Editorial & Corrections Policy

What PlainEstate is

PlainEstate is an independent, automated data portal covering U.S. estate tax, inheritance tax, and probate costs. The numbers we publish come from official public sources and are rendered directly from those sources — they are not hand-typed, estimated, or invented. The plain-language explanations that surround the data are editorially written to help readers interpret what the figures mean.

How we source the data

We draw exclusively on primary government records and established nonpartisan research compilations:

  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) — Estate Tax: returns filed by state, gross estate, and net estate tax.
  • IRS Form 706 and the federal exemption & rate history: federal estate-tax brackets, the unified credit, and exemption amounts over time.
  • Tax Foundation — State Estate & Inheritance Tax Survey: state exemptions, marginal rates, and inheritance-tax schedules by beneficiary class.
  • State probate statutes & fee schedules: filing fees, attorney and executor fee structures, and small-estate thresholds, from official state codes and court publications.
  • The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Pub. L. 119-21, July 2025): the permanent $15 million federal estate-tax exemption effective January 1, 2026.

How we process it

Data is ingested programmatically by an ETL pipeline and loaded into a structured database that powers state profiles, comparison pages, federal-history pages, and the calculator. Every figure shown on a data page is rendered from that source data at request time — no number is hardcoded, interpolated, or estimated. When a source publishes a revised value, the corrected figure appears after the next pipeline run. The full pipeline, source vintage, and update cadence are documented on the methodology page.

How guides are written

Guides, rankings commentary, and explanatory narrative are editorially written by the PlainEstate editorial team. Every statistic cited in a guide is drawn from the same source data that powers the rest of the site, so the figures reconcile across pages. Guides are dated and updated when the underlying data is refreshed.

No paid placement

We do not accept payment, sponsorship, or promoted placement from law firms, financial advisors, estate-planning companies, or any entity that appears in our data. Advertisers do not influence which jurisdictions we cover or how we present the figures. Our rankings — "highest tax rate," "lowest exemption," "no estate tax," and similar lists — are computed directly from state statutes and Tax Foundation data, not curated for any commercial interest.

Corrections

Spotted an error? Email hello@plainestate.com with the page URL, the specific state or figure, and your source. We correct confirmed data errors at the source and re-deploy, and we welcome flags on anything that misreads the underlying data. You can also reach us through the contact page.

Not professional advice

PlainEstate publishes informational summaries of public estate-tax data. Nothing on the site is legal, tax, or financial advice. See our disclaimer and always consult a licensed estate-planning attorney or qualified tax professional before making decisions.