North Dakota Estate Tax Calculator
Estimate the federal estate tax on a North Dakota decedent’s estate and confirm that North Dakota itself charges nothing. North Dakota repealed its inheritance tax for deaths on or after January 1, 2015, and its old pick-up estate tax vanished with the federal credit, so for 2024-2026 deaths North Dakota tax is $0. North Dakota has no gift tax. Distinctive rules modeled: the UPC-style graduated spousal elective share 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
North Dakota succession
Gifting analysis
Three-year gifting projection
How it works
- North Dakota charges nothing for recent deaths. The North Dakota inheritance tax (N.D.C.C. Ch. 57-11) was repealed for deaths on or after January 1, 2015 (VERIFY exact date), and the former pick-up estate tax tied to the federal state death tax credit is zero for deaths after 2004, so no North Dakota estate or inheritance tax return is filed. There is no North Dakota 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. North Dakota 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 North Dakota state exclusion to port.
- Elective share is graduated. North Dakota adopted the UPC elective share (N.D.C.C. 30.1-05-01): 3% of the augmented estate rising 3 points per year of marriage to 45% at 14 years and 50% at 15+ (VERIFY); approximated here on the net estate.
- Small estates. The affidavit for collection of personal property under N.D.C.C. 30.1-32-01 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 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
- N.D.C.C. Ch. 57-11 (North Dakota inheritance tax) and its repeal for deaths on or after January 1, 2015 (2013 N.D. Laws; VERIFY exact date); former pick-up estate tax tied to the federal state death tax credit under IRC 2011 (zero after 2004); North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner guidance confirming no state estate, inheritance or gift tax for those deaths.
- N.D.C.C. 30.1-05-01 (UPC-style graduated spousal elective share over the augmented estate; VERIFY exact table); N.D.C.C. 30.1-32-01 (small-estate affidavit, $50,000 personal property; VERIFY current figure); North Dakota probate venue in the District Court of the county of domicile (53 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
Gross 9,000,000; admin 172,400; deductions 587,400; net estate 8,412,600; TE 8,412,600 below 13,990,000. Federal $0, ND $0, TOTAL $0. Headroom 5,577,400; ceiling 14,577,400. Affidavit NOT available (personal property 5,000,000).
Gross 20,000,000; admin 390,400; deductions 910,400; net estate 19,089,600; TE 19,089,600 above 13,990,000. Federal tentative 7,581,640 less credit 5,541,800 = FEDERAL 2,039,840. ND $0. TOTAL 2,039,840. Effective 10.20%.
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 tentative 6,770,840 less credit 6,341,800 = FEDERAL 429,040. ND $0. TOTAL 429,040. Elective share 50% = 12,531,300.
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. 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.
Gross 45,000; admin 1,140; deductions 8,140; net estate 36,860; TE 36,860. Federal $0, ND $0, TOTAL $0. Affidavit available (personal property 45,000 at or below 50,000). Elective share 18% = 6,635.
Estimates only. Not legal, tax or financial advice. The North Dakota elective share table, repeal date and small-estate threshold are flagged for verification against N.D.C.C. 30.1-05-01, Ch. 57-11 and 30.1-32-01. Verify all figures with the North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner and federal rules before relying on them.
What Is the North Dakota Estate Tax Calculator?
The North Dakota Estate Tax Calculator estimates the transfer tax produced by the estate values you enter. It builds a taxable estate, applies the calculator’s federal exclusion and progressive tax schedule, adds any federal GST tax, and reports the total. It can also test exclusion headroom or solve for years of annual-exclusion gifting.
The calculator uses federal basic exclusions of $13,610,000 for 2024, $13,990,000 for 2025, and $15,000,000 for 2026. Any entered DSUE from a predeceased spouse is added to the federal exclusion.
For every supported year, the code sets North Dakota estate tax and inheritance tax to $0. The interface also states that North Dakota has no gift tax. Its inheritance-tax repeal date, elective-share schedule, and $50,000 small-estate threshold are expressly marked for verification.
How the North Dakota Estate Tax Calculation Works
The calculation begins by adding five asset categories: real property, financial accounts, retirement accounts and annuities, life insurance owned by the decedent, and business interests or other property.
G is the gross estate. The other variables represent the five entered asset categories. The calculator does not apply community-property halving.
