Nebraska Estate Tax Calculator

Pri Geens

Pri Geens

Loading calculator…

Nebraska Estate Tax Calculator

Estimate the federal estate tax AND the Nebraska inheritance tax on a Nebraska decedent’s estate. Nebraska has no estate tax, but it is one of the few states with a beneficiary-level inheritance tax: immediate relatives (spouse, parents, children, grandchildren) pay nothing, remote relatives pay 1% above a $40,000 exemption, and everyone else pays 13% above a $15,000 exemption. 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.

Nebraska rules this calculator enforces: NO state estate tax (the former pick-up tied to the federal state death tax credit is zero for deaths after 2004), but a beneficiary-level INHERITANCE tax (Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-2001 et seq.): immediate relatives (surviving spouse, lineal ascendants and descendants) EXEMPT; remote relatives (siblings and their issue, aunts, uncles, in-laws and similar) taxed 1% above a $40,000 exemption; all others taxed 13% above a $15,000 exemption (rates and exemptions VERIFY against Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-2005 and Nebraska DOR); no gift tax; common-law (equitable distribution) state, not community property; spousal elective share modeled at one-third of the net estate (Neb. Rev. Stat. 30-2313; VERIFY); small-estate affidavit where personal property is $50,000 or less (Neb. Rev. Stat. 30-24,127; VERIFY); probate venue in the County Court of the county of domicile (93 counties).
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%.
Sets the federal exclusion and annual gift exclusion. Nebraska inheritance tax applies in all years.
County Court probate venue; inheritance tax is state-wide.Required. Please choose a Nebraska county.
Select a county to see the County Court venue, the small-estate affidavit threshold, and the federal exclusion for the selected year.

Assets at date of death

Home, farm, land, rental buildings at fair market value.Enter 0 or a positive amount.
Checking, savings, CDs, stocks, bonds, mutual funds.Enter 0 or a positive amount.
IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, pensions, annuity contracts.Enter 0 or a positive amount.
Death benefit includible when the decedent held any incident of ownership.Enter 0 or a positive amount.
Closely held business, farm equipment, vehicles, receivables, trusts includible in the estate.Enter 0 or a positive amount.
Nebraska is a common-law (equitable distribution) state, not community property, so no community-property halving or double step-up applies.

Debts and administration costs

Deductible obligations of the decedent.Enter 0 or a positive amount.
Deductible when paid by the estate.Enter 0 or a positive amount.
Deductible administration expense.Enter a percentage between 0 and 25.
Filing fees, publication, appraisal costs.Enter 0 or a positive amount.
Deductible if not compensated by insurance.Enter 0 or a positive amount.

Bequests, marital status and inheritance-tax classes

Unlimited federal marital deduction; spouse is exempt from Nebraska inheritance tax.Enter 0 or a positive amount.
Unlimited federal deduction; charities are exempt from Nebraska inheritance tax.Enter 0 or a positive amount.
Siblings, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, in-laws and similar. Taxed 1% above a $40,000 exemption (VERIFY).Enter 0 or a positive amount.
Friends, unrelated parties, most entities. Taxed 13% above a $15,000 exemption (VERIFY).Enter 0 or a positive amount.
Immediate relatives (surviving spouse, parents, children, grandchildren and other lineal ascendants or descendants) take free of Nebraska inheritance tax; enter their shares only in the spouse-bequest field or leave them out. The remote and other schedules are simplified aggregate models flagged VERIFY.

Prior gifts, portability and GST

Post-1976 taxable gifts; they consume the federal exclusion. Nebraska has no gift tax.Enter 0 or a positive amount.
Federal portability; requires a timely federal Form 706 election.Enter 0 or a positive amount.
Federal GST at a flat 40% on Form 706 Schedule R. Grandchildren are immediate relatives (exempt) for Nebraska inheritance tax.Enter 0 or a positive amount.
Equals the federal basic exclusion for the year of death.Enter 0 or a positive amount.

Gifting plan

Required in gifting mode. Annual-exclusion gifts are not taxable gifts.Required in gifting mode. Enter 1 or more donees.
Amounts above the annual exclusion become taxable gifts.Enter 0 or a positive amount.
Gifts carry over basis and lose the step-up at death.Enter 0 or a positive amount.
If the tax cannot be eliminated inside this horizon, the calculator says so.Enter a whole number between 1 and 200.

