The federal estate tax exemption rose to $15 million per person in 2026 following the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — permanently, with no sunset. For most American families that removes the federal estate tax entirely. But two significant problems remain unsolved.

The first is state estate taxes. Twelve states plus Washington DC have their own estate tax starting as low as $1 million. Oregon taxes estates above $1M. Massachusetts above $2M. New York has a cliff effect that taxes the entire estate for those just above its threshold. Anyone with a home and a retirement account in one of these states may already owe state estate tax without knowing it.

The second is the inherited IRA double-tax. Under SECURE 2.0, most non-spouse beneficiaries must withdraw Traditional IRA funds within 10 years — and owe income tax on every dollar. A $500,000 IRA left to an adult child can generate over $100,000 in tax before they see a penny. A Roth conversion strategy before death eliminates this entirely.

The Estate Planning Intelligence System calculates your combined federal and state exposure across all 50 states, scores your position 0–100, and ranks eight mitigation strategies by dollar saving. A Congressional Watch panel monitors for any future changes to the exemption. Automatically updates after every Rule Change.

For educational purposes only. Not legal or tax advice.