New York estate tax in 2026
New York taxes estates above $7,350,000 for deaths in 2026, and an estate a little larger than that loses the exclusion entirely. Enter the New York taxable estate to see the tax, the cliff and the rate on each dollar.
- Basic exclusion 2026
- $7,350,000
- Credit lost entirely at
- $7,717,500
- Top rate
- 16 %
- Return ET-706 due
- 9 months
New York estate tax for a death in 2026
$386,400
Inside the cliff: the credit shrinks to zero at $7,717,500.
| Basic exclusion amount | $7,350,000 |
| 105 % of it | $7,717,500 |
| Tax without any credit | $705,200 |
| Tax owed | $386,400 |
| Tax on each dollar above the exclusion | 257.6 % |
Gifts made in the 3 years before death count in the New York taxable estate (deaths before January 1, 2032).
| Taxable estate | Tax | Tax per dollar over the exclusion |
|---|---|---|
| $7,350,000 | $0 | n/a |
| $7,423,500 | $198,396 | 269.9 % |
| $7,497,000 | $379,272 | 258.0 % |
| $7,570,500 | $538,068 | 244.0 % |
| $7,644,000 | $658,634 | 224.0 % |
| $7,717,500 | $734,780 | 199.9 % |
| $7,817,500 | $748,380 | 160.1 % |
| $8,217,500 | $803,720 | 92.6 % |
Compiled by Radif Partners · How we calculate · figures read on the state revenue department, the statute and irs.gov · not legal or tax advice
For a death in 2026, New York owes no estate tax when the New York taxable estate is $7,350,000 or less, the basic exclusion amount set by the Department of Taxation and Finance (it was $7,160,000 in 2025). Above that line New York does not tax only the excess, as the federal system does. The applicable credit shrinks as the estate grows and disappears at 105 % of the exclusion, $7,717,500; past that point the tax is computed on the entire estate with the table of Tax Law section 952, from 3.06 % on the first $500,000 to 16 % above $10,100,000. An estate of $7,500,000 owes $386,400, an estate of $9,000,000 owes $916,400. There is no portability between spouses in New York, gifts made in the three years before death are added back, and nonresidents pay only on real estate and tangible property located in the state. The federal exclusion is $15,000,000, so most New York estates that pay state tax pay no federal tax at all.
How the New York tax is computed
The starting point is the federal gross estate, minus the deductions allowed on the federal return: debts, funeral and administration costs, the marital deduction for what passes to a spouse who is a US citizen, and the charitable deduction. Two adjustments follow. A resident's real estate and tangible property located outside New York are left out, since they are taxed, if at all, by the state where they sit. Taxable gifts made within three years of death are added back, a rule that runs for deaths before January 1, 2032 (Form ET-706 instructions). The result is the New York taxable estate.
The tax on that amount is read on the table of Tax Law section 952. Then comes the applicable credit, and this is where New York departs from every other state. At or below $7,350,000 the credit equals the tax, so nothing is owed. Between $7,350,000 and $7,717,500 the credit is the tax on a shrinking amount: the exclusion multiplied by one minus the excess divided by 5 % of the exclusion. Above $7,717,500 there is no credit.
| New York taxable estate | Tax | Tax per dollar above the exclusion |
|---|---|---|
| $7,000,000 | $0 | none |
| $7,350,000 | $0 | none |
| $7,423,500 | $198,396 | 269.9 % |
| $7,533,750 | $463,190 | 252.1 % |
| $7,500,000 | $386,400 | 257.6 % |
| $7,717,500 | $734,780 | 199.9 % |
| $9,000,000 | $916,400 | 55.5 % |
| $12,000,000 | $1,386,800 | 29.8 % |
The cliff in numbers
The last column of the table is the one that matters for planning. An estate of $7,423,500, one percent over the line, owes $198,396: far more than the $73,500 by which it exceeds the exclusion. Inside the band the tax grows faster than the estate, so each extra dollar costs more than a dollar. Past $7,717,500 the curve calms down to the ordinary marginal rate of the table, 13.6 % at that level, but the estate has by then paid tax on its first dollar.
Where is your estate on the cliff?
New York estate tax for a death in 2026
$538,068
| Basic exclusion amount | $7,350,000 |
| 105 % of it | $7,717,500 |
| Tax without any credit | $714,788 |
| Tax owed | $538,068 |
Two consequences follow. A gift to charity that brings the taxable estate back to $7,350,000 can leave heirs with more money than they would have received without it, because the tax saved is larger than the gift. This is why New York wills sometimes contain a clause leaving to charity exactly the amount needed to avoid the cliff. And a valuation dispute that adds a few hundred thousand dollars to the estate can change the tax by several hundred thousand.
Married couples and the missing portability
Everything left to a spouse who is a US citizen is deducted, so the first death usually owes nothing. The problem appears at the second death. Federal law lets the survivor add the unused federal exclusion of the first spouse; New York does not. A couple worth $9,000,000 who leave everything to each other pass the whole amount to the second estate, which then owes $916,400 to New York. If the first spouse to die leaves $7,350,000 to a credit shelter trust for the survivor instead, that money is outside the second estate, and the second estate of $1,650,000 owes $0. The comparison, with other states, is on the page on married couples.
Gifts, and the three-year rule
New York has no gift tax. That makes lifetime gifts the classic way to bring an estate under the line, with one limit: taxable gifts made while a resident, within three years of death, are added back to the New York taxable estate. A gift within the federal annual exclusion of $19,000 per person is not a taxable gift and is never added back. Gifts of more than that use part of the federal lifetime exclusion and are reported on Form 709 (gifts and state estate taxes).
Nonresidents with a New York apartment or house
A person who lived in Florida or Connecticut and owned a home in New York may owe New York estate tax. Under Tax Law section 960, the tax is computed as for a resident, but on New York real estate and tangible property only; bank accounts, securities and other intangible assets are left out. The return is due when that property plus includible gifts exceeds the basic exclusion. In practice a New York apartment worth less than $7,350,000 leaves nothing to pay, but a large Manhattan property can by itself cross the cliff. The property in another state page covers the other twelve jurisdictions.
Filing and paying
Form ET-706 is due nine months after death, with an extension of up to six months to file; the tax is also due at nine months, and interest runs after that date. The Department publishes the exclusion and the forms on its estate tax pages. A return is required whenever the federal gross estate plus includible gifts exceeds $7,350,000, even if deductions bring the tax to zero. The exclusion is indexed to inflation each year: $7,160,000 in 2025, $7,350,000 in 2026.