Don’t Go Over The Tax Cliff. State Estate Tax May Kill Inheritances

[Special thanks to Joel C. Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.]

An estate tax can still be levied on things the deceased owned or had certain interests in when they die. The tax is paid by the person’s estate and can cut into beneficiaries’ inheritances. The federal government charges an estate tax, but the threshold is high, so most people don’t have to worry about it. Some states, not all, also have estate taxes − you may have to worry about those.

States with estate taxes usually have thresholds that are much lower than the federal government’s, which many people may reach. Certain states are also “cliff states” where estate taxes exceeding a specific, relatively low exemption threshold cause the entire estate − not just the excess amount − to become taxable. Sometimes, a single dollar can trigger hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes, experts say.

Click the link below to learn what you need to know about state estate taxes so you can plan for them and save your loved ones from getting a much smaller inheritance than you meant for them to have.

For more information see Medora Lee “Don’t Go Over The Tax Cliff. State Estate Tax May Kill Inheritances,” Financial Advisor, February 27, 2026.