2025 Estate Tax Law Changes

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Last Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Read Time: 2 mins

A lot of my recent videos have been focused on changes to tax laws scheduled for January 2026, but there are also some tax updates coming in 2025. While upcoming changes to estate tax laws in 2026 are a big focus, recent updates from the Treasury about estate and gift taxes will impact 2025 as well, so let’s discuss that. Right now, in 2024, each individual can pass up to $13.6 million in wealth transfer during their lifetime without paying estate tax. Anything above that threshold is subject to estate tax, and although the tax rate gradually increases, it quickly reaches 40%. For simplicity, most commentators refer to it as a 40% estate tax.

However, beginning on January 1, 2026, the laws are scheduled to revert to older estate tax exemption limits, meaning the exemption will drop from today’s $13.6 million back down to about $5.49 million, or around $7 million with inflation adjustments. While it’s currently near $14 million, the exemption amount will significantly decrease unless Congress intervenes.

In 2025, though, there’s an inflation adjustment to the exemption, raising it slightly from $13.6 million to $13.99 million. While it’s not a massive increase, it brings us closer to $14 million. Married couples are allowed to combine their exemptions, allowing them to pass nearly $28 million tax-free in 2025, with any amount above that subject to estate tax.

This brings me to a key point: we have tax law changes to consider in both 2025 and 2026. If you’ve done estate planning and perhaps gifted assets to individuals or trusts to reduce estate tax, you still have a bit more exemption room if you haven’t fully used it. Take advantage of this next year while the exemption is $13.99 million, especially if it was previously lower when you last did gifting. Using this higher exemption within the next 12-15 months is an opportunity to further reduce your estate tax liability before the threshold decreases.

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