Vermont Estate Tax Calculator

Pri Geens

Pri Geens

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Vermont Estate Tax Calculator

Estimate the combined federal and Vermont estate tax on a Vermont decedent’s estate. Vermont imposes its own estate tax with a $2,750,000 exemption and graduated rates from 0.8% to 16% (VERIFY). Vermont has no inheritance tax and no gift tax. 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.

Vermont rules this calculator enforces: state estate tax YES (Vermont Code Title 32, Chapter 151); exemption $2,750,000 (VERIFY – not indexed); graduated rate schedule from 0.8% to 16% (old federal state death tax credit table; VERIFY); tax is the rate table applied to (Vermont taxable estate minus the $2,750,000 exemption), floored at zero; NO portability of the Vermont exemption (federal DSUE only); no inheritance tax; no gift tax; common-law (equitable distribution) state, not community property; spousal elective share based on years of marriage (up to 50%; this tool approximates it as one-third of the net estate; VERIFY); simplified administration where the estate value is $45,000 or less (Vermont small estate; VERIFY); probate venue in the Probate Court of the county of domicile (14 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. Vermont exemption is $2,750,000 (VERIFY).
Probate Court venue; Vermont estate tax is state-wide.Required. Please choose a Vermont county.
Select a county to see the Probate Court venue, the small-estate threshold, and the federal and Vermont exemptions 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.
Vermont 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

Unlimited marital deduction for a citizen spouse or a QDOT (federal and Vermont).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. Vermont has no gift tax.Enter 0 or a positive amount.
Federal portability only; Vermont does not port its exemption.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 200.

How it works

  • Vermont has its own estate tax. Vermont imposes an estate tax with a $2,750,000 exemption (VERIFY) and graduated rates from 0.8% to 16% (VERIFY). Tax is the rate table applied to (Vermont taxable estate minus the exemption), floored at zero.
  • No portability of the Vermont exemption. Vermont does not port its exemption to a surviving spouse; only the federal DSUE ports.
  • No inheritance tax, no gift tax. Vermont has no inheritance tax and no gift tax.
  • 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.
  • Spousal elective share. Vermont elective share is based on years of marriage (up to 50%); this tool approximates it as one-third of the net estate (VERIFY).
  • Small estates. Simplified administration is available where the estate value is $45,000 or less; verify the current figure.
  • Binding factor names what controls the result: the federal exclusion, the Vermont exemption, the federal unified schedule, or the GST.
  • Gifting mode uses the guarded bisection solver (60 expansions, 90 iterations, rounded up). Because both the federal and Vermont exclusions apply, the solver targets the binding exclusion.
  • Gifting is not free. Carryover basis loses the step-up; the deferred gain is netted against the tax saved.

Sources

  • Vermont Code Title 32, Chapter 151 (Vermont estate tax); exemption $2,750,000 (VERIFY – not indexed); graduated rate schedule from 0.8% to 16% (VERIFY); tax is the rate table applied to (Vermont taxable estate minus the exemption); no Vermont inheritance tax or gift tax.
  • Vermont elective share based on years of marriage (up to 50%; VERIFY); Vermont small estate simplified administration ($45,000; VERIFY); probate venue in the Probate Court of the county of domicile (14 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 VT and federal exemptions. Chittenden (Burlington), 2025, single. Real 1,000,000; financial 500,000; retirement 300,000; debts 100,000; funeral 10,000; atty 2%; court 400.
Gross 1,800,000; admin 34,400; deductions 144,400; net estate 1,655,600; TE 1,655,600 below 2,750,000 VT and 13,990,000 federal. Federal $0, VT $0, TOTAL $0. Headroom federal 12,334,400; headroom VT 1,094,400.
TC2 – Above VT exemption, below federal. Chittenden (Burlington), 2025, single. Real 2,000,000; financial 1,500,000; retirement 1,000,000; business 1,000,000; debts 300,000; funeral 20,000; atty 2%; court 400.
Gross 9,000,000; admin 174,400; deductions 494,400; net estate 8,505,600; TE 8,505,600 above 2,750,000 VT, below 13,990,000 federal. VT taxable base 8,505,600 – 2,750,000 = 5,755,600; VT rate table 1,066,216 = VERMONT 1,066,216. Federal $0. TOTAL 1,066,216. Effective 11.85%.
TC3 – Above both, marital + DSUE. Chittenden (Burlington), 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. VT taxable base 18,082,600 – 2,750,000 = 15,332,600; VT rate table 2,775,216 = VERMONT 2,775,216. Federal exclusion 14,990,000; FEDERAL 837,040. TOTAL 3,612,256. Effective 14.45%. No elective-share note (up to 50%; VERIFY).
TC4 – Gifting solver, 2026, maxYears 200. Chittenden (Burlington), 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. FEDERAL 1,724,240; VT taxable base 19,310,600 – 2,750,000 = 16,560,600; VT rate table 2,970,416 = VERMONT 2,970,416. TOTAL 4,694,656. Solver must reach both exclusions: 76,000/yr requires 57 YEARS (removes 4,332,000 leaving TE 14,978,600), tax $0. Saved 4,694,656.
TC5 – Small estate. Chittenden (Burlington), 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, VT $0, TOTAL $0. Small estate available (estate 19,240 at or below 45,000). No elective-share note (up to 50%; VERIFY).