How it works

  • Nebraska taxes beneficiaries, not the estate. Nebraska has no estate tax and no gift tax; instead a beneficiary-level inheritance tax (Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-2001 et seq.) applies: immediate relatives (spouse, parents, children, grandchildren and other lineal ascendants or descendants) are EXEMPT; remote relatives pay 1% above a $40,000 exemption; all others pay 13% above a $15,000 exemption (rates and exemptions VERIFY).
  • Federal estate tax also applies above the basic exclusion using the unified 18% to 40% schedule; the federal GST applies at 40% to direct skips above the allocated GST exemption (grandchildren remain immediate relatives, exempt from the Nebraska inheritance tax).
  • No community property. Nebraska 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; Nebraska has no state exclusion to port.
  • Elective share. A surviving spouse may elect one-third of the net estate under Neb. Rev. Stat. 30-2313 (VERIFY) regardless of the will.
  • Small estates. The affidavit for collection of personal property under Neb. Rev. Stat. 30-24,127 is available where personal property is $50,000 or less; verify the current figure.
  • Binding factor names what controls the result: the federal basic exclusion, the federal unified schedule, the Nebraska inheritance tax, or the GST.
  • Gifting mode uses the guarded bisection solver (60 expansions, 90 iterations, rounded up). The entered remote and other inheritance-tax shares are not reduced by the gifting plan; only the federal base is.
  • Gifting is not free. Carryover basis loses the step-up; the deferred gain is netted against the tax saved.

Sources

  • Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-2001 et seq. and 77-2005 (Nebraska inheritance tax: immediate relatives exempt; remote relatives 1% above a $40,000 exemption; all others 13% above a $15,000 exemption — rates and exemptions VERIFY against Nebraska DOR); Nebraska has no estate tax (former federal pick-up credit zero after 2004) and no gift tax.
  • Neb. Rev. Stat. 30-2313 (spousal elective share; modeled one-third of net estate, VERIFY); Neb. Rev. Stat. 30-24,127 (small-estate affidavit, $50,000 personal property; VERIFY); Nebraska probate venue in the County Court of the county of domicile (93 counties).
  • 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

TC1 – Below federal, all immediate relatives. Douglas (Omaha), 2025, single, heirs all children (immediate, exempt). Real 3,000,000; financial 1,500,000; retirement 1,000,000; debts 300,000; funeral 15,000; atty 2%; court 400.
Gross 5,500,000; admin 104,400; deductions 419,400; net estate 5,080,600; TE 5,080,600 below 13,990,000. Federal $0, Nebraska inheritance $0, TOTAL $0. Headroom 8,909,400; ceiling 14,409,400. Affidavit NOT available (personal property 2,500,000).
TC2 – Above federal, with remote and other shares. Lancaster (Lincoln), 2025, single. Real 8,000,000; financial 6,000,000; retirement 4,000,000; business 2,000,000; debts 500,000; funeral 20,000; atty 2%; court 400; charitable 69,600; remote 500,000; others 500,000.
Gross 20,000,000; admin 390,400; deductions 910,400; net estate 19,089,600; TE 19,000,000. Federal 2,039,840. Remote tax 4,600; others tax 63,050; Nebraska inheritance 67,650. TOTAL 2,107,490. Effective 10.54%.
TC3 – Marital + DSUE, immediate only. Sarpy (Papillion), 2025, married 20 years, citizen spouse, bequest 8,000,000, DSUE 2,000,000, remote 0, others 0. Real 15,000,000; financial 7,000,000; life 4,000,000; debts 400,000; funeral 25,000; atty 2%; court 400.
Gross 26,000,000; admin 512,400; deductions 937,400; net estate 25,062,600; less marital 8,000,000 = TE 17,062,600; federal exclusion 15,990,000. Federal 429,040. Nebraska inheritance $0. TOTAL 429,040. Elective share one-third = 8,354,200.
TC4 – Gifting solver, 2026, maxYears 60, remote/others 0. Douglas (Omaha), single. Real 9,000,000; financial 6,000,000; retirement 3,000,000; business 2,000,000; debts 300,000; funeral 15,000; atty 2%; court 400; 4 donees at 19,000.
Gross 20,000,000; admin 394,400; deductions 709,400; net estate 19,290,600; TE 19,290,600 above 15,000,000. FEDERAL 1,716,240; Nebraska $0. Solver: 76,000 per year; 57 YEARS removes 4,332,000 leaving TE 14,958,600 at or below the exclusion, tax $0. Saved 1,716,240.
TC5 – Small estate with a remote share below its exemption. Otoe (Nebraska City), 2025, married 5 years, citizen spouse, remote 30,000, others 0. Financial 30,000; retirement 15,000; debts 3,000; funeral 4,000; atty 2%; court 300.
Gross 45,000; admin 1,140; deductions 8,140; net estate 36,860; TE 36,860. Federal $0. Remote tax $0 (30,000 below the 40,000 exemption). TOTAL $0. Affidavit available (personal property 45,000 at or below 50,000). Elective share one-third = 12,287.

