Estate and Gift Tax Limits Table
| Item | 2026 amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Basic exclusion (estate) | $15,000,000 | OBBBA section 70106, inflation-adjusted after 2026 |
| GST exemption | $15,000,000 | same figure, same source |
| Annual gift exclusion | $19,000 | per recipient, per year |
| Qualifying relative income limit | $5,300 | gross income test for dependents |
The 2026 estate-tax landscape changed shape: the basic exclusion - the amount you can pass at death free of federal estate tax - jumps to $15,000,000 per person under the OBBBA, and instead of the scheduled sunset everyone had planned around, it stays in the code with inflation adjustments from 2027 onward. The annual gift exclusion rises to $19,000 per recipient.
All four numbers - the estate exclusion, the matching generation-skipping exemption, the annual exclusion, and the qualifying-relative gross income test - come verbatim from Rev. Proc. 2025-32 and the OBBBA amendment it carries.
How to use
- Enter the number of gift recipients for total annual-exclusion room; a married couple gift-splitting doubles it.
- Read the table for the four planning numbers; the $15,000,000 exclusion is per person and portable between spouses.
- Gifts above $19,000 per recipient are not taxed - they are reported on Form 709 and counted against the $15,000,000 lifetime headroom.
Frequently asked questions
Is the $15 million exclusion permanent?
It is permanent law now: the OBBBA replaced the scheduled 2026 sunset (back to roughly $7 million) with the $15,000,000 figure, inflation-indexed for years after 2026. Planning that assumed a midnight repeal - spousal lifetime access trusts timed to December 31, 2025 - no longer has the cliff to race.
Do gifts above $19,000 trigger tax immediately?
No - the excess is a taxable gift only in the reporting sense: Form 709 files it and it draws down the $15,000,000 lifetime exclusion. Federal gift tax is owed only when lifetime taxable gifts exhaust that exclusion, which for all but the largest estates never happens; state estate or gift lines are separate.
What is the qualifying-relative $5,300 test?
To claim someone as a dependent under the qualifying-relative rules, their gross income for 2026 must stay under $5,300 (with separate support and relationship tests). Cross the line by a dollar and the dependency - and its associated credits and deductions - disappears for the year.
How does portability work between spouses?
A surviving spouse may elect portability on the estate return to receive the deceased spouse’s unused exclusion - two spouses can shield up to $30,000,000 combined at 2026 levels. The election is opt-in and deadline-bound, which is why even no-tax estates file the Form 706 to bank it.