Estimates only. Not legal, tax or financial advice. The Vermont exemption, rate table, elective share and small-estate figure are flagged for verification. Verify all figures with the Vermont Department of Taxes and federal rules before relying on them.

What Is a Vermont Estate Tax Calculator?

A Vermont estate tax calculator estimates transfer taxes after combining estate assets, subtracting modeled deductions, and applying the federal and Vermont tax calculations coded into the tool. This calculator also shows federal and Vermont exemption headroom, filing indicators, an estimated amount passing to other heirs, and optional annual-exclusion gifting results.

The calculator has three modes. “Estate tax on this estate” produces a dollar estimate of total transfer tax. “Whether a larger estate would be taxed” focuses on the estate’s remaining exemption headroom and gives a tax-status verdict. “Years of gifting needed to eliminate the tax” searches for the number of years required for the modeled annual-exclusion gifts to bring total calculated transfer tax to zero.

For the Vermont portion, the code uses a $2,750,000 exemption and a graduated rate table from 0.8% through 16%. The code itself marks those Vermont figures “VERIFY,” so the calculator should be treated as an estimate rather than a substitute for current legal or tax guidance.

How the Vermont Estate Tax Calculation Works

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

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

Attorney and executor fees are calculated as the entered percentage of gross estate minus debts, with that fee base floored at zero. Court costs are then added.

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

The net estate is the gross estate minus debts, funeral expenses, administration costs, and casualty or theft losses. A negative result is replaced with zero.

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

A marital deduction is applied only when the decedent is marked married and the spouse is either a U.S. citizen or the non-citizen spouse’s bequest passes to a QDOT. The deduction cannot exceed the net estate. The charitable deduction is then limited to the amount remaining after the marital deduction.

In gifting mode, the calculator reduces the estate by the coded annual-exclusion amount per donee, multiplied by the number of donees and years. It uses $18,000 for 2024 and $19,000 for 2025 or 2026. If the entered gift per donee is higher, only the coded annual-exclusion amount is used for this reduction.

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

Earlier taxable gifts are then added to the taxable estate for both the federal and Vermont tax bases. Federal DSUE is added to the selected year’s basic federal exclusion. The calculator uses federal exclusions of $13,610,000 for 2024, $13,990,000 for 2025, and $15,000,000 for 2026.

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

If the federal base exceeds that applicable exclusion, the calculator applies its coded 18% through 40% progressive federal schedule to the federal base and subtracts the same schedule’s tax on the applicable exclusion.

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

For Vermont, the same taxable estate plus earlier taxable gifts becomes the Vermont base. If that base exceeds $2,750,000, the calculator subtracts the exemption and applies its coded progressive Vermont schedule to the excess.

Vermont Estate Tax=SV(max⁡(Vermont Base−2,750,000,0))\text{Vermont Estate Tax}=S_V\left(\max(\text{Vermont Base}-2{,}750{,}000,0)\right)

The calculator separately computes federal GST tax as 40% of direct skips remaining after the user-entered GST exemption. The Vermont inheritance-tax component is always zero in this implementation.

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+Vermont Estate Tax+GST Tax\text{Total Transfer Tax}=\text{Federal Estate Tax}+\text{Vermont Estate Tax}+\text{GST Tax}

Worked Example

Suppose a 2025 estate contains $2,000,000 of real property, $1,000,000 of financial assets, $500,000 of retirement assets, and $500,000 of other property. Assume $100,000 of debts, $10,000 of funeral expenses, a 2% attorney and executor fee, and $400 of court costs. There are no marital or charitable deductions, prior gifts, direct skips, or gifting reductions.

The gross estate is $4,000,000. The fee calculation is 2% of $3,900,000, plus $400, producing $78,400 of administration costs. Total modeled deductions are $188,400, leaving a net and taxable estate of $3,811,600.

The federal base remains below the calculator’s 2025 federal exclusion, so its federal estate tax is $0. The Vermont amount subject to the coded rate table is $3,811,600 minus $2,750,000, or $1,061,600. Applying the calculator’s progressive Vermont schedule produces $78,233.60, which is displayed as $78,234 because currency results are rounded to the nearest dollar.

