Federal Estate Tax in 2026: The $15,000,000 Filing Threshold, Form 706, and Portability

The Internal Revenue Service treats the federal estate tax as a levy imposed on the right to transfer wealth at death.^[3] It is computed on the fair market value of everything the decedent owned or had certain interests in as of the date of death: that total is the gross estate. Deductions and, in special cases, valuation reductions produce the taxable estate. The estate tax itself is a Chapter 11 tax under the Internal Revenue Code and is calculated on Form 706.^[5]

Most estates never file. Only estates whose gross estate plus lifetime taxable gifts crosses the year-of-death filing threshold owe a return. For a Miami filer whose only real property is a homestead and a retirement account, the return is almost never in play; for a founder who sells a company late in life, it can be the single largest tax event the family ever faces. Talk to us about advisory solutions before the numbers move.

For decedents who die in 2026, the IRS filing threshold rises to $15,000,000 (up from $13,990,000 in 2025 and $13,610,000 in 2024).^[1] That figure is the ceiling under which the gross estate (increased by the decedent's adjusted taxable gifts and any specific gift tax exemption) can pass before Form 706 must be filed.^[2]

Because the exemption is unified across lifetime gifts and death transfers, taxable gifts made during life reduce the exemption available at death. A donor who used a portion of the lifetime exemption on earlier gifts has only the remaining balance available to shelter transfers at death. This is why a serious plan tracks lifetime giving carefully; the reference we most often send families to is our own Form 709 and the $19,000 gift-tax annual exclusion guide on gift-tax reporting.

Per the IRS, the executor of the decedent's estate uses Form 706 to compute the estate tax under Chapter 11 of the Internal Revenue Code.^[5] The same return also computes any generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax under Chapter 13 for direct skips to grandchildren and later generations.^[6]

Executors file Form 706 when the gross estate plus adjusted taxable gifts exceeds the year-of-death threshold. They may also file voluntarily, even when no tax is due, to make the portability election described below or to preserve a valuation position that the family expects the IRS to scrutinize. Our team supports executors and personal representatives through this process; for the personal side of the same estate, see our individual tax return preparation service for the decedent's final personal return.

Since January 1, 2011, executors of a decedent with a surviving spouse have been permitted to elect portability of the unused exemption to that surviving spouse. The elected transfer, known as the Deceased Spousal Unused Exclusion (DSUE) amount, only counts when the executor files Form 706 by its due date for the first-to-die spouse.^[4]

In practice, DSUE can substantially increase the exemption a surviving spouse has available at their own death. Whatever exemption the first spouse to die did not consume flows to the survivor by portability, on top of whatever exemption applies at the survivor's own year of death. The trap: the election is made only on Form 706, filed on time, even when no tax is due. Families that skip Form 706 because there is no tax to pay often forfeit portability altogether. Talk to us before you decide to skip the return.

The IRS explains that the taxable estate equals the gross estate minus a defined set of allowed deductions. Common categories include mortgages and other debts of the decedent, estate administration expenses, property passing to a surviving spouse (the marital deduction), and gifts to qualified charities (the charitable deduction).^[8]

Two of these do most of the work in practice. The unlimited marital deduction lets a decedent transfer any amount to a surviving spouse (who must be a US citizen for the unlimited version to apply) with no estate tax; combined with portability, it is how most married estates arrive at zero tax even when the gross estate is above the threshold. The charitable deduction is unlimited too, which is why many high-net-worth families pair a testamentary charitable bequest with lifetime planning. Estate administration expenses and enforceable debts round out the picture, along with special valuation reductions for qualifying farms or closely held businesses.

Before the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the estate exemption for 2026 was expected to fall by roughly half under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act sunset. The IRS filing threshold table now shows $15,000,000 for 2026, well above the pre-legislation projection, and the number carries forward from there.^[1] For families that were rushing to lock in gifts before an anticipated drop, the pressure has eased; for families that had already used lifetime exemption assuming the higher figure, nothing was lost.

What did not change: the tax is still computed on Form 706, the portability election still requires a timely filed return, and the state-level answer in Florida is still nothing (Florida has no state estate tax). The planning conversation shifts back to income-tax basis (a step-up at death is often worth more than shelter from a tax nobody would owe) and to whether lifetime giving still makes sense for long-term wealth transfer. Our foreign-owned U.S. entity tax services team also helps foreign-national families sort federal from state exposure when the estate touches both US and foreign assets.

For estates that do file Form 706 and want IRS confirmation that the return is accepted as filed, the IRS issues an estate tax closing letter on request. The IRS reduced the estate tax closing letter fee to $56 effective May 21, 2025.^[7] The letter is not automatic; it is requested through Pay.gov and paid at that point.

Most executors want the closing letter before making final distributions to beneficiaries, because it evidences that the estate tax exposure is resolved. Alternatives include an account transcript that shows the transaction code for return closure, which is available at no fee but is less familiar to attorneys and trustees. For estates with liquidity, the fee is well spent.

The 2026 threshold at $15,000,000 sounds high, but it moves. For a South Florida family whose net worth is well above the threshold, the shape of the plan usually combines: lifetime gifting to use exemption before it changes again, portability on the first death, credit-shelter and bypass trust structures where a state has an estate tax (Florida does not, but a Massachusetts or Oregon second home can matter), and life insurance held outside the estate (typically in an irrevocable life insurance trust) so the death benefit does not add to the taxable estate.

For families under the threshold, the answer is usually simpler: build the plan around income-tax basis and probate efficiency, not around avoiding an estate tax that nobody will owe. Our advisory solutions team runs these numbers every year so the plan stays aligned with the current thresholds.