Texas Estate Tax Calculator

Pri Geens

Pri Geens

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Texas Estate Tax Calculator

Estimate the federal estate tax on a Texas decedent’s estate and confirm that Texas itself charges nothing. Texas repealed its estate tax and has no inheritance tax and no gift tax, so for 2024-2026 deaths Texas tax is $0. Note that Texas is a community property state; this tool treats entered assets as the decedent’s estate (consult a Texas attorney for community-property estates). 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.

Texas rules this calculator enforces: NO state estate tax for recent deaths (Texas estate tax was tied to the federal state death tax credit and repealed; VERIFY exact date), so no Texas estate tax return is filed; no inheritance tax; no gift tax; COMMUNITY PROPERTY STATE (this tool does NOT halve community property; only the decedent’s half of community property is includible and both halves get a step-up in basis — consult a Texas attorney); NO elective share (community property state; surviving spouse protected via community property, homestead rights, and a family allowance); small-estate affidavit where the estate value (excluding homestead and certain exempt property) is $75,000 or less (Texas Estates Code 205.001; VERIFY); probate venue in the County Court (Probate) of the county of domicile (254 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. Texas tax is $0 for all three years.
County Court (Probate) venue; no Texas estate tax applies.Required. Please choose a Texas county.
Select a county to see the County Court (Probate) 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.
Texas is a COMMUNITY PROPERTY state. This tool does NOT halve community property; it treats entered assets as the decedent’s estate. In Texas, only the decedent’s half of community property is includible and both halves get a step-up in basis. Consult a Texas attorney for community-property estates.

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

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. Texas has no gift tax.Enter 0 or a positive amount.
Federal portability only; Texas 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

  • Texas has no estate or inheritance tax. Texas repealed its estate tax (VERIFY exact date). There is no Texas inheritance tax for recent deaths and no gift tax, so only federal transfer taxes apply.
  • Community property. Texas is a community property state. This tool does NOT halve community property; it treats entered assets as the decedent’s estate. In Texas, only the decedent’s half of community property is includible and both halves get a step-up in basis. Consult a Texas attorney for community-property estates.
  • No elective share. Texas is a community property state; the surviving spouse is protected via community property, homestead rights, and a family allowance rather than an elective share.
  • 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.
  • Portability is federal only. A surviving spouse may inherit the unused federal exclusion (DSUE) with a timely Form 706 election; there is no Texas state exclusion to port.
  • Small estates. The small-estate affidavit is available where the estate value (excluding homestead and certain exempt property) is $75,000 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 Texas estate tax (tied to the federal state death tax credit and repealed; VERIFY exact date); no Texas inheritance tax or gift tax.
  • Texas Estates Code 205.001 (small-estate affidavit, $75,000 estate value excluding homestead and exempt property; VERIFY); probate venue in the County Court (Probate) of the county of domicile (254 counties); Texas community property law.
  • 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. Harris (Houston), 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, TX $0, TOTAL $0. Headroom 8,439,400. Small estate NOT available (personal property 3,000,000).
TC2 – Above federal exclusion. Dallas (Dallas), 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. TX $0. TOTAL 2,039,840. Effective 10.20%.
TC3 – Above federal, marital + DSUE. Travis (Austin), 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. TX $0. TOTAL 1,237,040. Effective 4.95%. No elective share (community property state).
TC4 – Gifting solver, 2026, maxYears 60. Tarrant (Fort Worth), 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. TX $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. Bexar (San Antonio), 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, TX $0, TOTAL $0. Small estate available (personal property 24,000 at or below 75,000). No elective share (community property state).

Estimates only. Not legal, tax or financial advice. The Texas estate tax repeal date and small-estate figure are flagged for verification. Texas is a community property state; consult a Texas attorney. Verify all figures with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and federal rules before relying on them.

What Is a Texas Estate Tax Calculator?

This Texas estate tax calculator estimates federal transfer taxes for the estate values you enter while assigning $0 to Texas estate and inheritance tax. It builds a net estate, applies modeled deductions, adds earlier taxable gifts to the federal tax base, compares that base with the applicable federal exclusion, and calculates federal GST separately.

