Research

The Estate and Gift Tax Report 2026: A Data Profile of the U.S. Transfer Tax

By The Ledgerism Editorial Team · The Ledgerism Brief Editorial Team produces original, methodology-disclosed accounting and tax research—data trackers, databases, and reference guides built to be the most-cited source in the field. Every figure is verified against primary sources including FASB, the IRS, the PCAOB, NASBA, the AICPA, and state boards of accountancy.

A Ledgerism Brief research asset. Compiled from IRS Statistics of Income, the IRS Data Book, IRS Revenue Procedures, the Congressional Research Service, the Joint Committee on Taxation, and the Congressional Budget Office. Last updated 2026-06-29.

The U.S. federal estate and gift tax is a unified transfer tax on wealth passed at death or given during life. This report compiles the verified figures that define it in 2026: the basic exclusion amount and its jump to $15 million under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), the 40% top rate, the number of taxable estates, the revenue collected, and the distribution of estate value and tax by size of estate. Every figure carries its exact year and source. Where the most recent authoritative data lags the calendar (SOI studies run one to three years behind), that lag is labeled.

Executive summary

• The federal basic exclusion amount (the estate and gift tax exemption) rose to $15,000,000 per individual for decedents dying and gifts made on or after January 1, 2026, up from $13,990,000 in 2025, under the OBBBA (P.L. 119-21), enacted July 4, 2025 (IRS, “What’s new – Estate and gift tax,” 2025; CRS R48183, July 14, 2025).
• The top marginal transfer tax rate is 40%, applied to taxable amounts over $1,000,000 under the unified rate schedule; because the exemption is delivered as a credit, taxable transfers are effectively taxed at a flat 40% (IRS, Instructions for Form 706, 2025; CRS R48183, 2025).
• The IRS collected $28.1 billion in gross estate tax and $3.0 billion in gross gift tax in fiscal year 2025, together about 0.6% of total federal internal revenue collections (IRS Data Book, Table 1-6, FY2025).
• 8,130 estate tax returns were filed in 2022, up 32% from 6,158 in 2021, reporting just over $22.5 billion in total net estate tax for the filing year (IRS SOI, “Estate Tax Returns Filed for Wealthy Decedents, Filing Years 2013-2022,” Pub. 5332, Rev. 10-2024).
• Only 2,129 estates that owed tax were recorded among 2019 decedents, equal to about 0.07% of U.S. deaths, down from a historic peak near 2.1% of decedents (CRS R48183, 2025, citing JCT and IRS SOI).
• Among 2019 decedents, estates of $50 million or more were 10.7% of estate tax returns but paid 59.1% of all net estate tax ($8.6 billion of $14.6 billion) (Ledgerism analysis of IRS SOI Estate Tax Study, Table 1, year of death 2019).
• Donors filed 250,949 gift tax returns (Form 709) in filing year 2021, reporting nearly $182.6 billion in gifts to 800,505 donees; roughly 99.6% of returns were nontaxable (IRS SOI, “2021 Gifts,” Pub. 5368, Rev. 7-2023).
• The exemption has grown 22.2-fold since 2001 ($675,000 to $15,000,000) and 2.73-fold since 2017 ($5,490,000), the primary driver of the long-run collapse in the number of taxable estates (Ledgerism analysis of CRS R48183, 2025).