Administration costs are based on gross estate minus debts, not on the final net estate despite the input label referring to a percentage of net estate. The fee base cannot fall below zero.
Here, D is debt, p is the entered attorney and personal-representative fee percentage, and K is court and other costs.
The calculator then subtracts debts, funeral expenses, administration costs, and casualty or theft losses to produce the net estate.
The marital deduction applies only when the decedent is marked married and the spouse is either a U.S. citizen or the QDOT option is selected. The deduction cannot exceed the net estate. The charitable deduction is then limited to the amount remaining.
In gifting calculations, the effective annual gift per donee is the smaller of the entered gift and the calculator’s annual exclusion. The code uses $18,000 for 2024 and $19,000 for 2025 and 2026.
g is the entered gift per donee, e is the annual exclusion, n is the number of donees, and y is the number of gifting years. Earlier taxable gifts are then added to the taxable estate.
The federal applicable exclusion equals the basic exclusion for the selected death year plus entered DSUE.
The calculator uses a progressive federal schedule with rates from 18% through 40%. When the federal base is above the applicable exclusion, federal estate tax equals schedule tax on the base minus schedule tax on the exclusion.
Federal GST tax is calculated separately at 40% of direct skips remaining after the entered GST exemption.
Worked Example
Consider the calculator’s 2025 example with $8,000,000 of real property, $6,000,000 of financial assets, $4,000,000 of retirement assets, and $2,000,000 of business property. Gross estate is $20,000,000. Debts are $500,000, funeral expenses are $20,000, the administration fee is 2%, and court costs are $400.
Administration costs equal ($20,000,000 – $500,000) × 2% + $400 = $390,400. Total deductions are $910,400, leaving a net and taxable estate of $19,089,600.
The calculator’s 2025 federal exclusion is $13,990,000. Tentative federal tax on $19,089,600 is $7,581,640, while schedule tax on the exclusion is $5,541,800. Federal estate tax is therefore $2,039,840. North Dakota tax is $0, so with no GST tax the total is $2,039,840, or 10.20% of the gross estate.
How to Use the North Dakota Estate Tax Calculator
- Select estate-tax mode, larger-estate headroom mode, or the gifting-years solver.
- Choose the year of death and the North Dakota county of domicile.
- Enter real property, bank and brokerage accounts, retirement assets, includible life insurance, and business or other property.
- Enter debts, funeral expenses, the attorney and personal-representative fee percentage, court costs, and casualty or theft losses.
- Enter marital status, years married, spouse citizenship or QDOT status, spouse bequests, and charitable bequests when relevant.
- Add earlier taxable gifts, DSUE, direct skips, and the allocated GST exemption as needed.
- For gifting analysis, enter the number of donees, gift per donee, unrealized gain, capital-gains rate, NIIT choice, and maximum years to test.
- Check the acknowledgment box and select the calculation button.
Estate mode shows total transfer tax. Headroom mode gives a text verdict, remaining exclusion headroom, and a tax-free gross-estate ceiling. Gifting mode returns either the number of years needed, “None needed,” or a result stating that more than the selected maximum number of years would be required.
Understanding the Results and Assumptions
| Calculator item | How the code handles it |
|---|---|
| Federal basic exclusion | $13,610,000 for 2024, $13,990,000 for 2025, or $15,000,000 for 2026. |
| Federal portability | Entered DSUE is added to the basic federal exclusion. |
| North Dakota estate and inheritance tax | Both are fixed at $0. |
| Small-estate test | Personal property of $50,000 or less is marked eligible. The figure is flagged for verification. |
| Effective transfer-tax rate | Total transfer tax divided by gross estate, displayed to two decimal places. |
| Marginal federal rate | Displayed as 40% when the federal base exceeds the applicable exclusion, otherwise 0%. |
Spousal Elective-Share Estimate
The calculator estimates a spousal elective share only when the married option is selected. For fewer than 15 entered years of marriage, the percentage starts at 3% and increases by three percentage points for each year, with a 45% cap. At 15 years or more, it becomes 50%.
The displayed elective-share amount is this percentage multiplied by the calculator’s net estate. The interface notes that this is a proxy for the augmented estate and flags the underlying North Dakota rule for verification.