The calculator determines estimated federal estate tax and GST tax using entered assets, debts, expenses, marital and charitable bequests, prior taxable gifts, DSUE, direct skips, GST exemption allocation, and optional gifting assumptions. It also reports federal headroom, an estate-profile ceiling, probate-related indicators, and detailed tax components.

Three modes are available. Estate mode calculates the entered estate. Headroom mode tests whether the profile produces transfer tax and shows remaining federal exclusion. Gifting mode searches for the number of modeled annual-exclusion gifting years needed to reduce total calculated tax to zero.

How the Texas Estate Tax Calculation Works

The calculation begins by adding 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 bank, brokerage, and cash accounts, T is retirement assets, L is life insurance, and B is business interests, personal property, and other assets.

The calculator next computes administration costs. Although the field label describes the attorney and executor fee as a percentage of the net estate, the code applies that percentage to gross estate minus debts, with a minimum base of zero. Entered court and other costs are then added.

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

In this formula, A is administration cost, D is debts, p is the entered fee percentage, and C is court and other costs.

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)

Here, N is net estate, Fu is funeral and burial expenses, and Ls is casualty and theft losses.

A spouse bequest receives the modeled 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 charitable deduction is limited to the estate remaining after the marital deduction.

If gifting is modeled, the calculator caps the effective annual gift per donee at $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

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 gifting period in years.

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

TE is taxable estate before earlier taxable gifts, M is the allowed marital deduction, and Ch is the allowed charitable deduction. Earlier taxable gifts, represented by P, are then added to form the federal tax 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

EF is the total federal applicable exclusion and EB is the basic exclusion for the selected year. If the federal base exceeds this amount, the calculator applies its progressive 18% through 40% federal schedule.

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

SF represents the calculator’s progressive federal tax schedule, and TF is federal estate tax. Texas estate tax and Texas inheritance tax are both fixed at zero in the calculation.

GST tax is calculated independently from entered direct skips and the entered GST exemption allocation.

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

Consider a hypothetical 2025 estate 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 interests. Enter $500,000 of debts, $20,000 of funeral expenses, a 2% attorney and executor fee, and $400 of court costs.

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

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

With no direct skips, GST is $0. Texas tax is also $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 Texas Estate Tax Calculator

  1. Choose estate-tax calculation, larger-estate testing, or the gifting-years solver.
  2. Select the death year from 2024, 2025, or 2026 and choose the Texas 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, County Court costs, and casualty or theft losses.
  5. If applicable, mark the decedent as married and enter any spouse bequest. Set the spouse-citizenship or QDOT option as needed.
  6. Enter charitable bequests, earlier taxable gifts, federal DSUE, direct skips, and the 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 acknowledgment checkbox and use the calculation button.

The default death year is 2025. The fee percentage defaults to 2%, court costs to $400, annual gift per donee to $19,000, long-term capital gains rate to 15%, NIIT to selected, and the gifting horizon to 40 years. Estate mode displays total transfer tax as the main result.

Important Assumptions and Calculator Limitations

Texas Tax Is Fixed at Zero

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

Community Property Is Not Automatically Halved

The calculator identifies Texas as a community-property state, but it does not divide entered property between spouses. Every asset amount you enter is included in the gross estate calculation. The calculator’s own guidance says users should enter the decedent’s estate rather than expect the tool to determine the decedent’s community-property share.

This distinction can materially affect the result. The calculator provides explanatory community-property text, but it does not classify assets as separate or community property and does not make ownership adjustments automatically.

There Is No Elective-Share Calculation

The Texas elective-share amount is always zero in the calculation. For a married estate, the detailed result displays “None (community property state).” The tool does not calculate homestead rights, a family allowance, or a spouse’s community-property ownership interest.

Federal Headroom and Tax-Free Ceiling

Federal headroom equals the federal applicable exclusion minus the federal base, with negative values replaced by zero. The tool then adds that headroom to the current gross estate to produce its tax-free ceiling for the entered profile.

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

This is a profile-based display formula. It does not recalculate percentage-based administration expenses at a larger gross estate, so it should not be read as a full future-estate projection.