Key findings

1. The 2026 basic exclusion amount is $15,000,000 per individual for decedents dying and gifts made after December 31, 2025, set by OBBBA amendment to IRC § 2010(c)(3) (IRS, “What’s new – Estate and gift tax,” 2025).
2. A married couple can shield $30 million in 2026 through the $15 million exemption plus spousal portability, up from $27.98 million in 2025 (CRS R48183, July 14, 2025).
3. The OBBBA made the higher exemption permanent with no sunset, and the amount is indexed for inflation beginning in 2027 (IRS, “What’s new – Estate and gift tax,” 2025; CRS R48183, 2025).
4. The top transfer tax rate is 40% on taxable amounts over $1,000,000; the schedule is graduated from 18% but functions as a flat 40% on taxable transfers because of the credit design (IRS, Instructions for Form 706, 2025).
5. Estate tax gross collections were $28,137,049 thousand ($28.14 billion) in FY2025, down from $29.42 billion in FY2024 and $33.78 billion in FY2023 (IRS Data Book, Table 1-6, FY2025).
6. Gift tax gross collections were $2,974,087 thousand ($2.97 billion) in FY2025 (IRS Data Book, Table 1-6, FY2025).
7. Estate tax revenue was $32 billion in FY2023, about 0.7% of federal revenues and 0.1% of GDP (CRS R48183, 2025, citing CBO).
8. 8,130 estate tax returns were filed in 2022 (largely for 2021 decedents), a 32% increase over 6,158 in 2021 (IRS SOI, Pub. 5332, Rev. 10-2024).
9. Total net estate tax reported on returns filed in 2022 was just over $22.5 billion (IRS SOI, Pub. 5332, Rev. 10-2024).
10. Among 2019 decedents, 5,314 estate tax returns were recorded and 2,129 (40.1%) were taxable, reporting $14.6 billion in net estate tax (IRS SOI Estate Tax Study, Table 1, year of death 2019).
11. The share of decedents paying estate tax fell from a historic peak of about 2.1% to 0.07% by 2019 (CRS R48183, 2025, citing JCT and IRS SOI).
12. Taxable estates fell from 5,467 for 2016 decedents to 2,129 for 2019 decedents, a 61% decline over three death-years, driven by the TCJA exemption doubling (Ledgerism analysis; CRS R48183, 2025).
13. Stock and real estate made up over half of estate tax decedents’ asset holdings on returns filed in 2022 (IRS SOI, Pub. 5332, Rev. 10-2024).
14. California, Florida, New York, Texas, and Illinois filed the most estate tax returns in 2022 (IRS SOI, Pub. 5332, Rev. 10-2024).
15. Donors filed 250,949 gift tax returns in filing year 2021, transferring nearly $182.6 billion to 800,505 donees, of whom 52.4% were the donor’s children (IRS SOI, Pub. 5368, Rev. 7-2023).

1. The exemption (basic exclusion amount) by year

The basic exclusion amount is the value of transfers a person can pass, cumulatively across lifetime gifts and the estate at death, before the tax applies. It is delivered as a unified credit against the tax. The IRS sets it annually by inflation indexing on top of the statutory base; Congress resets the base periodically.

Recent and 2026 exemption (Tier 1)

Source: Internal Revenue Service, “What’s new – Estate and gift tax,” 2025 (irs.gov).

The OBBBA, enacted July 4, 2025, amended IRC § 2010(c)(3) to set the basic exclusion amount at $15,000,000 for calendar year 2026, effective for decedents dying and gifts made after December 31, 2025, and made it permanent (no sunset), with inflation indexing resuming in 2027 (IRS, “What’s new – Estate and gift tax,” 2025; CRS R48183, July 14, 2025). This replaced the prior-law path under which the TCJA doubling would have sunset on December 31, 2025, dropping the exemption back toward roughly $7 million (pre-2018 levels indexed for inflation) (IRS SOI, Pub. 5332, Rev. 10-2024; CRS R48183, 2025).

Long-run exemption history (Tier 1)

Source: Congressional Research Service, R48183, “The Estate and Gift Tax: An Overview,” July 14, 2025; IRS “What’s new – Estate and gift tax,” 2025.

What the numbers mean. The exemption is the single most important lever in the entire transfer tax system. Each increase removes tens of thousands of estates from filing and taxpaying status. The 2026 level is 22.2 times the 2001 level and 2.73 times the 2017 level, which explains most of the decline in taxable estates documented in Section 4.

2. The rate schedule and the 40% top rate

The estate and gift tax uses a single unified rate schedule (Form 706 Table A). Rates are graduated from 18% to 40%, but because the exemption is applied as a credit that offsets the tax on the first roughly $15 million of transfers, taxable transfers above the exemption are effectively taxed at the top flat rate of 40% (IRS, Instructions for Form 706, 2025; CRS R48183, 2025).

