The 2024 estate tax exemption amount is $13,610,000. It will increase again for inflation in 2025.
In 2010, Obama raised the estate tax exemption to $5,000,000, indexed for inflation.
In 2017, Trump doubled the estate tax exemption to $10,000,000, also indexed for inflation. However, Trump's exemption is scheduled to sunset at the end of 2025.
As a result, the president and the Congress elected in November will determine the fate of the estate tax. There are three ways this could go:
The current estate and gift tax situation is very positive compared to years past.
Below is a table showing the historical estate tax exemption, estate tax rate and annual exclusion since 1997.
Notice that in 1997 the estate tax exemption was only $600,000, and the estate tax rate was 55%, which meant that if you had an estate worth more than $1,000,000 your estate tax would be $1,000,000 - $600,000 = $400,000 (55%) = $220,000. Yikes!
| Year | Gift and Estate Tax Exemption | Estate Tax Rate | Annual Gift Exclusion |
| 1997 - 2001 | $600,000 - $675,000 | 55% | $10,000 |
| 2002 - 2005 | $1,000,000 - $1,500,000 | 50% - 47% | $11,000 |
| 2006 - 2008 | $2,000,000 | 46% - 45% | $12,000 |
| 2009 | $3,500,000 | 45% | $13,000 |
| 2010 | no estate tax 😎 | no estate tax 😎 | $13,000 |
| 2011 - 2017 | $5,000,000 - $5,490,000 | 35% - 40% | $13,000 - $14,000 |
| 2018 | $11,180,000 | 40% | $15,000 |
| 2019 | $11,400,000 | 40% | $15,000 |
| 2020 | $11,580,000 | 40% | $15,000 |
| 2021 | $11,700,000 | 40% | $15,000 |
| 2022 | $12,060,000 | 40% | $16,000 |
| 2023 | $12,920,000 | 40% | $17,000 |
| 2024 | $13,610,000 | 40% | $18,000 |