For 2011, the federal estate tax exemption will be $5 million and the estate tax rate for estates valued over this amount will be 35%. The estate tax has also become unified with federal gift and generation-skipping transfer taxes such that in 2011 the lifetime gift tax exemption and generation-skipping transfer tax exemption will be $5 million each and the tax rate for both of these taxes will also be 35%. There is NO federal level inheritance tax.
For 2011, the federal estate tax exemption will be $5 million and the estate tax rate for estates valued over this amount will be 35%. The estate tax has also become unified with federal gift and generation-skipping transfer taxes such that in 2011 the lifetime gift tax exemption and generation-skipping transfer tax exemption will be $5 million each and the tax rate for both of these taxes will also be 35%. There is NO federal level inheritance tax.
There is no federal inheritance tax, but there is a federal estate tax. A few states have a state inheritance tax and each state sets its own tax rate. You may be seeking information about the estate tax (which taxes the value of an estate after someone has died). Be sure you know the difference.
Some states have their own estate or inheritance tax along with the federal estate tax. You will have to check with your tax professional to determine your tax liability. The best way to calculate your estate tax is to use an online calculator, such as one found at http://www.dinkytown.net/java/EstatePlan.html which lets you input all of the different tax variables and supplies you with your tax rate.
Federal Tax Rate Table based on income
Heirs do not pay tax. The decadent's estate pays any applicable tax. Fees paid to executors may be taxable. Check with state and Federal tax codes.
No the federal tax brackets would NOT be your average income tax rate on your income. Each separate federal tax bracket amount is your marginal tax rate for that amount of your taxable income that is in that bracket amount.
There is no inheritance or estate tax in Virginia. It is limited and related to federal estate tax collection only.
California no longer has an estate tax to speak of. It was repealed in 2005.
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North Carolina does not have an inheritance tax. Inherited assets are not subject to state inheritance tax, although they may still be subject to federal estate tax depending on the total value of the estate.
Virginia does not have an inheritance tax. But they do have an estate tax.
I assume you mean the estate tax, not the inheritance tax. (There is a federal estate tax, but no federal inheritance tax.) The federal estate tax will be abolished in 2010. And (unless the law is changed) it will be reinstated in 2011 and the exclusion amount will drop from the $3.5 million in 2009 to $1 million in 2011. Note that this does not apply to state estate or inheritance taxes. Because of the craziness on the federal level, many states have been revising their estate taxes to decouple them from federal changes. ***Caution*** Before making any plans to die in 2010 in order to take advantage of the estate tax repeal, be aware that this situation is very fluid and the law could be changed.