Colorado Estate Tax Calculator
Estimate the federal estate tax on a Colorado decedent’s estate and confirm that Colorado itself charges nothing. Colorado has no estate tax, no inheritance tax and no gift tax; its old statute imposed only a pick-up tax equal to the federal state death tax credit, which no longer exists. Colorado’s distinctive rules that this calculator does model are the graduated spousal elective share (3% to 50% by years of marriage) and the small-estate affidavit. Three modes: estimate the tax, test a larger estate, or solve for the years of gifting needed to reach zero. Fields marked * are required; Calculate names any left empty.
Federal: unified estate and gift schedule topping at 40%; basic exclusion $13,610,000 (2024), $13,990,000 (2025), $15,000,000 (2026); federal portability (DSUE) allowed; unlimited marital and charitable deductions; GST 40%.
Exclusion and portability
Gross estate to taxable estate
Tax computation
What heirs receive
Colorado succession
Gifting analysis
Three-year gifting projection
How it works
- Colorado charges nothing. The Colorado estate tax statute imposed only a pick-up tax equal to the federal state death tax credit; that credit was eliminated for deaths after 2004, so the Colorado estate tax is $0 and no Colorado estate tax return is filed. There is no Colorado inheritance tax and no Colorado gift tax.
- Only federal transfer taxes apply. The federal estate tax applies above the basic exclusion using the unified 18% to 40% schedule, and the federal GST applies at 40% to direct skips above the allocated GST exemption.
- No community property. Colorado is a common-law state, so no halving of community assets and no double basis step-up.
- Portability is federal only. A surviving spouse may inherit the unused federal exclusion (DSUE) with a timely Form 706 election; there is no Colorado state exclusion to port.
- Elective share is graduated. Under CRS 15-11-201 the surviving spouse’s elective share rises from 3% of the augmented estate for a marriage under one year, by 3 percentage points per year, to 45% at 14 years and 50% at 15 or more years. This calculator approximates the augmented estate with the net estate.
- Small estates skip full probate. The affidavit procedure under CRS 15-12-1201 is available where personal property is $70,000 or less; verify the current adjusted figure.
- Binding factor names what controls the result: the federal basic exclusion, the federal unified schedule above it, or the GST.
- Gifting mode uses the guarded bisection solver (60 expansions, 90 iterations, rounded up) to find the years of annual-exclusion gifting that bring the taxable estate to the exclusion or below.
- Gifting is not free. Carryover basis loses the step-up; the deferred gain is netted against the tax saved.
Sources
- CRS 39-22-701 et seq. (estate tax pick-up statute, inoperative for deaths after 2004 because the IRC 2011 credit was eliminated); Colorado Department of Revenue guidance confirming no state estate, inheritance or gift tax.
- CRS 15-11-201 (spousal elective share over the augmented estate, graduated by years of marriage); CRS 15-12-1201 et seq. (small-estate affidavit, $70,000 personal property limit; verify current figure); Colorado probate venue in the District Court of the county of domicile.
- IRC chapter 11 unified schedule and exclusion ($13,610,000 / $13,990,000 / $15,000,000 for 2024 / 2025 / 2026); IRC 2010 portability; IRC 2042 life insurance inclusion; IRC 2055 charitable deduction; IRC chapter 13 GST at 40%; IRC 1014 step-up and 1015 carryover basis.
- IRS Form 706 and Form 4768 instructions (9-month deadline, 6-month filing extension).
Test cases
Gross 2,000,000; admin 36,400; deductions 248,400; net estate 1,751,600; TE 1,751,600 below 13,990,000. Federal $0, Colorado $0, TOTAL $0. Headroom 12,238,400; ceiling 14,238,400. Affidavit NOT available (personal property 1,000,000).
Gross 21,000,000; admin 410,400; deductions 930,400; net estate 20,069,600; TE 20,000,000. Federal tentative 7,945,800 less credit 5,541,800 = FEDERAL 2,404,000. Colorado $0. TOTAL 2,404,000. Effective 11.45%.
Gross 26,000,000; admin 512,400; deductions 937,400; net estate 25,062,600; less marital 6,000,000 = TE 19,062,600; federal exclusion 16,990,000. Federal tentative 7,570,840 less credit 6,741,800 = FEDERAL 829,040. Colorado $0. TOTAL 829,040. Effective 3.19%. Elective share 50% = 12,531,300. Headroom 0; ceiling 26,000,000.
Gross 18,000,000; admin 354,400; deductions 669,400; net estate 17,330,600; TE 17,330,600 above 15,000,000. FEDERAL 932,240. Solver: 76,000 per year; 31 YEARS removes 2,356,000 leaving TE 14,974,600 at or below the exclusion, tax $0. Saved 932,240.
Gross 60,000; admin 1,420; deductions 10,420; net estate 49,580; TE 49,580. Federal $0, Colorado $0, TOTAL $0. Affidavit available (personal property 60,000 at or below 70,000). Elective share 18% = 8,924.
