This tool does not provide financial, investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice, and using it does not create any advisory, attorney-client, or professional relationship. It is a self-service calculator for general educational and informational purposes only. Nothing it displays should be taken as a recommendation to make gifts, change an estate plan, buy or cancel insurance, or take any other action. This tool also sells nothing — it runs no ads and has no affiliate, referral, or sponsorship relationships with any insurer, brokerage, law firm, or financial company, so it earns nothing from what you decide. (That matters in this niche: death-tax fear is a classic pitch for products you may not need.)
The calculator models the 2026 federal estate and gift regime under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (the permanent $15 million exemption, 40% top rate, portability, the $19,000 annual gift exclusion), the 13 state estate taxes (including the New York exemption cliff and Washington's post-July-2026 schedule), and the 5 state inheritance taxes with their relationship classes. State schedules are applied to the amount over each exemption as published bracket tables — a good planning approximation, not a filing-grade computation (Illinois's interrelated formula, deduction ordering, and state-specific add-backs like Minnesota's 3-year gift rule will move real numbers).
Real estates have more moving parts this tool does not model: trusts of every kind, jointly-titled property and beneficiary designations (which pass outside the will), community property, QTIP elections, state QTIP mismatches, the generation-skipping transfer tax, valuation discounts, farms and family businesses, non-citizen spouses, out-of-state real estate (taxed by the state where it sits), and probate costs. If any of those words apply to the estate you're modeling, the real answer needs a professional.
Every figure is a projection built from the inputs you provide using simplified math. Tax law changes — state death taxes especially (Washington changed twice in twelve months). Actual results will differ. No accuracy, completeness, or outcome is promised, and the calculations may contain errors.
For decisions of this permanence, a fee-only fiduciary advisor, CPA, or estate attorney who is paid for advice rather than for selling a product is worth real money.
This is an independent, privately made tool. It is not created, endorsed, sponsored, or reviewed by any government agency, law firm, insurer, or financial company.
This tool is provided "as is," without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including any warranty of accuracy, merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, the author shall not be liable for any loss or damages of any kind arising from your use of, or reliance on, this tool or its output. Your use is entirely at your own risk.
This tool is free to use. If a "tip" or "support" option is offered, any payment is a voluntary gift, is not a purchase of the tool or of any service, is not required to use any feature, and is non-refundable. Supporting the project does not entitle you to advice, support, or any particular result, and does not change any part of this disclaimer.
The tool and this notice may be updated at any time; the "Last updated" date above reflects the latest revision. Continued use means you accept the current version.
© 2026 Marcus Cunningham. All rights reserved. This tool is free to use, and you're welcome to share the link — but its code is not licensed for reuse, redistribution, rehosting, or repackaging. Please point people to the official site rather than copying the page.