Small-Estate Badge Uses a Simplified Test

The calculator’s explanatory text describes a $75,000 small-estate figure with exclusions for homestead and certain exempt property. The implemented badge uses a simpler test. It adds financial accounts, retirement assets, life insurance, and business or other personal property, excludes real property, and checks whether the total is $75,000 or less.

The code does not subtract liens from this badge calculation or separately identify exempt property. The $75,000 state figure is also explicitly flagged for verification in the calculator.

How the Gifting Solver Works

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

Positive GST can prevent the solver from reaching zero because modeled annual gifting reduces the taxable estate but does not change direct skips or the GST exemption input. If tax remains at the maximum horizon, the calculator reports that more than the selected number of years would be needed.

The donee field says one or more donees are required in gifting mode, but its implemented range validation accepts 0 through 200. A value of zero therefore passes the range check while producing no gifting reduction.

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

If the entered gift per donee exceeds the calculator’s annual-exclusion amount, the gifting reduction is simply capped at that exclusion. The excess amount is not automatically transferred into the earlier-taxable-gifts field. Earlier taxable gifts affect the federal base only when a value is entered separately.

Capital-Gains Gifting Outputs Have a Display Limitation

The form collects unrealized gain in gifted assets, a 0%, 15%, or 20% long-term capital-gains-rate option, and an optional 3.8% NIIT assumption. However, the tax result object does not return the gift-appreciation value later used by the results display.

As implemented, the visible deferred capital-gains cost therefore formats as $0, and the displayed net-benefit amount also resolves to $0 instead of correctly using the entered appreciation. Those two displayed figures should not be treated as functioning estimates in this revision.

Headroom Mode Can Be Triggered by GST

Headroom mode labels the profile “Estate tax applies” whenever total transfer tax is greater than zero. Because total tax includes GST, a positive GST amount can produce that message even when federal estate tax itself is $0. The detailed federal-tax and GST rows provide the clearer breakdown.

Most monetary fields accept values from $0 through $100,000,000, while the attorney and executor fee accepts 0% through 25%. Currency outputs are rounded to whole dollars. Effective tax rate is displayed to two decimal places, and the marginal rate displays with no decimal places.

The donee and maximum-years fields are presented as whole-number inputs, but range validation does not separately reject decimals. When the calculation context is built, those values are parsed as integers, so a decimal entry can be truncated rather than rejected.

Estate Tax Calculators for All 50 U.S. States

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does this calculator charge Texas estate tax?

No. The tax function sets both Texas estate tax and Texas inheritance tax to $0. The calculator’s total transfer-tax result therefore consists of federal estate tax plus any federal GST generated by the entered direct skips and GST exemption allocation.

What federal exclusions does the calculator use?

The calculator uses a federal basic exclusion of $13,610,000 for 2024, $13,990,000 for 2025, and $15,000,000 for 2026. Entered DSUE is added to the selected year’s amount to produce the total federal applicable exclusion.

Does the calculator automatically handle Texas community property?

No. It does not halve community property or determine ownership percentages. All property values entered are counted in the gross estate. Users therefore need to decide what amount belongs in each field before calculating. The tool’s community-property explanation should not be mistaken for an automatic ownership calculation.

How are prior taxable gifts handled?

Earlier taxable gifts are added to the federal tax base after the calculator determines the taxable estate. They do not increase the displayed gross estate. Because they increase the federal base, they can reduce the remaining federal exclusion headroom or increase calculated federal estate tax.

How is the effective transfer-tax rate calculated?

The effective rate equals total calculated transfer tax divided by gross estate. Total tax can include federal estate tax and GST, while Texas estate and inheritance taxes remain zero. If gross estate is zero, the calculator returns an effective rate of zero.

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

When does the calculator mark federal Form 706 as required?

The calculator marks Form 706 as required when the federal base exceeds the applicable federal exclusion. It always marks the Texas estate-tax return as not required. Its results also display a nine-month federal filing period and a six-month federal filing-extension reference. These are calculator rules, not an independent filing determination.

What does “net to other heirs” mean?

The calculator starts with the net estate and subtracts the modeled marital deduction, charitable deduction, and total transfer tax. It floors the result at zero. Planned annual-exclusion gifting and prior taxable gifts are not separately subtracted from this displayed heir amount.

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