Unified rate schedule (Form 706 Table A), 2025 (Tier 1)

Source: IRS, Instructions for Form 706 (United States Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Return), 2025. Full schedule runs through 12 brackets from 18%; the top four are shown.

Top rate over time (Tier 1)

Source: Congressional Research Service, R48183, July 14, 2025.

For 2025 decedents, the basic exclusion of $13,990,000 corresponds to a basic credit amount of $5,541,800 (IRS, Instructions for Form 706, 2025). For 2026 the credit rises in step with the $15,000,000 exemption.

3. Revenue collected: estate and gift tax

The estate and gift tax is a small share of federal revenue. The authoritative annual figures are the IRS Data Book gross collections (Table 1-6), which report actual dollars collected by fiscal year.

Gross collections by fiscal year (Tier 1)

Source: IRS Data Book, Table 1-6, “Gross Collections, by Type of Tax, Fiscal Years 1960-2025.” Figures reported in thousands of dollars; FY2025 estate $28,137,049 thousand, gift $2,974,087 thousand.

What the numbers mean. In FY2025 the estate and gift tax together produced $31.11 billion, roughly 0.585% of the $5.31 trillion in total IRS gross collections that year (Ledgerism analysis of IRS Data Book, Table 1-6, FY2025). CRS, citing CBO, reports the tax was about 0.7% of federal revenues and 0.1% of GDP in FY2023 (CRS R48183, 2025). The tax is volatile: gift tax collections in particular swing sharply year to year (from $1.65 billion in FY2023 to $3.45 billion in FY2024) because large lifetime gifts cluster around anticipated law changes.

4. The long-run decline in taxable estates

The defining trend of the modern estate tax is the collapse in the number of estates that owe it, driven almost entirely by the rising exemption.

Number of taxable estates and share of deaths (Tier 1)

Source: Congressional Research Service, R48183, July 14, 2025, citing Joint Committee on Taxation and IRS Statistics of Income.

What the numbers mean. The share of decedents paying estate tax fell from about 2.1% at the historic peak to 0.07% for 2019 deaths (CRS R48183, 2025). In raw counts, taxable estates fell 61% from 5,467 for 2016 decedents to 2,129 for 2019 decedents (Ledgerism analysis of CRS R48183, 2025). Before the OBBBA, CRS reported that the TCJA sunset would have roughly tripled the taxpaying population, with the Tax Policy Center projecting around 7,000 taxpaying returns in 2024 rising toward 19,000 after the thresholds dropped in 2026 (CRS R48183, 2025). The OBBBA’s permanent $15 million exemption eliminated that scheduled increase, so the taxpaying population is expected to remain near current historic lows.

Limitation. Post-OBBBA taxable-return counts have not yet been published; only pre-enactment projections exist. Actual 2026 filing data will not appear in SOI studies until roughly 2028.

5. Distribution of estate value and tax by size of estate

The most detailed authoritative breakdown is the IRS SOI year-of-death study, most recently available for 2019 decedents (IRS SOI Estate Tax Study, Table 1, published January 2023). All figures below are for 2019 decedents whose filing threshold was $11.40 million.

Estate tax returns by size of gross estate, 2019 decedents (Tier 1)

Source: IRS, Statistics of Income Division, Estate Tax Study, Table 1 (“Estate Tax Returns Filed for 2019 Decedents, Values for Tax Purposes, by Tax Status and Size of Gross Estate”), January 2023. Money amounts in thousands of dollars.

Concentration of tax burden, 2019 decedents (Tier 1)

Source: Ledgerism analysis of IRS SOI Estate Tax Study, Table 1, year of death 2019.

What the numbers mean. The tax is highly concentrated at the top. Estates of $50 million or more were 570 of 5,314 returns (10.7%) but held 48.5% of all gross estate and paid 59.1% of all net estate tax (Ledgerism analysis of IRS SOI, 2019). Across all taxable 2019 estates, net estate tax of $14.6 billion was 18.8% of the $77.9 billion in taxable gross estate, well below the 40% statutory rate, because marital and charitable deductions and the exemption credit reduce the base (Ledgerism analysis of IRS SOI, 2019). The average net estate tax per taxable return was about $6.9 million (Ledgerism analysis of IRS SOI, 2019). On returns filed in 2022, stock and real estate together made up over half of decedents’ asset holdings (IRS SOI, Pub. 5332, Rev. 10-2024).

