Articles Tagged with federal estate tax

California is a big state, and it’s easy to get near-sighted. Because California has no state-specific gift or estate taxes, it’s easy to focus almost exclusively on the federal estate and gift tax exemptions when planning for the taxes due after there’s been a death.

But nineteen states and the District of Columbia levy their own state estate taxes or inheritance taxes, with widely varying exemptions and tax rates, and these taxes can come due, even to California residents–either because they own property located in another state, or because they inherit assets from a resident of a state with an inheritance tax.

If you, for example, own property in a state with an estate tax, like Minnesota, you might find an estate tax bill due as a result.  Estate taxes fall on the estate of the person who died; Minnesota currently exempts property worth up to $1.2 million, then levies a maximum estate tax rate of 16%. So, if your luxury duck blind is valued at more than $1.2 million,  your estate may owe tax on the transfer of that blind at your death.