Estimates only. Not legal, tax or financial advice. Verify the current Colorado Revised Statutes Titles 15 and 39 and federal rules before relying on any figure.
What Is the Colorado Estate Tax Calculator?
The Colorado Estate Tax Calculator is a planning tool that estimates transfer taxes for a Colorado decedent’s estate. In the calculator’s logic, Colorado estate tax, inheritance tax, and gift tax are always $0. The tax calculation therefore focuses on federal estate tax and federal generation-skipping transfer tax, often called GST tax.
The Colorado estate tax calculator estimates federal estate tax, federal GST tax, and total transfer tax for a Colorado estate. It sets Colorado estate and inheritance tax to $0, then applies the selected federal exclusion, deductions, prior taxable gifts, DSUE portability, and optional annual-exclusion gifting inputs for 2024 through 2026.
It is most useful for executors, surviving spouses, heirs, and estate-planning users who want a quick estimate. The tool also reports gross and net estate values, taxable estate, remaining exclusion headroom, a tax-free ceiling, estimated amounts to other heirs, elective-share information, probate venue, Form 706 status, and small-estate affidavit eligibility.
How the Colorado Estate Tax Calculator Formula Works
The calculation starts by adding the five asset categories entered in the form: real property, financial accounts, retirement accounts and annuities, includible life insurance, and business interests or other property.
Attorney and personal representative fees are calculated from gross estate minus debts, but never from a negative base. Court costs are then added.
The calculator then subtracts debts, funeral costs, administration costs, and casualty or theft losses to get the net estate.
An allowed marital deduction is limited to the smaller of the spouse bequest or net estate. It is allowed only when the decedent was married and the surviving spouse is a U.S. citizen or the bequest passes to a QDOT. The charitable deduction is capped by what remains after the marital deduction.
The federal tax base equals taxable estate plus earlier taxable gifts. The applicable exclusion equals the basic exclusion plus entered DSUE. The code uses basic exclusions of $13.61 million for 2024, $13.99 million for 2025, and $15 million for 2026. If the federal base exceeds that amount, tax equals the federal progressive schedule on the base minus the same schedule on the applicable exclusion.
The schedule function uses rates from 18% through 40%. Its brackets rise through $10,000, $20,000, $40,000, $60,000, $80,000, $100,000, $150,000, $250,000, $500,000, $750,000, and $1,000,000, with a 40% rate above $1 million. If the federal base does not exceed the applicable exclusion, federal estate tax is $0.
For example, use the calculator’s 2025 taxable-estate test case. A $21,000,000 gross estate has $930,400 of total deductions, leaving a $20,069,600 net estate. After a $69,600 charitable deduction, taxable estate is $20,000,000. Tentative federal tax is $7,945,800. The applicable credit is $5,541,800, so federal estate tax is $2,404,000. Colorado adds $0, giving total transfer tax of $2,404,000 and an effective rate of about 11.45% of gross estate.
GST is separate. Taxable direct skips equal direct skips minus allocated GST exemption, floored at zero. The calculator then applies a 40% GST rate. Total transfer tax is federal estate tax plus GST because both Colorado tax amounts are fixed at zero.
How to Use the Colorado Estate Tax Calculator: Step by Step
- Choose a mode: calculate estate tax on the current estate, test whether a larger estate would be taxed, or solve for years of annual-exclusion gifting needed to eliminate the calculated transfer tax.
- Select the year of death, 2024, 2025, or 2026, and choose the Colorado county of domicile. The county is used to display the District Court probate venue.
- Enter date-of-death asset values for real property, financial accounts, retirement accounts and annuities, includible life insurance, and business interests or other property.
- Enter debts, funeral expenses, the attorney and personal representative fee percentage, District Court and other costs, and any casualty or theft losses during administration.
- Enter marital information and bequests. If married, include years of marriage, spouse citizenship or QDOT status, the spouse bequest, and any charitable bequest.
- Add earlier taxable gifts, any DSUE ported from a predeceased spouse, direct skips, and allocated GST exemption. In gifting mode, also enter donees, the annual gift amount per donee, embedded gain, capital-gains rate, NIIT choice, and maximum years to test.
- Check the required acknowledgment and calculate. Review the tax total with the gross estate, taxable estate, exclusion, deductions, GST, filing status, elective share, and succession outputs shown below it.
The form opens with 2025 selected, a 2% attorney and personal representative fee, $400 of court costs, a $19,000 gift per donee, a 15% long-term capital-gains rate, NIIT selected, and a 40-year maximum gifting period. Most dollar inputs accept values from $0 through $100,000,000. The fee percentage is limited to 0% through 25%, years of marriage to 0 through 80, donees to 0 through 200, and the maximum gifting period to 1 through 100 years.
A $0 result means the code found no federal estate tax and no GST tax after the entered assumptions. A positive result may come from federal estate tax, GST tax, or both. The effective rate divides total transfer tax by gross estate. Remaining exclusion headroom shows how much room is left in the current federal tax base before the applicable exclusion is exceeded.
