The federal estate and gift tax, which imposes a tax rate up to 40% outside the exclusion, encourages charitable contributions by allowing dollar-for-dollar deductions for bequests.

The federal government imposes an estate tax of 18 to 40 percent on assets above a specific exemption amount. That amount is $13.6 million in 2024, and almost $14 million in 2025.

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act raised the federal estate-tax exemption from about $5.5 million to $11 million, and inflation adjustments have brought it up to nearly $14 million.

But there’s a big catch: The federal estate tax applies only if the taxable estate exceeds $13.99 million. Anything under that threshold can typically pass to heirs tax-free at the federal level.

Introduced in February, the federal legislation seeks to permanently eliminate the estate tax, commonly known as the "death tax," which applies to estates valued over $13.99 million.

In 2025, the federal estate tax exemption is $13.99 million per individual or $27.98 million per couple. This means if an individual dies with less than $13.99 million in their estate, ...

It wasn’t until 1797 that U.S. politicians, in their wisdom, combined death and taxes, imposing a temporary federal estate tax on the American people to increase military spending.

If the Death Tax Repeal Act were to become law, it would happen at a pivotal moment. In the coming years, baby boomers are expected to leave an estimated US$84 trillion to their heirs, in what’s ...

So while repealing the estate tax might seem appealing to wealthy Americans, the actual tax benefit could be modest at best for taxpayers who established estate plans under the current system.

For 2025, the cumulative gift and estate tax exemption is $13.99 million for individuals and $27.98 million for married couples.The current exemption doubled under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which ...

Nothing is more certain than death and taxes, Benjamin Franklin famously declared.And, since 1916, the federal government has imposed an estate tax on the transfer of property owned at death.. But ...