Limitation. The year-of-death distribution lags to 2019 decedents; it predates the 2020-2022 asset-price swings and the OBBBA. It is not directly comparable to filing-year totals in Section 6 (filing-year data mix multiple death years).

6. Estate tax returns filed, by filing year

Filing-year data (returns filed in a single calendar year, regardless of death year) run more current than year-of-death studies. The most recent SOI filing-year figures cover returns filed through 2022, with state-level tables through filing year 2023.

Returns filed and net estate tax, filing years (Tier 1)

Source: IRS, Statistics of Income, “Estate Tax Returns Filed for Wealthy Decedents, Filing Years 2013-2022,” Publication 5332, Rev. 10-2024.

What the numbers mean. Returns filed rose 32% from 6,158 in 2021 to 8,130 in 2022, which the IRS attributes to pandemic-era asset-price swings; returns filed in 2022 were largely for decedents who died in 2021 (IRS SOI, Pub. 5332, Rev. 10-2024). Filing-year net estate tax of $22.5 billion (returns filed in 2022) differs from fiscal-year gross collections in Section 3 because of timing and the difference between reported liability and cash collected.

7. Gift tax return volumes

The gift tax applies to lifetime transfers above the annual exclusion. The most recent SOI gift study covers filing year 2021.

Gift tax returns (Form 709), filing year 2021 (Tier 1)

Source: IRS, Statistics of Income, “2021 Gifts,” Publication 5368, Rev. 7-2023.

Annual gift tax exclusion by year (Tier 1)

Source: IRS, “What’s new – Estate and gift tax,” 2025.

What the numbers mean. The vast majority of gift tax returns owe no tax. Among women filing (50.7% of returns) only 0.4% were taxable, and among men (49.3%) only 0.3% were taxable, so roughly 99.6% of all 2021 gift returns were nontaxable (Ledgerism analysis of IRS SOI, Pub. 5368, Rev. 7-2023). Most Form 709 returns are filed to formally use exemption or split gifts, not to pay tax. About 75.2% of 2021-filed returns reported gifts made in 2020 (IRS SOI, Pub. 5368, Rev. 7-2023).

Limitation. The annual exclusion ($19,000) is distinct from the lifetime exemption ($15,000,000 in 2026); gifts within the annual exclusion require no return and are not captured in these counts.

Original synthesis (derived insights)

Insight 1: The $50M+ concentration ratio

Finding. Among 2019 decedents, estates of $50 million or more were 10.7% of estate tax returns but paid 59.1% of all net estate tax.
Logic. Concentration ratio = (net estate tax from $50M+ bracket) / (total net estate tax) and (returns in $50M+ bracket) / (total returns).
Inputs. IRS SOI Estate Tax Study, Table 1, year of death 2019: $50M+ net estate tax $8,638,421 thousand; total net estate tax $14,624,677 thousand; $50M+ returns 570; total returns 5,314.
Calculation. 8,638,421 / 14,624,677 = 59.1%; 570 / 5,314 = 10.7%; gross estate share 82,932,950 / 171,090,951 = 48.5%.
Limitation. 2019 death-year data; not adjusted for post-2019 asset inflation or the OBBBA.

Insight 2: The effective transfer tax rate is 18.8%, not 40%

Finding. For 2019 decedents, net estate tax equaled 18.8% of taxable gross estate, less than half the 40% statutory rate.
Logic. Effective rate = total net estate tax / gross estate of taxable returns.
Inputs. IRS SOI, Table 1, year of death 2019: net estate tax $14,624,677 thousand; gross estate of taxable returns $77,883,939 thousand.
Calculation. 14,624,677 / 77,883,939 = 18.8%. Average net tax per taxable return: 14,624,677 / 2,129 = about $6.9 million.
Limitation. The gap reflects unlimited marital and charitable deductions and the exemption credit; it varies year to year with the mix of married vs. single decedents and charitable bequests.

