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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →For someone who dies in 2026, the federal estate tax basic exclusion amount is $15 million. The IRS says an executor generally must file Form 706 when the gross estate, adjusted taxable gifts and the specific gift tax exemption together exceed that amount. A return may also be worth filing below the threshold to elect portability for a surviving spouse.
What is the federal estate tax exemption for 2026?
The basic exclusion amount is $15,000,000 for a person who dies in 2026. The IRS’s Instructions for Form 706, revised July 2026, state that the 2026 amount is $15 million. The amount for a death in 2025 was $13,990,000, so the year of death matters.
The 2026 figure reflects a change enacted in Public Law 119-21, signed July 4, 2025. The IRS explains that the law amended the basic exclusion amount to $15 million for calendar year 2026; older articles projecting a reduction that year based on a scheduled sunset do not reflect the enacted rule. See the IRS gift tax FAQs.
Who generally has to file Form 706?
For a U.S. citizen or resident who dies in 2026, the IRS generally requires the executor to file Form 706 if the following total is more than $15 million:
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- The gross estate;
- Adjusted taxable gifts; and
- The specific gift tax exemption.
That means the filing test is not simply the value of assets owned at death. Prior taxable gifts and the specific gift tax exemption are part of the calculation. The IRS’s estate tax guidance and Form 706 instructions explain the threshold and its components. Form 706 is the executor’s return for figuring the estate tax imposed under Chapter 11 of the Internal Revenue Code; see About Form 706.
Can an estate below $15 million still need a return?
Yes. An executor may file Form 706 to transfer a deceased spouse’s unused exclusion to the surviving spouse. This is called portability; the transferred amount is known as the deceased spousal unused exclusion, or DSUE.
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Portability is not automatic. The executor of the first spouse to die must make a timely and complete Form 706 filing to elect it, even when the estate is below the usual filing threshold and owes no estate tax. The IRS discusses the filing requirement in its estate tax guidance and the Form 706 instructions.
How is the annual gift tax exclusion different?
The federal annual gift tax exclusion is $19,000 per recipient in 2026. An individual may give gifts within that amount to each of multiple recipients. This annual exclusion is separate from the $15 million basic exclusion amount: one is an annual per-recipient gift amount, while the other is the basic exclusion used in the federal estate and gift tax system. The IRS lists the 2026 annual exclusion in its gift tax FAQs.
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The $15 million amount is the federal basic exclusion for 2026, not a universal estate-tax threshold. The figures and filing test discussed here apply to U.S. citizens and residents; do not apply them to a nonresident noncitizen without jurisdiction-specific advice. State estate or inheritance taxes are separate questions, and the federal amount does not establish whether a state tax applies.
The IRS’s 2026 Form 706 instructions also show a basic credit amount of $5,945,800. That is a tax-credit figure in the IRS instructions, not an additional exclusion to add to the $15 million amount.
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