How to Use the Vermont Estate Tax Calculator

  1. Choose whether you want to calculate estate tax, test a larger estate, or solve for years of gifting.
  2. Select the year of death from 2024, 2025, or 2026 and choose the Vermont county of domicile.
  3. Enter the date-of-death values for real property, financial accounts, retirement assets, life insurance, and business or other property.
  4. Enter debts, funeral expenses, the attorney and executor fee percentage, court costs, and casualty or theft losses.
  5. Set marital status and, when relevant, the spouse citizenship or QDOT options. Enter the spousal and charitable bequests.
  6. Enter earlier taxable gifts, federal DSUE, direct skips, and any GST exemption allocated.
  7. For gifting analysis, enter the number of donees, gift per donee, unrealized gain, heirs’ capital-gains rate, NIIT choice, and maximum years to test.
  8. Check the required acknowledgment and select the calculation button.

In standard estate mode, the main result is total transfer tax. Headroom mode instead shows whether tax applies and reports remaining federal and Vermont headroom. Gifting mode reports either the calculated number of years, that no gifting is needed, or that the tax cannot be eliminated within the selected testing horizon.

Understanding the Calculator’s Results and Assumptions

The detailed results show more than the headline tax estimate. They include the gross and net estate, deductions, taxable estate, federal and Vermont bases, federal tentative tax and credit, Vermont estate tax, GST tax, effective tax rate, exemption headroom, estimated net to other heirs, and several filing and succession indicators.

Federal headroom equals the applicable federal exclusion minus the federal base, floored at zero. Vermont headroom is calculated the same way using the $2,750,000 coded Vermont exemption. The displayed “tax-free ceiling” adds the smaller of those two headroom amounts to the current gross estate. That ceiling calculation does not separately adjust for GST tax.

The calculator’s small-estate flag deserves special attention. In the actual calculation code, the $45,000 test uses financial assets, retirement accounts, life insurance, and business or other property. Real property is not included in that specific comparison. The $45,000 amount is also marked for verification in the calculator.

For a married decedent, the displayed elective-share estimate is one-third of the calculated net estate. The calculator notes that Vermont’s actual elective share is based on years of marriage and can reach a different amount, so its one-third figure is expressly an approximation flagged for verification.

Gifting analysis also estimates a carryover-basis cost. It multiplies the entered unrealized gain by the selected long-term capital-gains rate and adds 3.8 percentage points when the NIIT checkbox is selected. The resulting deferred capital-gains amount is subtracted from modeled transfer-tax savings to display a “net benefit.”

The gifting solver caps the effective gift per donee at the coded annual exclusion. It does not separately model the taxable-gift consequences of an entered amount above that cap. It searches for the first whole year that brings total calculated transfer tax to zero, subject to the maximum testing period of 1 to 200 years.

Most dollar inputs accept values from $0 through $100,000,000. The attorney and executor fee percentage is limited to 0% through 25%, and the number of donees is limited to 0 through 200. Currency outputs are rounded to whole dollars, while the effective transfer-tax rate is displayed to two decimal places.

This is a tax and estate-planning estimate, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Real estate-tax obligations, filing requirements, deductions, asset treatment, and planning consequences can differ from this model. The calculator itself specifically identifies several Vermont assumptions as figures that should be verified before relying on the result.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What taxes does this Vermont Estate Tax Calculator include?

It calculates a federal estate-tax amount, a Vermont estate-tax amount, and federal GST tax on modeled taxable direct skips. The Vermont inheritance-tax result is coded as zero. Total transfer tax is the sum of federal estate tax, Vermont estate tax, and GST tax.

What Vermont estate tax exemption does the calculator use?

The calculator uses $2,750,000 for every supported year, 2024 through 2026. It does not increase that amount by year and does not add federal DSUE to the Vermont exemption. The code explicitly flags the Vermont exemption for verification.

Does federal portability increase the Vermont exemption?

No. In this calculator, entered DSUE increases only the federal applicable exclusion. The Vermont exemption remains $2,750,000 regardless of DSUE. The results therefore show federal portability separately and identify Vermont portability as not allowed within the model.

How are attorney and executor fees calculated?

The entered fee percentage is applied to gross estate minus debts, with the fee base prevented from falling below zero. Probate Court filing and other entered court costs are then added. The resulting administration cost is deducted when the calculator determines the net estate.

How does the gifting mode determine the number of years?

The calculator repeatedly tests annual-exclusion gifting reductions until total modeled transfer tax reaches zero. It uses a numerical search and rounds the result up to a whole number of years. If zero tax cannot be reached within the entered maximum period, the result reports that more than that number of years would be needed.

Does entering a gift above the annual exclusion increase the modeled taxable gifts?

No. The gifting reduction uses the smaller of the entered gift per donee and the calculator’s annual-exclusion amount. Any excess above that cap is not added by the gifting calculation to earlier taxable gifts. Earlier taxable gifts must instead be entered in the separate prior-gifts field.

Why can GST tax remain even after estate-tax gifting reduces the estate?

Annual-exclusion gifting reduces the calculator’s taxable estate, but it does not reduce the separate direct-skips input. GST tax is based on direct skips minus the entered GST exemption. As a result, a positive GST amount can prevent the gifting solver from reaching zero total transfer tax.

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