Insight 3: The exemption multiplier explains the vanishing estate tax

Finding. The exemption grew 22.2-fold from 2001 ($675,000) to 2026 ($15,000,000), while taxable estates fell from about 2.1% of decedents to 0.07% (2019).
Logic. Exemption multiplier = 2026 exemption / 2001 exemption, read against the taxpaying-share time series.
Inputs. CRS R48183 (2025) exemption history; IRS “What’s new” (2025) for 2026; JCT/IRS SOI taxpaying share via CRS.
Calculation. 15,000,000 / 675,000 = 22.2x; 15,000,000 / 5,490,000 (2017) = 2.73x. Taxable estates fell 61% from 5,467 (2016 deaths) to 2,129 (2019 deaths).
Limitation. Correlation across policy eras; asset-price growth and estate-planning behavior also contribute. Directionally robust because the exemption is the binding filing threshold.

Insight 4: The revenue-to-collections ratio (bonus)

Finding. In FY2025 the estate and gift tax was about 0.585% of total IRS gross collections; estate tax alone was 0.53%.
Logic. Share = (estate + gift gross collections) / total IRS gross collections.
Inputs. IRS Data Book, Table 1-6, FY2025: estate $28,137,049 thousand; gift $2,974,087 thousand; total $5,313,762,307 thousand.
Calculation. (28,137,049 + 2,974,087) / 5,313,762,307 = 0.585%.
Limitation. Gross collections include penalties and interest; net receipts differ slightly.

Charts to create

1. Estate tax returns filed and net estate tax, 2013-2022. Data: annual returns filed and net estate tax (IRS SOI Pub. 5332). Insight: the 2020 dip and 2022 spike to 8,130 returns. Citation-worthy because it shows pandemic-era volatility in one series.
2. Exemption vs. taxpaying share, 2001-2026. Data: exemption by year (CRS R48183, IRS) plotted against share of decedents owing tax (CRS/JCT). Insight: the inverse relationship, the report’s central thesis.
3. Concentration curve by size of estate, 2019. Data: cumulative share of returns vs. cumulative share of net estate tax (IRS SOI Table 1). Insight: 10.7% of returns pay 59.1% of tax.
4. Estate vs. gift gross collections, FY2021-FY2025. Data: IRS Data Book Table 1-6. Insight: gift-tax volatility around anticipated law changes.
5. Effective vs. statutory rate, 2019. Data: 18.8% effective vs. 40% statutory (IRS SOI Table 1). Insight: deductions cut the real burden by more than half.

Methodology

Source selection. Tier-1 primary sources were prioritized: IRS Statistics of Income studies (Form 706 estate, Form 709 gift), the IRS Data Book (Table 1-6 gross collections), IRS guidance on exemption amounts, IRS Form 706 instructions for the rate schedule, and the Congressional Research Service report R48183 (which compiles JCT, CBO, and IRS SOI figures). Where a primary IRS microdata table (SOI Table 1) was available, exact figures were parsed directly from the published Excel file rather than relying on secondary summaries.

Inclusion/exclusion. Every statistic carries a specific year and geography (all figures are U.S. federal). Figures that could not be traced to a primary source were excluded. Projections were labeled as projections and never presented as realized data.

Handling conflicts. Filing-year and year-of-death figures are reported separately and not blended, because they cover different populations. Fiscal-year gross collections (Data Book) are distinguished from reported net estate tax (SOI), which differ by timing and by the gap between liability and cash collected.

Derived figures. All four derived insights show their formula, inputs, and calculation. The $50M+ concentration, the 18.8% effective rate, and the collections ratio were computed directly from IRS SOI Table 1 and IRS Data Book Table 1-6.

Data limitations. SOI year-of-death estate data lags to 2019 decedents; SOI filing-year returns lag to 2022; the gift study lags to filing year 2021; state estate tables lag to filing year 2023. Post-OBBBA taxable-return counts and FY2026 collections are not yet published. Last updated 2026-06-29.

