For 2026 the federal estate and gift tax exemption is $15 million per person, or up to $30 million for a married couple using portability. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act cancelled the sunset that had been scheduled for the end of 2025 and made the higher exemption permanent, with annual inflation adjustments. 

No. California does not impose a state estate tax or inheritance tax, so only the federal estate tax applies to California residents. That said, California’s statutory probate fees under Probate Code Section 10810 apply regardless of estate size, which is a separate cost that planning can avoid. 

Portability lets a surviving spouse add the deceased spouse’s unused federal exemption to their own, potentially protecting up to $30 million. It is not automatic: the executor must elect it by filing a federal estate tax return after the first spouse’s death, even when no tax is owed. Missing that filing can permanently forfeit the unused exemption. 

The annual gift tax exclusion is $19,000 per recipient for 2026. You can give that amount to any number of people each year without filing a gift tax return or using any of your lifetime exemption, and a married couple can combine their exclusions. Systematic annual gifting is one of the simplest ways to reduce a taxable estate over time. 

Estates above the exemption are taxed at rates reaching 40 percent on the amount over the threshold. Because the rate is steep, families whose estates are near or above the exemption benefit from planning well in advance rather than at the last minute. 

Often, yes. Exemption levels have changed repeatedly and can change again, appreciating real estate and closely held business interests can push an estate upward faster than expected, and life insurance owned outright is included in the taxable estate. Greg Roberts evaluates exposure and structures plans that stay sound if the law shifts.