Estate Tax Exemption 2027: $15.48 Million per Person, IRS Says

The federal estate tax exemption for 2027 is $15,480,000 per person, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said on Nov. 5, 2026 in news release IR-2026-133. The release says “Estates of decedents who die during 2027 have a basic exclusion amount of $15,480,000,” “up from a total of $15,000,000 for estates of decedents who died in 2026.” Revenue Procedure 2026-35, section 3.44, repeats the figure. Below: the exclusion for every year since 2017 with our computed change, the married couple total, a Form 706 due-date table and the other 2027 estate figures, plus a free printable fact sheet.

What is the estate tax exemption for 2027?

$15,480,000 per decedent, for deaths during calendar year 2027. The IRS calls it the basic exclusion amount. It is $480,000 more than the 2026 amount of $15,000,000, a rise of 3.2% by our arithmetic.

The 2026 amount came from the Working Families Tax Cuts law, signed on July 4, 2025 as Public Law 119-21. The IRS “What’s new” page says the law “amends § 2010(c)(3) by increasing the basic exclusion amount to $15,000,000 for calendar year 2026.” Rev. Proc. 2026-35 calls the same law “commonly known as the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act.”

Estate tax exclusion by year, 2017 to 2027

The IRS estate tax page lists a “filing threshold for year of death” for each year; it equals the basic exclusion amount. It has no 2027 row yet, so the 2027 line comes from IR-2026-133. The two change columns are our arithmetic from the IRS figures.

Year of death	Exclusion	Change from prior year	Change, %
2017	$5,490,000	n/a	n/a
2018	$11,180,000	+$5,690,000	+103.6%
2019	$11,400,000	+$220,000	+2.0%
2020	$11,580,000	+$180,000	+1.6%
2021	$11,700,000	+$120,000	+1.0%
2022	$12,060,000	+$360,000	+3.1%
2023	$12,920,000	+$860,000	+7.1%
2024	$13,610,000	+$690,000	+5.3%
2025	$13,990,000	+$380,000	+2.8%
2026	$15,000,000	+$1,010,000	+7.2%
2027	$15,480,000	+$480,000	+3.2%

The IRS figure rises in every year of the table. The 2018 step of $5,690,000 is the largest, and the $1,010,000 step for 2026 is the largest after it. The IRS table gives no reason for the individual steps; for 2026 the IRS “What’s new” page names the Working Families Tax Cuts law. For the 2027 gift limit, see our gift tax exclusion story, and for the income tax numbers our 2027 tax brackets and limits story.

How much can a married couple exclude in 2027?

Two times $15,480,000 is $30,960,000. The IRS does not print that total, so it is our arithmetic, and it holds only when the second spouse’s exclusion is available.

The Form 706 instructions explain how. “The amount received by the surviving spouse is called the deceased spousal unused exclusion (DSUE) amount,” and “The timely filing of a complete Form 706 with DSUE will be deemed a portability election if there is a surviving spouse.” Each spouse can also use their own exclusion. The table summarizes the IRS wording.

Question	IRS answer (Form 706 instructions, 07/2026)
What moves to the surviving spouse?	The deceased spousal unused exclusion (DSUE) amount
How is it elected?	A timely, complete Form 706 is “deemed a portability election”
Who must file for it?	The executor “elects to transfer” the DSUE amount, “regardless of the size of the decedent’s gross estate”

Rev. Proc. 2022-32 added a later route: executors “may now file Form 706 on or before the fifth anniversary of the decedent’s death,” but only for estates that had no filing requirement under section 6018(a).

When is Form 706 due after a death in 2027?

The Form 706 instructions say “You must file Form 706 to report estate and/or generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax within 9 months after the date of the decedent’s death.” They add that “The estate and GST taxes are due within 9 months of the date of the decedent’s death.” Form 4768 gives “an automatic 6-month extension of time to file.” The instructions for 2027 deaths are not out yet, so these dates apply the 07/2026 rule to three sample dates of death. Both date columns are our arithmetic.

Date of death	Form 706 due (9 months)	Extended filing date (+6 months)
Jan. 15, 2027	Oct. 15, 2027	April 15, 2028
June 30, 2027	March 30, 2028	Sept. 30, 2028
Dec. 31, 2027	Sept. 30, 2028	March 30, 2029

The instructions quoted here do not say what happens when a due date lands on a weekend or holiday, so the table does not apply such a rule. Put the actual date of death in the 2027 yearly calendar or the January 2027 calendar to count nine months.

When must an estate file Form 706?

The Form 706 instructions for 2026 deaths say to file for a decedent “Whose gross estate, plus adjusted taxable gifts and specific exemption, is more than $15,000,000; or” “Whose executor elects to transfer the deceased spousal unused exclusion (DSUE) amount to the surviving spouse, regardless of the size of the decedent’s gross estate.” The 2027 filing threshold is not on the IRS table yet; the release gives $15,480,000 as the 2027 exclusion.

What is the top estate tax rate?

The top rate in the IRS’s unified rate schedule is 40%. Table A of the Form 706 instructions lists it for amounts over $1,000,000, with a base of $345,800. The IRS has not published a separate 2027 rate.

Which other 2027 estate figures did the IRS set?

Rev. Proc. 2026-35 sets other estate numbers for 2027 deaths. The 2026 values come from the Form 706 instructions, “What’s New.”

Figure	2026	2027	Rev. Proc. 2026-35
Basic exclusion amount	$15,000,000	$15,480,000	section 3.44
Special-use valuation (section 2032A) decrease, ceiling	$1,460,000	$1,500,000	section 3.45
Section 6166 “2-percent portion” amount	$1,940,000	$2,010,000	section 3.56

For 2027, the special-use valuation decrease “cannot exceed $1,500,000.” Gifts to a spouse who is not a U.S. citizen are not counted as taxable gifts for the first $201,000 in 2027 (section 3.46(2)). The annual gift exclusion is $20,000, up from $19,000 (section 3.46(1)).

Print the 2027 estate tax fact sheet

The one-page printable lists the $15,480,000 exclusion, the $20,000 gift exclusion, the $201,000 spouse figure, the 40% top rate and the Form 706 and Form 4768 time limits, each with its IRS source, plus space for a date of death and due date. Ask an estate lawyer or tax professional how these rules apply to a specific estate. Related dates sit in our 2027 tax calendar of IRS deadlines.