Estimates only. Not legal, tax or financial advice. Nebraska inheritance rates and exemptions, the elective share and the small-estate threshold are flagged for verification against Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-2005, 30-2313 and 30-24,127. Verify all figures with the Nebraska Department of Revenue and federal rules before relying on them.

What Is a Nebraska Estate Tax Calculator?

The Nebraska estate tax calculator estimates federal estate tax, Nebraska inheritance tax, GST tax, and total transfer tax from the estate values and beneficiary shares you enter. It applies the calculator’s federal exclusion, deductions, portability, and Nebraska beneficiary-class formulas, while treating Nebraska estate tax itself as $0.

The calculator supports deaths in 2024, 2025, and 2026. It uses separate fields for estate assets, debts and expenses, marital and charitable bequests, earlier taxable gifts, DSUE portability, direct skips, and Nebraska inheritance-tax beneficiary classes.

Three calculation modes are available. Estate mode estimates tax on the entered estate. Headroom mode reports whether transfer tax applies and shows unused federal exclusion. Gifting mode searches for the number of years of annual-exclusion gifting needed to reach $0 of total modeled transfer tax within the selected maximum number of years.

This is an estimate based on the rules encoded in the calculator. The Nebraska inheritance rates and exemptions, elective-share figure, and small-estate threshold are specifically flagged in the calculator for verification.

How the Nebraska Estate Tax Calculation Works

The calculation starts by adding the five asset categories entered by the user: real property, financial accounts, retirement accounts and annuities, life insurance owned by the decedent, and business interests or other property.

Gross Estate=Real Property+Financial Assets+Retirement Assets+Life Insurance+Business and Other Property\text{Gross Estate}=\text{Real Property}+\text{Financial Assets}+\text{Retirement Assets}+\text{Life Insurance}+\text{Business and Other Property}

Administration costs include the entered attorney and personal representative fee plus County Court filing and other costs. The percentage fee is applied to gross estate minus debts, with the percentage base never allowed below zero.

Administration Costs=max⁡(Gross Estate−Debts,0)×Fee Rate100+Court Costs\text{Administration Costs}=\max(\text{Gross Estate}-\text{Debts},0)\times\frac{\text{Fee Rate}}{100}+\text{Court Costs}

The calculator then subtracts debts, funeral expenses, administration costs, and casualty or theft losses. It labels the remaining amount the net estate.

Net Estate=max⁡(Gross Estate−Debts−Funeral−Administration Costs−Losses,0)\text{Net Estate}=\max(\text{Gross Estate}-\text{Debts}-\text{Funeral}-\text{Administration Costs}-\text{Losses},0)

If the decedent is marked married, a spousal bequest receives the modeled marital deduction only when the spouse is a U.S. citizen or the QDOT option is selected. That deduction cannot exceed the net estate. The charitable deduction is then capped at the amount remaining after the marital deduction.

Taxable Estate Before Gifts=max⁡(Net Estate−Marital Deduction−Charitable Deduction,0)\text{Taxable Estate Before Gifts}=\max(\text{Net Estate}-\text{Marital Deduction}-\text{Charitable Deduction},0)

In gifting calculations, each annual gift is capped at the calculator’s annual exclusion: $18,000 for 2024 and $19,000 for 2025 or 2026. The modeled gift reduction equals that capped amount times the number of donees and the number of years.

Gift Reduction=min⁡(Gift per Donee,Annual Exclusion)×Donees×Years\text{Gift Reduction}=\min(\text{Gift per Donee},\text{Annual Exclusion})\times\text{Donees}\times\text{Years}
Taxable Estate=max⁡(Taxable Estate Before Gifts−Gift Reduction,0)\text{Taxable Estate}=\max(\text{Taxable Estate Before Gifts}-\text{Gift Reduction},0)

Earlier taxable gifts are added to the taxable estate to create the federal base. DSUE entered by the user is added to the selected year’s federal basic exclusion.

Federal Base=Taxable Estate+Earlier Taxable Gifts\text{Federal Base}=\text{Taxable Estate}+\text{Earlier Taxable Gifts}
Applicable Federal Exclusion=Basic Exclusion+DSUE\text{Applicable Federal Exclusion}=\text{Basic Exclusion}+\text{DSUE}

If the federal base exceeds the applicable exclusion, the calculator applies its progressive federal schedule, which uses rates from 18% through 40%. It calculates schedule tax on the federal base and subtracts schedule tax on the applicable exclusion.

