model, not a quotation — an institution's own figures govern.
- Every input is an assumption; change one and the answer changes with it.
- Rounding is applied only at the display layer, so totals may differ by a cent from a statement that rounds each line.
In short: A $500,000 bequest in Pennsylvania costs an adult child $22,500 at 4.5%, a sibling $60,000 at 12%, and a friend $75,000 at 15% — the same money, taxed three different ways. Only five states levy it, there is no federal equivalent, and the beneficiary pays it personally.
Formula
The class rate depends entirely on the beneficiary's relationship to the deceased. Pennsylvania charges 0% to a spouse, 4.5% to lineal heirs, 12% to siblings and 15% to everyone else, with no dollar threshold at all.
Worked Example
- Identify your class. Spouse, lineal heir, sibling or other. This single fact determines the rate; the size of the estate does not enter into it.
- Subtract any class exemption. Pennsylvania has none — tax applies from the first dollar. Nebraska exempts $100,000 for close relatives, New Jersey $25,000 for siblings.
- Apply the class rate. $500,000 at the 4.5% lineal rate is $22,500, leaving $477,500.
- Take the early-payment discount. Pennsylvania allows 5% off if paid within three months of death, saving $1,125 here.
- Compare the alternatives. The same $500,000 costs a sibling $60,000 and a friend $75,000. The gap between a child and a friend is $52,500 on identical money.
Pennsylvania is used as the default because it is the outlier that surprises ordinary families: it is the only inheritance tax state that charges adult children, and it does so from the first dollar with no threshold.
Strengths & Limits Of This Model
Where this engine is strong
- Runs entirely in your browser — no figure you type is transmitted or stored.
- Shows the full working, so every number can be traced and challenged.
- Free, unmetered and free of affiliate incentives.
Where it stops
- Generalised assumptions cannot capture every individual circumstance.
- Jurisdiction-specific rules and mid-year changes may not be reflected.
- A model output is not a substitute for a professional review of your position.
Practical Use Cases
Working out what you will actually receive
An executor's figure is the gross bequest. Your class rate determines what survives to reach your bank account, and you pay it personally.
Planning bequests to unmarried partners
An unmarried partner is Class D or 'other' everywhere, paying the top rate. This is the single costliest oversight in inheritance tax states.
Deciding whether to gift during life
Assets given away before death leave the estate entirely. Pennsylvania imposes no gift tax, so $100,000 gifted removes $4,500 of future inheritance tax.
Sizing the cash a beneficiary must find
Inheriting an illiquid asset such as a house still triggers the tax in cash — check the position against the Estate Tax Calculator.
Methodology & Editorial Standards
Only five states levy an inheritance tax in 2026: Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Iowa repealed its own for deaths on or after 1 January 2025 and is no longer included. There is no federal inheritance tax. The tax is imposed by the state where the deceased lived, not where the beneficiary lives, and every one of the five exempts surviving spouses entirely. The engine models a flat class rate above a class exemption, which matches Pennsylvania and Maryland exactly; Kentucky, Nebraska and New Jersey use graduated bands within a class, so those results are close approximations. The comparison cards use Pennsylvania's 4.5%, 12% and 15% class rates. Retirement accounts are generally included at date-of-death value. Inheritance tax is separate from and additional to any estate tax, and Maryland is the only state that levies both. The engine implements the standard published formula for this calculation. Inputs are validated for domain and sign before evaluation, and any undefined case returns an em-dash rather than a spurious value.
Computation runs in IEEE-754 double precision at full internal precision; rounding to two decimal places occurs strictly at the display layer, so no cumulative drift enters the result. All monetary outputs use accounting presentation — grouped thousands, two decimals, negatives in parentheses — so figures can be transcribed directly into a model or working paper. Division-by-zero and out-of-domain inputs return an em-dash rather than a misleading number.
This engine was reconciled against an independent reference implementation and hand-verified for the worked example above before release. Our full five-stage review process is published on the About Us page.
