About PlainEstate
Our Mission
PlainEstate makes estate and inheritance tax data understandable for everyone, not just attorneys and accountants. We believe that estate planning is one of the most consequential financial decisions a family faces, yet the information needed to make informed choices is scattered across obscure IRS publications, state court websites, and legal databases that most people never see.
Why we built PlainEstate: estate tax law changes often and the details are easy to misread. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act exemption was widely expected to drop by roughly half after 2025, but the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (July 2025) repealed that sunset and set a permanent $15 million per-individual exemption. Our purpose is to give every American access to the same data that estate planning professionals use, presented in plain language with clear state-by-state comparisons.
We believe transparency in tax policy leads to better planning outcomes. When families understand the estate and inheritance tax landscape in their state, they can have more productive conversations with their advisors and make decisions grounded in actual data rather than assumptions or fear.
Our Data Sources
PlainEstate aggregates data from multiple authoritative government and research sources to build a comprehensive picture of estate taxation and probate across all 50 states and the District of Columbia:
- IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - estate tax returns filed from 2017 through 2022, including gross estate amounts, deductions, tax liabilities, and filing counts by estate size
- Tax Foundation - current state estate tax and inheritance tax rates, exemption thresholds, and policy analysis
- State court fee schedules - probate filing fees, attorney fee structures (statutory vs. reasonable), executor compensation rules, and simplified probate thresholds
- State statutes - small estate affidavit limits, community property rules, and simplified transfer procedures for each jurisdiction
- Internal Revenue Code - federal estate tax brackets, unified credit amounts, portability rules, and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act's permanent $15M exemption
Where the data comes from matters. We rely exclusively on primary government sources and established nonpartisan research organizations. We do not use data from estate planning firms, insurance companies, or other entities with commercial interests in how estate tax information is presented.
How We Process the Data
Our methodology involves collecting raw data from each source, standardizing it into a consistent format, and building indexed state profiles that allow direct comparison. Estate tax rules vary enormously by jurisdiction, 13 states plus DC impose their own estate tax, 6 states impose inheritance taxes, and Iowa and Maryland have both, so normalization is essential for meaningful comparison.
For probate cost data, we research each state's court fee schedule, statutory attorney fee formulas (where they exist), and typical executor compensation structures. We calculate representative probate cost estimates at multiple estate sizes so users can see how costs scale. Our approach transparently shows which costs are statutory (fixed by law) versus typical ranges based on local practice.
IRS SOI data processing involves parsing the annual estate tax statistics releases, normalizing dollar amounts, and building time-series comparisons that show how filing patterns and tax collections have changed over the available years. We preserve the original IRS categorizations and do not interpolate between published data points.
What We Cover
- Federal estate tax: exemptions, rates, unified credit, and the repealed 2026 TCJA sunset (now a permanent $15M exemption)
- State estate taxes: all 13 states plus DC that impose them, with exemption amounts and marginal rates
- Inheritance taxes: the 6 states that tax heirs directly, with rates by beneficiary class
- Probate costs: attorney fees, executor fees, filing fees, and typical timelines for all 51 jurisdictions
- IRS SOI statistics: how many estates actually file and pay tax each year, by estate size
- Small estate thresholds: simplified procedures and affidavit limits for each state
Data Currency
PlainEstate currently displays IRS SOI estate tax data through tax year 2022 (the most recent release available from the IRS Statistics of Income division). State estate and inheritance tax rates and exemptions reflect the current tax year. Probate fee schedules are updated when states publish revised court fee structures.
The IRS typically releases SOI estate tax statistics with a 2-3 year lag. State tax rates and exemptions are updated annually as legislatures make changes. Our update schedule tracks each source's release cycle, we rebuild affected data sections within two weeks of a new official release. All data pages display the specific vintage and source year so users always know how current the information is.
Editorial Independence
PlainEstate is an automated data portal. Data from the IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) estate tax statistics, the federal Form 706 exemption and rate history, the Tax Foundation State Estate & Inheritance Tax Survey, and state probate statutes and fee schedules is ingested programmatically by an ETL pipeline and rendered directly from the source, never invented or interpolated. The narrative profiles, guides, and methodology that surround the figures are editorially written by the PlainEstate editorial team, which is responsible for editorial standards, methodology, and corrections.
We do not accept payment, sponsorship, or promoted placement from law firms, financial advisors, estate planning companies, or any covered entity. Our only revenue source is contextual display advertising served by Google AdSense, advertisers do not influence which jurisdictions we cover or how we present data, and they do not receive preferential placement.
YMYL Notice: PlainEstate publishes informational summaries of public estate tax data. Nothing on PlainEstate is legal, tax, or financial advice. Estate tax laws vary by state, change frequently, and depend on individual facts and circumstances. Consult a licensed estate planning attorney or qualified tax professional before making any decisions about your estate, gifts, trusts, or probate.
Limitations and Disclaimers
PlainEstate is an informational resource, and users should understand several important limitations of the data we present.
Estate tax laws change frequently. Federal exemption amounts are inflation-adjusted annually, state legislatures regularly modify their estate and inheritance tax structures, and federal thresholds can change with new legislation - as they did when the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (July 2025) repealed the scheduled TCJA sunset and set a permanent $15 million exemption. Data shown reflects current law as of the last update, not future projections.
Probate costs are estimates, not guarantees. Actual probate expenses depend on estate complexity, whether the will is contested, the specific court jurisdiction, attorney billing practices, and many other factors. Our estimates represent typical ranges based on statutory formulas and published fee schedules.
IRS data has inherent limitations. SOI estate tax statistics are based on filed returns and do not capture estates below the filing threshold. Small estate transfers, living trusts, and other planning structures that avoid probate are not reflected in the IRS filing data.
State-specific rules require professional guidance. Community property states, states with clawback provisions, and states with unique beneficiary classifications all have nuances that cannot be fully captured in a data portal. PlainEstate provides the starting point for informed conversations with qualified professionals.
Contact
Questions, corrections, or feedback? We welcome hearing from estate planning professionals, researchers, and the public. Email us at hello@plainestate.com.
If you notice a data discrepancy, particularly in state-level probate fees or tax rates, please include the specific state and what appears incorrect. We verify all reports against the original government sources.