The Federal Transfer Tax System (2026)
The unified estate, gift, and GST regime, the permanent $15M exemption under the OBBBA, portability and DSUE, and basis step-up.
What this guide covers
- For 2026 the estate/gift and GST exemptions are each $15,000,000, permanent under the OBBBA and indexed from 2027; top rate 40%.
- The annual exclusion is $19,000 per donee ($38,000 with gift-splitting); 2503(e) tuition/medical payments are unlimited.
- Portability captures DSUE but not the GST exemption and preserves a second step-up — weigh it against bypass-trust benefits.
- Under a large exemption, income-tax basis step-up planning often matters more than transfer-tax reduction.
The full guide includes the detailed analysis, worked examples, statutory citations, and related resources below.
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Educational reference, not legal advice. Prepared for licensed professionals as general reference; not legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is created. Law varies by state and changes over time — verify transfer-tax figures and statutory citations against current primary authority. This resource was last updated 2026-07-31. Estateur is not a law firm.