Tennessee Estate Tax Calculator

Pri Geens

Pri Geens

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Tennessee Estate Tax Calculator

Estimate the federal estate tax on a Tennessee decedent’s estate and confirm that Tennessee itself charges nothing. Tennessee repealed its estate tax for deaths on or after January 1, 2016, and has no inheritance tax and no gift tax, so for 2024-2026 deaths Tennessee tax is $0. 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.

Tennessee rules this calculator enforces: NO state estate tax for recent deaths (Tennessee phased out and repealed its estate tax for deaths on or after January 1, 2016; VERIFY phase-out dates), so no Tennessee estate tax return is filed; no inheritance tax for recent deaths (VERIFY date); no gift tax; common-law (equitable distribution) state, not community property; spousal elective share based on years of marriage (Tenn. Code 31-4-101; VERIFY): less than 3 years = 10%, 3 to less than 6 years = 20%, 6 to less than 9 years = 30%, 9 years or more = 40% of the net estate; small-estate affidavit where the value of the entire estate less liens is $50,000 or less (Tenn. Code 30-4-102; VERIFY); probate venue in the Probate Court / Chancery Court of the county of domicile (95 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. Tennessee tax is $0 for all three years.
Probate Court / Chancery Court venue; no Tennessee estate tax applies.Required. Please choose a Tennessee county.
Select a county to see the Probate Court / Chancery Court venue, the small-estate threshold, and the federal exclusion for the selected year.

Assets at date of death

Home, 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, vehicles, equipment, receivables, trusts includible in the estate.Enter 0 or a positive amount.
Tennessee 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 and marital status

Drives the elective share percentage (<3 yrs 10%, 3-<6 yrs 20%, 6-<9 yrs 30%, 9+ yrs 40%; VERIFY).Enter a whole number between 0 and 80.
Unlimited marital deduction for a citizen spouse or a QDOT (federal).Enter 0 or a positive amount.
Unlimited federal deduction for qualifying charities.Enter 0 or a positive amount.

Prior gifts, portability and GST

Post-1976 taxable gifts; they consume the federal exclusion. Tennessee has no gift tax.Enter 0 or a positive amount.
Federal portability only; Tennessee has no state exclusion to port.Enter 0 or a positive amount.
Federal GST at a flat 40% on Form 706 Schedule R.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 100.

How it works

  • Tennessee has no estate or inheritance tax. Tennessee phased out and repealed its estate tax for deaths on or after January 1, 2016 (VERIFY phase-out dates). There is no Tennessee inheritance tax for recent deaths and no gift tax, so only federal transfer taxes apply.
  • Federal estate tax applies above the federal basic exclusion using the unified 18% to 40% schedule; the federal GST applies at 40% to direct skips above the allocated GST exemption.
  • No community property. Tennessee 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 Tennessee state exclusion to port.
  • Elective share. A surviving spouse may elect a share of the net estate based on years of marriage under Tenn. Code 31-4-101 (VERIFY): less than 3 years = 10%, 3 to less than 6 years = 20%, 6 to less than 9 years = 30%, 9 years or more = 40%.
  • Small estates. The small-estate affidavit is available where the value of the entire estate less liens is $50,000 or less; verify the current figure.
  • Binding factor names what controls the result: the federal basic exclusion, the federal unified schedule, or the GST.
  • Gifting mode uses the guarded bisection solver (60 expansions, 90 iterations, rounded up). Because only the federal exclusion applies, the solver targets that single exclusion.
  • Gifting is not free. Carryover basis loses the step-up; the deferred gain is netted against the tax saved.