Federal Estate Tax=max⁡(T(Federal Base)−T(Applicable Federal Exclusion),0)\text{Federal Estate Tax}=\max\left(T(\text{Federal Base})-T(\text{Applicable Federal Exclusion}),0\right)

Nebraska inheritance tax is calculated separately from federal estate tax. In the calculator’s simplified aggregate model, immediate relatives are exempt. Remote relatives are taxed at 1% on the portion above $40,000. All other beneficiaries are taxed at 13% on the portion above $15,000.

Remote Tax=0.01×max⁡(Remote Share−40000,0)\text{Remote Tax}=0.01\times\max(\text{Remote Share}-40000,0)
Other-Beneficiary Tax=0.13×max⁡(Other Share−15000,0)\text{Other-Beneficiary Tax}=0.13\times\max(\text{Other Share}-15000,0)
Nebraska Inheritance Tax=Remote Tax+Other-Beneficiary Tax\text{Nebraska Inheritance Tax}=\text{Remote Tax}+\text{Other-Beneficiary Tax}

GST tax is 40% of direct skips remaining after the GST exemption entered by the user. Total transfer tax combines federal estate tax, Nebraska inheritance tax, and GST tax. Nebraska estate tax contributes $0 in the calculator.

GST Tax=0.40×max⁡(Direct Skips−GST Exemption,0)\text{GST Tax}=0.40\times\max(\text{Direct Skips}-\text{GST Exemption},0)
Total Transfer Tax=Federal Estate Tax+Nebraska Inheritance Tax+GST Tax\text{Total Transfer Tax}=\text{Federal Estate Tax}+\text{Nebraska Inheritance Tax}+\text{GST Tax}

Worked Example

Consider a simple hypothetical 2025 estate with $500,000 of financial assets and no other assets. Assume debts, funeral expenses, the administration fee percentage, court costs, losses, marital deductions, charitable deductions, earlier taxable gifts, and GST amounts are all entered as $0.

The gross estate and taxable estate are both $500,000, which is below the calculator’s $13,990,000 federal basic exclusion for 2025. The modeled federal estate tax is therefore $0.

Now enter $100,000 passing to remote relatives and $50,000 passing to all other beneficiaries. Remote-relative tax is 1% of $60,000, or $600. Other-beneficiary tax is 13% of $35,000, or $4,550. Nebraska inheritance tax is therefore $5,150. With no GST tax, the total transfer tax displayed is $5,150.

How to Use the Nebraska Estate Tax Calculator

  1. Select estate tax, larger-estate testing, or years-of-gifting mode.
  2. Choose the year of death: 2024, 2025, or 2026.
  3. Select the Nebraska county of domicile to set the displayed County Court venue.
  4. Enter real property, financial assets, retirement assets, owned life insurance, and business or other property.
  5. Enter debts, funeral expenses, the attorney and personal representative fee percentage, court costs, and casualty or theft losses.
  6. Set the marital-status, U.S.-citizen-spouse, and QDOT options as needed. Enter spousal and charitable bequests.
  7. Enter amounts passing to remote relatives and all other beneficiaries for the Nebraska inheritance-tax calculation.
  8. Enter earlier taxable gifts, DSUE, direct skips, and the GST exemption allocated.
  9. For gifting analysis, enter the number of donees, gift per donee, unrealized gain, long-term capital gains rate, NIIT selection, and maximum years to test.
  10. Check the acknowledgment and select the calculation button.

Estate mode displays total transfer tax due. Headroom mode gives a tax verdict plus remaining federal exclusion and a tax-free ceiling. Gifting mode displays the number of years required when the solver can reach $0 within the selected horizon, or reports that more years would be needed.

Understanding the Inputs and Results

Nebraska Beneficiary Classes Matter Separately

The remote-relative and other-beneficiary fields do not reduce the federal taxable estate in the calculator. They feed a separate Nebraska inheritance-tax calculation. Immediate relatives, including the surviving spouse and lineal ascendants or descendants, are modeled as exempt from Nebraska inheritance tax.

The remote and other schedules are simplified aggregate models. The calculator itself marks the 1% rate, $40,000 remote exemption, 13% rate, and $15,000 other-beneficiary exemption for verification.

Federal Exclusion and Headroom

The encoded federal basic exclusions are $13,610,000 for 2024, $13,990,000 for 2025, and $15,000,000 for 2026. DSUE is added to the selected amount. Headroom is the unused portion of that applicable exclusion after the federal base is considered.

Headroom=max⁡(Applicable Federal Exclusion−Federal Base,0)\text{Headroom}=\max(\text{Applicable Federal Exclusion}-\text{Federal Base},0)

The calculator’s tax-free ceiling adds that headroom to the current gross estate. Nebraska inheritance tax can still be present even when federal headroom remains because the Nebraska calculation depends on the remote and other beneficiary shares entered.

