Estate taxes are often referred to as death taxes since they're imposed on the transfer of an estate after a person dies.  

In 2025, estates of up to $13.99 million are free of tax.  Anything above $13.99 million gets taxed on a sliding scale from 18% up to 40%. 

If you leave an estate behind that is less than that amount, the estate won't owe any federal estate tax. 

All property left to a surviving spouse passes free of estate tax.  All property left to a tax-exempt charity is also free of estate tax.

A husband and wife each get their own exemption. So each person can leave to their heirs $13.99 million tax-free in 2025 (assuming they haven’t made prior lifetime gifts) to heirs and pay no federal estate or gift tax.

Some states have their own estate taxes with different thresholds and tax rates.