Sources

  • Former Tennessee estate tax (phased out and repealed for deaths on or after January 1, 2016; VERIFY phase-out dates); no Tennessee inheritance tax for recent deaths (VERIFY date); no gift tax.
  • Tenn. Code 31-4-101 (spousal elective share based on years of marriage; VERIFY); Tenn. Code 30-4-102 (small-estate affidavit, $50,000 estate value; VERIFY); probate venue in the Probate Court / Chancery Court of the county of domicile (95 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 exclusion. Shelby (Memphis), 2025, single. Real 3,000,000; financial 2,000,000; retirement 1,000,000; debts 300,000; funeral 15,000; atty 2%; court 400.
Gross 6,000,000; admin 114,400; deductions 449,400; net estate 5,550,600; TE 5,550,600 below 13,990,000 federal. Federal $0, TN $0, TOTAL $0. Headroom 8,439,400. Small estate NOT available (personal property 3,000,000).
TC2 – Above federal exclusion. Davidson (Nashville), 2025, single. Real 9,000,000; financial 6,000,000; retirement 4,000,000; business 2,000,000; debts 500,000; funeral 20,000; atty 2%; court 400.
Gross 20,000,000; admin 390,400; deductions 930,400; net estate 19,089,600; TE 19,089,600 above 13,990,000 federal. Federal tentative 7,581,640 less credit 5,541,800 = FEDERAL 2,039,840. TN $0. TOTAL 2,039,840. Effective 10.20%.
TC3 – Above federal, marital + DSUE. Knox (Knoxville), 2025, married 20 years, citizen spouse, bequest 5,000,000, DSUE 1,000,000. Real 15,000,000; financial 7,000,000; life 3,000,000; debts 400,000; funeral 25,000; atty 2%; court 400.
Gross 24,000,000; admin 472,400; deductions 917,400; net estate 23,082,600; less marital 5,000,000 = TE 18,082,600; federal exclusion 14,990,000. Federal tentative 7,178,840 less credit 5,941,800 = FEDERAL 1,237,040. TN $0. TOTAL 1,237,040. Effective 4.95%. Elective share 40% = 9,233,040.
TC4 – Gifting solver, 2026, maxYears 60. Hamilton (Chattanooga), single. Real 8,000,000; financial 5,000,000; retirement 3,000,000; business 2,000,000; debts 300,000; funeral 20,000; atty 2%; court 400; 4 donees at 19,000.
Gross 20,000,000; admin 394,400; deductions 689,400; net estate 19,310,600; TE 19,310,600 above 15,000,000 federal. FEDERAL 1,724,240. TN $0. Solver must reach the federal exclusion 15,000,000: 76,000/yr requires 57 YEARS (removes 4,332,000 leaving TE 14,978,600), tax $0. Saved 1,724,240.
TC5 – Small estate. Rutherford (Murfreesboro), 2025, married 5 years, citizen spouse. Financial 20,000; retirement 4,000; debts 1,000; funeral 2,000; atty 2%; court 300.
Gross 24,000; admin 760; deductions 4,760; net estate 19,240; TE 19,240 below both exclusions. Federal $0, TN $0, TOTAL $0. Small estate available (personal property 24,000 at or below 50,000). Elective share 20% = 3,848.

Estimates only. Not legal, tax or financial advice. The Tennessee estate tax repeal dates, elective share and small-estate figure are flagged for verification against Tenn. Code 31-4-101 and 30-4-102. Verify all figures with the Tennessee Department of Revenue and federal rules before relying on them.

What Is a Tennessee Estate Tax Calculator?

This Tennessee estate tax calculator estimates federal transfer taxes for an entered Tennessee estate while assigning $0 to Tennessee estate and inheritance tax. It builds a net estate from assets and deductions, applies qualifying marital and charitable deductions, adds earlier taxable gifts to the federal base, and calculates any federal GST tax separately.

The calculator determines estimated federal estate tax and GST tax from the financial information you provide. Its main inputs include estate assets, debts and expenses, spouse and charitable bequests, prior taxable gifts, federal DSUE, direct skips, GST exemption allocation, and optional annual-exclusion gifting assumptions.

Three modes are available. Estate mode calculates tax on the entered estate. Headroom mode tests the estate against the federal exclusion. Gifting mode searches for the number of modeled gifting years needed to reduce total calculated transfer tax to zero within the selected time limit.

How the Tennessee Estate Tax Calculation Works

The calculator first adds five asset categories: real property, financial accounts, retirement accounts and annuities, life insurance, and business interests or other property.

G=R+F+T+L+BG=R+F+T+L+B

Here, G is gross estate, R is real property, F is financial accounts, T is retirement assets, L is life insurance, and B is business interests, personal property, and other assets.

Administration costs combine the entered attorney and executor fee percentage with Probate Court and other costs. Although the field label calls the fee a percentage of the net estate, the code applies it to gross estate minus debts.

A=max⁡(G−D,0)×p100+CA=\max(G-D,0)\times\frac{p}{100}+C

The net estate subtracts debts, funeral expenses, administration costs, and casualty or theft losses.

N=max⁡(G−D−Fu−A−Ls,0)N=\max(G-D-F_u-A-L_s,0)

An entered spouse bequest receives the calculator’s marital deduction only when the decedent is marked married and the surviving spouse is a U.S. citizen or the QDOT option is selected. The deduction cannot exceed the net estate. The charitable deduction is limited to what remains after the marital deduction.

In gifting calculations, the effective annual gift per donee is capped at the calculator’s annual-exclusion amount: $18,000 for 2024 and $19,000 for 2025 and 2026.

Gr=min⁡(g,e)×n×yG_r=\min(g,e)\times n\times y

Here, Gr is the modeled gifting reduction, g is the entered gift per donee, e is the encoded annual exclusion, n is the number of donees, and y is the number of gifting years.

