Missouri estate tax, inheritance tax & probate costs

What the Missouri Estate Data Reveals

Missouri imposes no state estate tax, so federal law under IRC § 2001 is the only estate-level levy that applies. With a permanent federal exemption of $15M per decedent from 2026, after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (July 2025) repealed the scheduled TCJA sunset, the vast majority of Missouri estates clear probate without owing estate tax at any level. Missouri's common-law property rules keep each spouse's individually titled assets separate, so how property is titled still determines what passes through probate here. There is no separate inheritance tax, so beneficiaries receive their share without a second state-level deduction at distribution.

IRS Statistics of Income data show 115 federal estate tax returns filed by Missouri residents in the most recent available year (filing year 2023), reporting $4.35 billion in combined gross estate value. Net federal estate tax paid totaled $0.54 billion that year. Across the multi-year IRS SOI series above, Missouri averages roughly 106 taxable filings per year, with an effective federal rate on reported gross estates of about 10.2%.

Probate itself typically runs 6–12 months in Missouri (roughly 9 months on average), with court filing fees of $105–$400. Attorney compensation is set by statute at approximately 5% of the estate, which is a material fixed cost even for uncontested estates. Missouri does offer a simplified small-estate track for estates under $40,000, which most families use to bypass full formal probate. Because Missouri has not adopted the UPC, probate practice can vary materially by county and judicial district. As a common-law (separate property) state, Missouri treats each spouse's holdings individually unless jointly titled, so titling choices drive what actually enters the probate estate.