Small-Estate and Elective-Share Outputs

The small-estate test adds financial assets, retirement assets, life insurance, and business or other property. If this personal-property total is $50,000 or less, the calculator shows its small-estate indicator. Real property is not included in that test. The $50,000 threshold is flagged for verification in the calculator.

If the decedent is marked married, the calculator also estimates a spousal elective share as one-third of the net estate. That figure is likewise marked for verification.

Modeled Elective Share=13×Net Estate\text{Modeled Elective Share}=\frac{1}{3}\times\text{Net Estate}

Gifting Mode Has an Important Limitation

The gifting solver reduces the federal taxable estate through annual-exclusion gifts, but it does not reduce the remote-relative or other-beneficiary amounts entered for Nebraska inheritance tax. It also does not reduce GST tax. Because the solver requires total transfer tax to reach $0, Nebraska inheritance tax or GST tax can prevent a gifting solution even after federal estate tax falls to zero.

The number-of-donees field is active and required in gifting mode. Its numeric range is 0 through 200, so an entered value of 0 produces no gifting reduction. Maximum years accepts whole numbers from 1 through 200 and defaults to 40.

Gifting results also estimate a basis-related cost. The calculator multiplies the entered unrealized gain by the selected long-term capital gains rate, adding 3.8% when the NIIT option is checked. Net benefit equals calculated transfer-tax savings minus that estimated basis cost.

Basis Cost=Unrealized Gain×(LTCG Rate+Selected NIIT Rate)\text{Basis Cost}=\text{Unrealized Gain}\times(\text{LTCG Rate}+\text{Selected NIIT Rate})
Net Benefit=Transfer Tax Saved−Basis Cost\text{Net Benefit}=\text{Transfer Tax Saved}-\text{Basis Cost}

Most dollar inputs accept values from $0 through $100,000,000. The administration fee percentage accepts 0 through 25. Negative numbers and values outside the encoded ranges fail validation. Required selections and the acknowledgment must also be completed before results are calculated.

Displayed dollar amounts are rounded to whole U.S. dollars. The effective transfer-tax rate is shown with two decimal places. Results are estimates and depend on the values entered. They should not be treated as legal, tax, or financial advice, especially where the calculator itself marks Nebraska figures for verification.

Estate Tax Calculators for All 50 U.S. States

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this calculator charge a Nebraska estate tax?

No. The calculator sets Nebraska estate tax to $0. It instead models a separate beneficiary-level Nebraska inheritance tax for remote relatives and other beneficiaries. Federal estate tax and GST tax can also contribute to the total transfer-tax result.

How does the calculator estimate Nebraska inheritance tax?

It taxes the entered remote-relative amount at 1% after a $40,000 exemption and the entered other-beneficiary amount at 13% after a $15,000 exemption. Negative taxable amounts are floored at zero. Immediate relatives are treated as exempt. The calculator flags these Nebraska rates and exemptions for verification.

What federal estate tax exclusions are built into the calculator?

The calculator uses $13,610,000 for 2024, $13,990,000 for 2025, and $15,000,000 for 2026. Any DSUE entered by the user is added to the basic exclusion before the federal estate-tax comparison is made.

Can Nebraska inheritance tax apply when federal estate tax is zero?

Yes, under the calculator’s model. Federal estate tax depends on the federal base and applicable exclusion, while Nebraska inheritance tax depends on the remote-relative and other-beneficiary amounts entered. An estate can therefore show $0 of federal estate tax and still produce Nebraska inheritance tax.

How does the marital deduction work in the calculator?

The modeled marital deduction applies only when the decedent is marked married and the surviving spouse is a U.S. citizen or the QDOT option is selected. The deduction is capped at the net estate. A spouse is also treated as an immediate relative for the calculator’s Nebraska inheritance-tax calculation.

Why might gifting mode say the tax cannot be eliminated?

Annual-exclusion gifting reduces only the calculator’s federal taxable estate. It does not reduce the remote-relative or other-beneficiary inheritance-tax inputs, and it does not reduce GST tax. If either of those taxes remains above zero, total transfer tax cannot reach zero through this gifting model.

When does the calculator flag federal Form 706 as required?

The calculator flags Form 706 as required when the federal base exceeds the applicable federal exclusion. Its result section also displays a nine-month federal filing period and notes a six-month filing extension through Form 4768, while stating that the extension does not extend the payment deadline.

Montana Estate Tax Calculator

Nevada Estate Tax Calculator

Related Calculators