TE=max⁡(N−M−Ch−Gr,0)TE=\max(N-M-C_h-G_r,0)

Earlier taxable gifts are then added to this taxable-estate amount to form the federal base.

BF=TE+PB_F=TE+P

The federal applicable exclusion equals the selected year’s basic exclusion plus entered DSUE. The calculator uses $13,610,000 for 2024, $13,990,000 for 2025, and $15,000,000 for 2026.

EF=EB+DSUEE_F=E_B+DSUE

If the federal base exceeds that amount, the calculator applies its progressive federal schedule, which ranges from 18% to 40%. Federal estate tax equals schedule tax on the federal base minus schedule tax on the applicable exclusion.

TF=max⁡(SF(BF)−SF(EF),0)T_F=\max\left(S_F(B_F)-S_F(E_F),0\right)

South Carolina-style state calculations are not used here. The Tennessee estate-tax and inheritance-tax variables are both fixed at zero. Federal GST tax is calculated separately at 40% of direct skips remaining after the entered GST exemption.

TGST=0.40×max⁡(Direct Skips−GST Exemption,0)T_{GST}=0.40\times\max(\text{Direct Skips}-\text{GST Exemption},0)
TTotal=TF+TGSTT_{Total}=T_F+T_{GST}

Worked Example

Suppose a hypothetical 2025 estate contains $8,000,000 of real property, $6,000,000 of financial assets, $4,000,000 of retirement assets, and $2,000,000 of business interests. Enter $500,000 of debts, $20,000 of funeral costs, a 2% attorney and executor fee, and $400 of Probate Court costs.

Gross estate is $20,000,000. Administration costs are ($20,000,000 − $500,000) × 2% + $400 = $390,400. Total modeled deductions are $910,400, leaving a net estate of $19,089,600.

With no spouse deduction, charitable deduction, gifting, prior taxable gifts, or DSUE, the federal base is $19,089,600. The encoded schedule produces $7,581,640 of tentative tax. Schedule tax on the $13,990,000 exclusion is $5,541,800, leaving federal estate tax of $2,039,840.

If direct skips are also zero, GST is $0. Tennessee estate tax is $0, so total transfer tax is $2,039,840. The calculator displays an effective transfer-tax rate of about 10.20% of the $20,000,000 gross estate.

How to Use the Tennessee Estate Tax Calculator

  1. Choose estate-tax calculation, larger-estate testing, or the gifting-years solver.
  2. Select the year of death from 2024, 2025, or 2026 and choose the Tennessee county of domicile.
  3. Enter real property, financial accounts, retirement assets, life insurance, and business or other property.
  4. Enter debts, funeral expenses, the attorney and executor fee percentage, Probate Court costs, and casualty or theft losses.
  5. If married, enter years of marriage and any spouse bequest, then set the spouse-citizenship and QDOT options as applicable.
  6. Enter any charitable bequest, earlier taxable gifts, federal DSUE, direct skips, and GST exemption allocation.
  7. For gifting analysis, enter the donee count, annual gift per donee, unrealized gain, capital-gains-rate option, NIIT setting, and maximum years to test.
  8. Select the required acknowledgment checkbox and use the calculation button.

Estate mode displays total transfer tax as the main result. The detailed results also show federal estate tax, GST, federal exclusion and headroom, deductions, taxable estate, effective and marginal rates, estimated amounts to other heirs, elective-share information, filing indicators, and gifting projections.

Important Assumptions and Calculator Details

Tennessee Tax Is Fixed at Zero

The implemented calculation always sets Tennessee estate tax and Tennessee inheritance tax to $0. The calculator therefore has no Tennessee estate-tax exemption or state portability calculation. Earlier taxable gifts and DSUE affect the federal calculation only.

Federal Headroom and Tax-Free Ceiling

Federal headroom equals the applicable federal exclusion minus the federal base, with negative results replaced by zero. The calculator adds that amount directly to the current gross estate to produce its tax-free ceiling.

H=max⁡(EF−BF,0)H=\max(E_F-B_F,0)
Ceiling=G+H\text{Ceiling}=G+H

This is the calculator’s profile-based ceiling formula. It does not rerun every deduction assumption at a larger gross estate, even though a percentage-based administration fee could change as gross estate changes.

Elective Share Changes With Years of Marriage

If the decedent is marked married, the calculator multiplies the net estate by a percentage determined from the entered years of marriage. It uses 10% for less than 3 years, 20% for 3 to less than 6 years, 30% for 6 to less than 9 years, and 40% for 9 years or more.

