Inheritances are generally not considered taxable income by the IRS, meaning most assets—cash, stocks, or real estate—are not subject to federal income tax upon receipt. Major tax-exempt or non-taxable inheritances include life insurance proceeds, assets below the federal estate tax exemption ($13.61 million for 2025), and assets left to a surviving spouse.
You can typically inherit a large amount without federal taxes because the tax applies to the deceased's estate, not the recipient, and the exemption is very high: $13.99 million in 2025 and $15 million in 2026 per person, meaning most inheritances fall below this threshold. The key is that the estate's total value must exceed these limits for any tax to be owed by the estate. Inheritances themselves (cash, property) are generally not income, but earnings on them (like interest/dividends) or pre-tax retirement funds (like IRAs) are taxable.
Inheritances are not considered income for federal tax purposes, whether you inherit cash, investments or property. However, any subsequent earnings on the inherited assets are taxable, unless it comes from a tax-free source.
Every individual has a basic Inheritance Tax (IHT) threshold of £325,000, known as the Nil Rate Band. Assets below this value generally pass to beneficiaries free of tax. If the estate is worth more than that, IHT at 40% usually applies on the excess, unless exemptions or reliefs reduce the amount due.
You can typically inherit a very large amount from your parents before hitting federal estate tax thresholds, which are around $15 million per individual in 2026, meaning most heirs receive tax-free inheritances because estates rarely exceed this limit; however, some states have their own estate or inheritance taxes, and income from inherited assets (like IRAs or rental income) is usually taxable, according to this U.S. Bank article, this Fidelity article, this Domain Money article, and this Tax Foundation article.
Charity exemption
Like the spousal exemption, assets passing to charity on death are exempt from inheritance tax. As such, if an entire estate passes to charity, there will be no inheritance tax due.
“Gifts” can be made in cash or other assets – securities, closely held business interests, real estate, artworks, collectibles or any other type of property. So long as the total market value of your gifts does not exceed $19,000 per recipient in 2026, the transfers are entirely gift tax-free.
Currently, there is no inheritance tax in California, which means beneficiaries in the Golden State do not face a direct levy on the portion they receive. The same, however, cannot be said for several other states across the country.
Give more money away
Lifetime gifting is a straightforward way to begin reducing your IHT bill. By gifting money during lifetime, that would have been part of an inheritance anyway, you reduce the size of your estate so that there is smaller amount subject to IHT on your death.
No, California does not impose an inheritance tax. If you inherit money, you will not have to pay a tax on the amount you inherited. The money you inherited will not be considered income.
Your beneficiaries (the people who inherit your estate) do not normally pay tax on things they inherit. They may have related taxes to pay, for example if they get rental income from a house left to them in a will.
Transfer assets into a trust
Because those assets don't legally belong to the person who set up the trust, they aren't subject to estate or inheritance taxes when that person passes away. Setting up a trust also has other financial benefits, such as helping the estate avoid probate.
Another key difference: While there is no federal inheritance tax, there is a federal estate tax. The federal estate tax ranges from 18% to 40% and generally only applies to assets over $13.99 million in 2025 or $15 million in 2026.
Federal Taxes
For 2025, the Congress sets the federal estate tax exemption at $13.99 million per individual, or $27.98 million for married couples. This means estates valued below those thresholds owe no federal estate tax.
By far the biggest mistake people make when it comes to IHT Planning is simply not taking action. The issue with IHT and Estate Planning is that it is almost always something that 'can wait' until tomorrow (until it can't of course).
You can typically inherit a very large amount from your parents without paying federal tax, as the federal estate tax exemption is around $15 million per person for 2026, meaning only estates larger than that pay tax, not you directly. While you generally don't pay income tax on inheritances (except for pre-tax retirement funds like IRAs/401(k)s, which are taxed as income when withdrawn), some states have their own estate or inheritance taxes with much lower thresholds, affecting a smaller portion of wealth.
10 Ways To Pass Your Inheritance On to Your Children
Yes, you can likely give your daughter $50,000 tax-free by using your annual gift exclusion and lifetime exemption, but you'll need to file Form 709 with the IRS to report the gift exceeding the annual limit ($19,000 in 2024/2025). The $50,000 gift reduces your large lifetime exemption (over $13 million in 2024/2025), meaning you won't pay tax on it unless your total lifetime gifts exceed that huge amount; your daughter never pays gift tax on the money.
There are many options for transferring wealth to the next generation beyond cash gifts; 2503(c) trusts, trusts with Crummey withdrawal rights, UGMA/UTMA accounts, and 529 plans are some of the most common and tax-efficient strategies available.
Yes, you can gift your son $100,000, but since it's over the 2025 annual exclusion of $19,000, you'll need to file a gift tax return (Form 709), though you likely won't owe taxes unless you've already used up your large lifetime exemption (over $13.99 million in 2025). Your son pays no tax on the gift, but you, as the giver, must report the amount exceeding the annual limit, which counts against your lifetime exemption.