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The 2026 Estate Tax Exemption and Your Business

December 19, 2024

Updated September 5, 2026.

The federal estate and gift tax exemption did not fall in 2026 as previously scheduled. Legislation enacted July 4, 2025 set the basic exclusion at $15 million per person for 2026, with inflation adjustments after that. Prior taxable gifts affect the exclusion still available.

For an owner whose wealth is concentrated in a business, the planning questions remain: who will control the company, where estate liquidity will come from, and whether the family can afford an irrevocable transfer. State estate taxes and the income-tax basis consequences of gifting can also matter.

The earlier video on this page discussed the superseded sunset rule and has been withdrawn. Read our updated estate-planning discussion for the current planning context.

Sources for this update: IRS estate tax; IRS gift-tax questions.

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