Disclaimer. This calculator is provided for informational and modelling purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, legal, medical, or engineering advice. Verify all figures with a qualified professional before acting on them.
Inheritance Tax Calculator — 20 Expert FAQs
20 analyst-written answers to the questions practitioners actually ask — optimised for voice and answer-engine retrieval.
Do I have to pay tax on money I inherit?
Only in five states, and only depending on your relationship to the deceased. There is no federal inheritance tax, and inherited money is not income for federal income tax purposes.
Which states have an inheritance tax in 2026?
Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Iowa repealed its own for deaths on or after 1 January 2025, reducing the list from six to five.
What is the difference between estate tax and inheritance tax?
Estate tax is paid by the estate before distribution and depends on the estate's size. Inheritance tax is paid by each beneficiary on what they receive and depends on their relationship to the deceased.
Do children pay inheritance tax?
In Pennsylvania yes, at 4.5% from the first dollar — it is the only state that taxes adult children. Kentucky, Maryland and New Jersey exempt them entirely; Nebraska taxes them at 1% above $100,000.
How much is Pennsylvania inheritance tax?
0% for a spouse, 4.5% for children, grandchildren and parents, 12% for siblings, and 15% for everyone else. There is no minimum threshold at any rate.
Which state's rules apply if I live elsewhere?
The state where the deceased lived, not where you live. A Florida resident inheriting from a Pennsylvania parent still pays Pennsylvania inheritance tax.
Do unmarried partners pay more inheritance tax?
Substantially more. An unmarried partner falls into the highest class everywhere, paying 15% in Pennsylvania where a spouse would pay nothing — $75,000 against $0.00 on $500,000.
When is inheritance tax due?
Generally within nine months of the date of death. Pennsylvania offers a 5% discount for payment within three months, worth $1,125 on a $22,500 bill.
Is an inherited IRA subject to inheritance tax?
In most inheritance tax states yes, valued at the date of death. That is separate from the federal income tax you will owe as you draw the account down.
Can lifetime gifts avoid inheritance tax?
Yes. Pennsylvania has no gift tax and taxes only what the deceased owned at death, so assets given away during life escape entirely — subject to a one-year lookback on deathbed transfers.
Does inheriting a house trigger the tax?
Yes, on its date-of-death value, and the tax is payable in cash. Beneficiaries who inherit property without liquid assets often have to borrow or sell to settle it.
Do I pay income tax on an inheritance too?
Generally no. The inheritance itself is not income. Income the assets generate after you receive it is taxable, and inherited retirement accounts are taxed as you withdraw.
Is there a federal inheritance tax?
No. The federal government levies an estate tax on the estate, exempting $15,000,000 per person in 2026, but it has never levied an inheritance tax on beneficiaries.
Which state has the highest inheritance tax rate?
Nebraska, at up to 18% for unrelated beneficiaries, followed by Kentucky and New Jersey at 16%. Nebraska also offers the most generous exemptions to close relatives.
Does a charity pay inheritance tax?
No. Qualifying charitable organisations are fully exempt in all five states, which is why charitable bequests are unaffected by the beneficiary class rules.
Is this inheritance tax calculator free to use?
Yes. It is free, requires no account, and has no usage limits. ApexConverter is funded by contextual advertising, never by selling user data.
Is my data sent to a server?
No. The engine runs as Vanilla JavaScript inside your browser under our Zero-Server Client-Side Execution model. Your figures are computed locally and are never transmitted, logged, or stored.
How accurate is this calculator?
It applies the standard closed-form formula in IEEE-754 double precision, rounding only at the display layer. The engine is reconciled against an independent reference implementation before release.
Does it work on mobile?
Yes. The interface is mobile-first with numeric keypad hints and is tested down to a 320-pixel viewport with no horizontal scrolling.
Can I use it offline?
Largely, yes. Because computation is client-side, the page continues to calculate without a network connection once it has loaded.