Elective Share=N×q\text{Elective Share}=N\times q

The years-of-marriage field accepts values from 0 through 80 and defaults to 10. The calculator explicitly marks the underlying Tennessee elective-share rule for verification, so this output is a modeled estimate rather than a legal determination.

Small-Estate Badge Uses a Narrower Formula

The calculator’s explanatory text describes a $50,000 small-estate threshold based on the entire estate less liens. The implemented badge uses a different test: it adds financial accounts, retirement assets, life insurance, and business or other personal property, excludes real property, and checks whether that total is $50,000 or less.

The $50,000 figure is itself flagged for verification. Because the code controls the displayed result, the small-estate badge follows the personal-property formula rather than the broader wording in the explanatory text.

How the Gifting Solver Works

The solver searches for the first whole number of gifting years that makes total calculated transfer tax zero. It expands the search range and then performs repeated bisection before rounding upward. The maximum-years field accepts values from 1 through 100.

A positive GST amount can prevent the solver from reaching zero because the gifting calculation reduces the taxable estate but does not change direct skips or the GST exemption input. If tax still remains at the selected maximum, the calculator reports that more years would be required.

The donee field’s error text says to enter one or more donees in gifting mode, but its actual validation range permits 0 through 200. A zero entry therefore passes the numeric range check while producing no gifting reduction.

Gifts Above the Annual Exclusion Are Not Added Automatically to Prior Gifts

The calculator caps the modeled estate reduction at the annual-exclusion amount per donee. If the entered gift is larger, the excess is not automatically added to the earlier-taxable-gifts field. Prior taxable gifts affect the federal base only when that separate input contains a value.

Capital-Gains Gifting Display Limitation

The form collects unrealized gain in gifted assets, a 0%, 15%, or 20% long-term capital-gains-rate selection, and an optional 3.8% NIIT setting. However, the displayed gifting calculation reads the appreciation amount from a result property that the tax calculation does not return.

Because that property is missing, the visible deferred-capital-gains cost formats as $0, and the displayed net benefit also resolves to $0 instead of using the entered unrealized gain correctly. Those two displayed amounts should therefore not be read as functioning estimates in this revision.

Net to Other Heirs Does Not Subtract Planned Gifting

The “Net to other heirs” result starts with the calculated net estate and subtracts the marital deduction, charitable deduction, and total transfer tax. It does not separately subtract the planned gifting reduction or prior taxable gifts. In a gifting scenario, read this output according to that implemented formula rather than as a literal post-gifting estate balance.

Most monetary inputs accept values from $0 through $100,000,000. The attorney and executor fee accepts 0% through 25%. Currency results are rounded to the nearest whole dollar. The effective tax rate is displayed to two decimal places, while the marginal-rate output is displayed with no decimal places.

Estate Tax Calculators for All 50 U.S. States

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does this calculator charge Tennessee estate tax?

No. Tennessee estate tax and inheritance tax are both fixed at $0 in the calculator’s tax function. Its total transfer-tax result therefore comes from federal estate tax and any federal GST produced by the entered direct-skip and GST-exemption amounts.

What federal estate-tax exclusions does the calculator use?

The calculator uses $13,610,000 for 2024, $13,990,000 for 2025, and $15,000,000 for 2026. Entered DSUE is added to the basic exclusion for the selected death year before the federal estate-tax calculation.

How does marital status affect the calculation?

If the decedent is marked married, a spouse bequest receives the modeled federal marital deduction only when the spouse is marked as a U.S. citizen or the QDOT option is selected. Years of marriage also control the separate elective-share estimate shown in the results.

How does DSUE affect the result?

DSUE is added directly to the federal basic exclusion. For example, entering $1,000,000 of DSUE with the calculator’s 2025 basic exclusion produces a $14,990,000 applicable federal exclusion. DSUE does not affect a Tennessee state tax because no Tennessee estate-tax calculation is performed.

What does the effective transfer-tax rate mean?

The effective rate equals total calculated transfer tax divided by gross estate. Total tax can include federal estate tax and GST. If gross estate is zero, the calculator returns an effective rate of zero rather than dividing by zero.

Effective Rate=TTotalG×100%\text{Effective Rate}=\frac{T_{Total}}{G}\times100\%

When does the calculator flag federal Form 706?

The calculator marks Form 706 as required when its federal base is greater than the applicable federal exclusion. It always marks the Tennessee estate-tax return as not required. These are calculator decision rules and are not an independent determination of every possible filing obligation.

Can annual gifting always eliminate the calculated tax?

No. Annual-exclusion gifting can reduce the estate amount used in the federal estate-tax calculation, but it does not change the calculator’s direct-skip or GST-exemption inputs. If GST remains positive, total transfer tax may stay above zero regardless of how much estate tax the modeled gifting removes.

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