Source quality ranking

Tier 1 (primary: government/statutory).
– IRS, Statistics of Income, “Estate Tax Returns Filed for Wealthy Decedents, Filing Years 2013-2022,” Pub. 5332 (Rev. 10-2024).
– IRS, Statistics of Income, Estate Tax Study, Table 1 (year of death 2019, published January 2023).
– IRS, Statistics of Income, “2021 Gifts,” Pub. 5368 (Rev. 7-2023).
– IRS, Data Book, Table 1-6, “Gross Collections, by Type of Tax, Fiscal Years 1960-2025.”
– IRS, “What’s new – Estate and gift tax” (2025).
– IRS, Instructions for Form 706 (2025).
– Congressional Research Service, R48183, “The Estate and Gift Tax: An Overview” (July 14, 2025), which compiles JCT, CBO, and IRS SOI data.

Tier 2 (credible research citing primary data).
– Tax Foundation, “Federal Estate Tax Returns: IRS Data” (used only to cross-check IRS SOI figures; not a primary citation in the tables above).

Excluded and why. Law-firm and wealth-advisory blog posts on the OBBBA $15 million exemption were excluded from citation because the same facts were confirmed directly from the IRS “What’s new” page and CRS R48183. Tax Policy Center projection counts appear only as labeled projections via CRS, not as realized data. Any figure that could not be traced to a primary source was dropped.

Citation format (for major statistics)

• Exemption 2026: Source: Internal Revenue Service, "What's new - Estate and gift tax," 2025; One Big Beautiful Bill Act, P.L. 119-21.
• Top rate: Source: IRS, Instructions for Form 706 (United States Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Return), 2025.
• FY2025 collections: Source: IRS Data Book, Table 1-6, Gross Collections by Type of Tax, Fiscal Year 2025.
• Returns filed 2022: Source: IRS, Statistics of Income, Publication 5332 (Rev. 10-2024).
• Size distribution 2019: Source: IRS, Statistics of Income Division, Estate Tax Study, Table 1, year of death 2019 (January 2023).
• Gift returns 2021: Source: IRS, Statistics of Income, Publication 5368 (Rev. 7-2023).
• Taxpaying share/decline: Source: Congressional Research Service, R48183, July 14, 2025 (citing JCT and IRS SOI).

Journalist-friendly additions

Most quotable statistics

• The estate tax exemption jumped to $15 million per person in 2026 ($30 million per couple) and was made permanent (IRS, 2025; OBBBA, P.L. 119-21).
• Only about 0.07% of U.S. deaths resulted in a taxable estate as of 2019, down from a peak near 2.1% (CRS R48183, 2025).
• Estates of $50 million or more paid 59.1% of all estate tax while making up just 10.7% of returns (2019 decedents; Ledgerism analysis of IRS SOI).
• The estate and gift tax raised $31.1 billion in FY2025, about 0.6% of federal collections (IRS Data Book, Table 1-6).
• Americans filed 250,949 gift tax returns in 2021, transferring $182.6 billion, but roughly 99.6% owed no tax (IRS SOI, Pub. 5368).

Data limitations

IRS SOI estate and gift studies lag one to three years. Year-of-death distribution data is only current through 2019 decedents; filing-year returns through 2022; gift data through 2021. Post-OBBBA taxpaying counts and FY2026 collections are not yet published. Filing-year and year-of-death figures are not directly comparable.

Downloadable dataset – recommended fields

metric_name, value, unit, year_or_period, period_type (fiscal_year / filing_year / year_of_death), geography (US), source_publication, source_url, source_tier, notes_limitations, is_derived (Y/N), derivation_formula.

