The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) temporarily doubled the estate tax exemption, which is currently set at $13.99 million for individuals and $27.98 million for married couples in 2025. This provision was scheduled to expire at the end of 2025.
The new Big Beautiful Bill would permanently increase the exemption threshold, starting in 2026, to $15 million for individuals and $30 million for married couples. These new thresholds will be adjusted for inflation annually.
On one hand, I get there is some unfairness whereby an estate tax means folks are taxed twice: once when the income is earned, and then a second time via an estate tax, yet often circumvented via trusts.
On the other hand, this bill raised the debt ceiling by $5 trillion.
Imagine if we had a graduated estate tax starting at $12 million. It would make a difference.