Three calculators, a state-by-state dataset, and a handful of guides, all aimed at one question: does this estate actually owe anything?
This site started from a narrow complaint: most estate tax tools online only handle the federal side, and the federal side is the part that almost never applies. Fewer than 1 in 500 estates owe federal estate tax at the $15,000,000 exemption. The harder question, and the one people actually search for at 11pm after a parent's death, is whether their state has its own lower threshold. Twelve states and DC do.
Three calculators: the main Estate Tax Calculator (federal plus any of the 13 state estate taxes), the Gift Tax Calculator (annual exclusion and lifetime exemption tracking), and the Step-Up in Basis Calculator (capital gains saved by inheriting instead of receiving a lifetime gift). Alongside them, a dated state-by-state dataset with a downloadable CSV, and seven guides that go deeper on specific questions like portability, the marital deduction, and why Maryland taxes the same estate twice.
Figures trace back to named sources: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 for the federal exemption and rate, and each state's own revenue department or statute for state figures. The full sourcing and correction process is documented on the editorial standards page. Priya Raman writes the guides and state pages; Chris Terry built and maintains the calculators. Both are introduced properly on the authors page.
It cannot replace an estate attorney or CPA who knows your specific assets, your state of domicile, and your family situation. Nothing here accounts for a blended family, a business succession plan, or a trust structure already in place. Treat every number as a starting estimate, not a filing.