Press summary (about 150 words)

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, enacted July 4, 2025, permanently raised the federal estate and gift tax exemption to $15 million per person ($30 million per married couple) starting January 1, 2026, with inflation indexing resuming in 2027. The top transfer tax rate remains 40%. Federal data show the tax now touches very few Americans: only about 0.07% of deaths produced a taxable estate as of 2019, down from a historic peak near 2.1%. The tax is also highly concentrated. Among 2019 decedents, estates of $50 million or more made up 10.7% of estate tax returns but paid 59.1% of all estate tax. In fiscal year 2025 the estate and gift tax raised $31.1 billion, roughly 0.6% of federal collections. Gift activity is largely non-taxable: of 250,949 gift tax returns filed in 2021, about 99.6% owed no tax. (Sources: IRS SOI, IRS Data Book, CRS R48183.)

Suggested headlines

1. “The $15 Million Exemption: How the 2026 Estate Tax Now Reaches Almost No One”
2. “10.7% of Estates Pay 59% of the Estate Tax: The Concentration at the Top”
3. “From 2.1% to 0.07%: The Long Decline of the American Estate Tax”
4. “$31 Billion and Shrinking: What the Estate and Gift Tax Actually Raises”
5. “99.6% of Gift Tax Returns Owe Nothing: What Form 709 Data Reveals”

FAQs (answered with verified statistics)

1. What is the estate tax exemption in 2026? $15,000,000 per individual, $30 million per married couple with portability (IRS, 2025; OBBBA).
2. Is the higher exemption permanent? Yes. OBBBA removed the sunset; the $15 million amount is indexed for inflation from 2027 (IRS, 2025; CRS R48183).
3. What is the top estate tax rate? 40% on taxable amounts over $1,000,000 (IRS, Form 706 Instructions, 2025).
4. How much revenue does the estate tax raise? $28.1 billion in estate tax and $3.0 billion in gift tax in FY2025 (IRS Data Book, Table 1-6).
5. How many estates actually pay the tax? 2,129 taxable estates among 2019 decedents, about 0.07% of deaths (IRS SOI; CRS R48183).
6. How many estate tax returns are filed? 8,130 were filed in 2022, up 32% from 2021 (IRS SOI, Pub. 5332).
7. Who pays most of the estate tax? Estates of $50 million or more: 10.7% of returns, 59.1% of tax (2019; Ledgerism analysis of IRS SOI).
8. What is the real effective rate? About 18.8% of taxable gross estate for 2019 decedents, well below the 40% statutory rate (Ledgerism analysis of IRS SOI).
9. How many gift tax returns are filed and how many owe tax? 250,949 in 2021; roughly 99.6% were nontaxable (IRS SOI, Pub. 5368).
10. What is the annual gift exclusion? $19,000 per donee in 2025 and 2026, separate from the $15 million lifetime exemption (IRS, 2025).

Sources

1. Internal Revenue Service, “What’s new – Estate and gift tax” (2025). https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/whats-new-estate-and-gift-tax
2. Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income, “Estate Tax Returns Filed for Wealthy Decedents, Filing Years 2013-2022,” Publication 5332 (Rev. 10-2024). https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5332.pdf
3. Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division, Estate Tax Study, Table 1 (year of death 2019). https://www.irs.gov/statistics/soi-tax-stats-estate-tax-year-of-death-tables (data: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/19es01yd.xlsx)
4. Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income, “2021 Gifts,” Publication 5368 (Rev. 7-2023). https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5368.pdf
5. Internal Revenue Service, Data Book, Table 1-6, “Gross Collections, by Type of Tax, Fiscal Years 1960-2025.” https://www.irs.gov/statistics/soi-tax-stats-gross-collections-by-type-of-tax-irs-data-book-table-6 (data: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/25db-1-06-co.xlsx)
6. Internal Revenue Service, Instructions for Form 706 (2025). https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i706
7. Congressional Research Service, R48183, “The Estate and Gift Tax: An Overview” (July 14, 2025). https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/R/PDF/R48183/R48183.4.pdf (HTML mirror: https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/R48183.html)
8. Internal Revenue Service, SOI Tax Stats – Estate tax filing year tables. https://www.irs.gov/statistics/soi-tax-stats-estate-tax-filing-year-tables
9. Internal Revenue Service, SOI Tax Stats – Gift tax statistics. https://www.irs.gov/statistics/soi-tax-stats-gift-tax-statistics

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