Small-Estate Test
The small-estate calculation adds financial accounts, retirement accounts, life insurance, and business or other personal property. Real property is not included in this test. If the resulting personal-property amount is $50,000 or less, the calculator marks the small-estate affidavit as available.
Headroom and Tax-Free Ceiling
Remaining federal headroom equals the applicable federal exclusion minus the federal base, with negative results changed to zero. The displayed tax-free ceiling then adds that headroom to the current gross estate.
How the Gifting Solver Behaves
The solver searches for the smallest whole number of years that makes total transfer tax zero. It expands the search range and then performs up to 90 bisection iterations before rounding the result up to a whole year. The maximum-years input accepts values from 1 through 100.
The gifting reduction uses only the annual-exclusion portion of the entered gift. If the entered gift per donee is larger than the encoded annual exclusion, the calculation caps the estate reduction at the exclusion amount. It does not add the excess gift to prior taxable gifts as part of the gifting plan.
GST tax is not reduced by this gifting formula because direct skips and GST exemption remain separate inputs. A positive GST liability can therefore prevent the solver from ever reaching zero transfer tax within the selected horizon.
The calculator also displays tax after one, two, and three years of gifting and cumulative tax saved after three years.
Input Validation and Formatting
Most dollar fields accept values from $0 to $100,000,000. The fee percentage accepts 0% to 25%. Years married accepts 0 to 80, donees accepts 0 to 200, and maximum gifting years accepts 1 to 100. The interface uses whole-number steps for several fields, but the JavaScript validation checks ranges rather than enforcing integer values. Those fields are later read with integer parsing.
The number-of-donees field is marked as required in gifting mode. However, zero is a permitted numeric value in the implemented validation, so an entered zero can pass even though the field’s error text says to enter one or more donees.
Currency outputs are rounded to the nearest whole dollar. The effective transfer-tax rate is displayed with two decimal places. The federal marginal-rate result is displayed with no decimal places.
The gifting section accepts an unrealized-gain amount, a long-term capital-gains rate of 0%, 15%, or 20%, and an optional 3.8% NIIT setting. However, the current calculation result does not return the entered unrealized-gain value to the displayed deferred-capital-gains formulas. As implemented, the numeric deferred-gain and net-benefit rows therefore resolve to $0 rather than reflecting that entered gain.
This calculator provides estimates based on the assumptions encoded in the supplied tool. Actual estate, probate, tax, and filing outcomes can depend on facts not represented here. The calculator itself marks several North Dakota legal figures for verification and should not be treated as legal, tax, or financial advice.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does this calculator charge North Dakota estate or inheritance tax?
No. The implemented calculation sets both North Dakota estate tax and North Dakota inheritance tax to $0 for 2024, 2025, and 2026. A positive result can still come from federal estate tax or federal GST tax.
How does DSUE change the estate tax estimate?
The calculator adds entered DSUE to the federal basic exclusion. For example, a $13,990,000 basic exclusion plus $2,000,000 of DSUE produces a $15,990,000 applicable federal exclusion in the calculator. That larger amount is also used to calculate the federal applicable credit.
How are earlier taxable gifts treated?
Earlier taxable gifts are added to the taxable estate to form the federal tax base. This can reduce or eliminate remaining federal exclusion headroom. The calculator does not impose a North Dakota gift tax or a separate North Dakota gift add-back.
How does the North Dakota elective-share estimate work?
For a married estate, the calculator applies 3% at zero entered years of marriage, then adds three percentage points for each year. It reaches 45% at 14 years and changes to 50% at 15 years or more. The resulting percentage is applied to the calculator’s net estate.
How does the gifting-years solver calculate the answer?
The solver reduces the taxable estate by the effective annual gift per donee multiplied by the number of donees and years. It repeatedly recalculates total transfer tax and searches for the earliest whole year at which the result becomes $0, subject to the maximum-years limit.
What determines whether the small-estate affidavit is shown as available?
The code adds financial accounts, retirement assets, life insurance, and business or other personal property. If that total is $50,000 or less, the result is marked “Yes.” Real property does not count in this particular test. The calculator flags the $50,000 threshold for verification.
When does the calculator mark Form 706 as required?
It marks federal Form 706 as required when the federal base is greater than the applicable federal exclusion. The results also display a deadline of nine months after death and a six-month Form 4768 filing extension. Those displayed rules should be checked against the requirements that apply to the actual estate.