Free Calculator
Estate Tax Exposure
What your heirs would owe under the 2026 federal exemption, today and as your net worth keeps growing.
What It ShowsThe Estate Tax Exposure calculator applies the 2026 federal estate tax exclusion of $15 million per person ($30 million married) and a 40% rate to your net worth today and at future ages, and shows how much of that tax existing life insurance would cover.
Estate Tax Calculator
Federal Estate Tax Exposure
Project how the gap between a growing estate and an indexed federal exemption may change over time.
Federal only. State estate or inheritance taxes may add more.
Estate Tax Exposure40% Above Exemption
What The Estate Could Owe At Each Age.
| Age | Net Worth | Exemption | Federal Estate Tax | Effective rate on net worth | Uncovered |
|---|
At Age 90 — Uncovered After Existing Insurance$0
What This Assumes
- The federal estate exemption starts with the verified 2026 basic exclusion and is doubled for married households; married assumes portability is available.
- Net worth and the exemption compound annually at the entered rates. Negative rates are allowed from -20% to 25%.
- Federal estate tax is simplified to a flat 40% of the amount above the projected exemption. Deductions, gifts, trusts, valuation discounts, and state estate or inheritance taxes are not modelled.
- Existing life insurance is shown only as an offset to the projected tax need; ownership, estate inclusion, premiums, and policy performance are not modelled.
What Moves This Number Most
The spread between net worth growth and exemption indexing drives long-range exposure most. Lifetime gifts, planning structures, insurance ownership, and changes in federal law can materially change the result.
Illustrative estimate for education, not tax, legal or investment advice. Results depend on your full situation; review with your CPA before acting.
19th Hole FinancialHow It Works
Inside The Calculator
Who It Is For
Families whose net worth is near or above the federal exemption today, and younger households whose assets are growing faster than the exemption is indexed. The calculator shows when the line is crossed, as well as whether it is crossed today.
The Inputs
- Marital status
- Married doubles the exemption to $30 million, which assumes portability of the first spouse's unused exclusion is elected.
- Net worth in the estate
- Everything you own at death, including a home, business interests, retirement accounts and any life insurance you own.
- Net worth growth
- How fast the estate compounds each year, from -20% to 25%.
- Exemption indexing
- How fast the exemption rises with inflation. It opens at 2.5%.
- Existing life insurance
- Shown only as cash available against the tax. How the policy is owned is not modelled.
How It Projects
The calculator starts from the 2026 basic exclusion of $15 million per person, grows your net worth and the exemption at your two rates, and checks the estate every ten years to age 90. The tax is 40% of everything above the exemption, a simplification of the graduated federal schedule, which reaches 40% far below these estate sizes.
A Worked Example
The inputs it opens with: a married couple aged 55 with $40 million, growing 5% a year, and the exemption indexed at 2.5%. The federal estate tax today would be $4.0 million. At 65 it is $10.7 million, at 75 $22.8 million and at 85 $44.0 million, because the estate compounds at twice the rate of the exemption. The gap between those two rates is usually the real planning problem.
What It Leaves Out
Lifetime gifts, trusts, charitable and marital deductions, valuation discounts and state estate or inheritance taxes. For a married couple the figure is best read as the tax at the second death. Treat it as a first look before an estate attorney runs the real numbers.
About This Calculator
What is the estate tax exemption in 2026?
$15,000,000 per person for deaths in 2026, or $30,000,000 for a married couple using portability, per the IRS. The amount is indexed for inflation in later years.
Does California have an estate tax?
No. California has no state estate or inheritance tax, so California residents face the federal estate tax only. States such as New York, Massachusetts, Washington and Illinois have their own.
Why does my estate tax grow even though the exemption rises?
If your net worth grows faster than the exemption is indexed, more of your estate sits above the line each year. The calculator lets you set both rates.
How do families pay the estate tax?
The tax is generally due nine months after death. Families without a plan often sell assets, sometimes a business or real estate, at the wrong time. Life insurance owned outside the estate is a common way to provide the cash instead.
Want The Real Scorecard?
The calculator is a starting point. In the third meeting Tyler builds your full Tax Advantage Scorecard and the game plan that brings the numbers down.
- 30 minutes on Zoom
- No preparation needed
- Bring your CPA or spouse if you like