What Your Result Means and Important Limits
The calculator does more than return one tax number, but several outputs use simplified rules. Read them as planning estimates, not as a substitute for an estate-tax return, probate analysis, or professional advice.
| Output | How the calculator handles it |
|---|---|
| Colorado estate and inheritance tax | Always $0 in the code. |
| Federal exclusion | $13,610,000 for 2024, $13,990,000 for 2025, or $15,000,000 for 2026, plus entered DSUE. |
| Elective share | 3% at zero years of marriage, rising by 3 percentage points per year, capped at 45% through year 14 and set to 50% at 15 years or more. It is applied to net estate as a proxy for the augmented estate. |
| Small-estate affidavit | Eligible when financial, retirement, life-insurance, and business or other personal property total $70,000 or less. Real property is not included in this test. |
| Form 706 required | Shown as required when taxable estate plus prior taxable gifts exceeds the applicable federal exclusion. |
| Tax-free ceiling | Current gross estate plus current federal exclusion headroom. |
How gifting mode works
The annual gift exclusion is coded as $18,000 per donee for 2024 and $19,000 for 2025 and 2026. For each donee, the estate reduction uses the smaller of the entered gift amount and that annual exclusion. The calculator multiplies that amount by the number of donees and the number of gifting years.
The solver searches for a whole number of years, up to the chosen maximum, that reduces total transfer tax to zero. If GST remains, the solver may not reach zero because annual gifting changes the taxable estate but does not change the direct-skip amount used for GST.
Gifting mode also estimates a deferred capital-gains cost from carryover basis. It multiplies the entered unrealized gain by the selected 0%, 15%, or 20% long-term capital-gains rate. If NIIT is selected, it adds 3.8 percentage points. The displayed net benefit equals calculated transfer-tax savings minus that estimated basis cost.
Some outputs are simplified estimates
The $70,000 small-estate affidavit threshold is hard-coded, and the calculator itself says to verify the current adjusted figure. The elective-share calculation uses net estate instead of performing a full augmented-estate calculation. Colorado is treated as a common-law state, so the tool does not apply community-property halving or a double basis step-up.
The Form 706 required result is based on the calculator’s test of federal taxable estate plus prior taxable gifts against the applicable exclusion. It does not model every possible federal filing reason. The tool displays a nine-month Form 706 deadline and notes a six-month filing extension through Form 4768, but it does not calculate an actual calendar due date.
The tax-free ceiling is calculated as current gross estate plus current exclusion headroom. The calculator does not recalculate percentage-based administration costs at that higher estate value. Also, a noncitizen spouse without a QDOT receives no marital deduction in the tax calculation. These details can materially affect how an output should be interpreted.
Results depend entirely on the values entered and the rules built into the calculator. Actual estate administration can involve valuation questions, elections, filing requirements, deductions, basis rules, debts, fees, taxes, and personal circumstances that are not modeled here. The figures are estimates and should not be treated as legal, tax, or financial advice.
Estate Tax Calculators for All 50 U.S. States
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Colorado have an estate tax?
Not in this calculator’s rules. The code sets Colorado estate tax, inheritance tax, and gift tax to $0. It explains that Colorado’s former estate-tax pick-up depended on a federal state death-tax credit that no longer applies. The calculator therefore estimates federal transfer taxes while showing Colorado tax as zero.
How does the Colorado estate tax calculator calculate federal estate tax?
It builds a gross estate, subtracts coded deductions, then adds earlier taxable gifts to the taxable estate for the federal base. If that base exceeds the applicable federal exclusion, it subtracts the progressive-schedule tax on the exclusion from the progressive-schedule tax on the federal base.
What assets are included in the estate calculation?
The calculator includes five asset inputs: real property, bank and brokerage or cash accounts, retirement accounts and annuities, life insurance owned by the decedent, and business interests or other personal property. It adds those fields to produce the gross estate used throughout the federal tax calculation.
How does the Colorado spousal elective share work in this calculator?
The calculator applies 3% at zero years of marriage, then adds 3 percentage points for each year. The percentage reaches 45% at 14 years and 50% at 15 years or more. It multiplies that percentage by the net estate, which the code uses as a proxy for the augmented estate.
Can annual gifting reduce the estate tax estimate?
Yes. In gifting mode, the calculator can reduce taxable estate with annual-exclusion gifts. It uses up to $18,000 per donee for 2024 and $19,000 for 2025 or 2026, then searches for enough years to bring total transfer tax to zero within the selected maximum testing period.
How accurate is the Colorado estate tax calculator?
The result is an estimate based on the formulas and limits coded into the tool. It does not model every federal filing rule, every probate issue, or a full augmented-estate calculation. Its affidavit threshold is also fixed at $70,000, so current rules and case-specific facts should be checked before relying on the result.
When does the calculator say a small-estate affidavit is available?
It shows affidavit eligibility when personal property is $70,000 or less. For this test, personal property equals financial accounts, retirement accounts, includible life insurance, and business or other property. Real property is not included in the threshold calculation. The tool also warns users to verify the current adjusted limit.