New York estate tax, inheritance tax & probate costs

What the New York Estate Data Reveals

New York layers a state estate tax on top of the federal regime, exemption of $7,350,000 with rates from 3.06% to 16%, and spousal portability is not recognized. For estates above this state threshold but below the permanent federal $15M exemption, state law is the binding constraint, which is exactly the bracket most affluent households fall into. 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 693 federal estate tax returns filed by New York residents in the most recent available year (filing year 2023), reporting $36.25 billion in combined gross estate value. Net federal estate tax paid totaled $4.32 billion that year. Across the multi-year IRS SOI series above, New York averages roughly 651 taxable filings per year, with an effective federal rate on reported gross estates of about 10.2%.

Probate itself typically runs 9–24 months in New York (roughly 17 months on average), with court filing fees of $215–$1,250. Attorney compensation is set by statute at approximately 5% of the estate, which is a material fixed cost even for uncontested estates. New York does offer a simplified small-estate track for estates under $50,000, which most families use to bypass full formal probate. Because New York has not adopted the UPC, probate practice can vary materially by county and judicial district. As a common-law (separate property) state, New York treats each spouse's holdings individually unless jointly titled, so titling choices drive what actually enters the probate estate.