Reviewed by Rozsa Gyene, California attorney. Last reviewed October 2026.
California has no estate tax and no inheritance tax. The only death tax a California family can face is the federal estate tax, and it applies only above the federal exclusion. Enter rough figures for what you own, what you owe and any taxable gifts you have made. The tool tells you whether you are below, near or above the exclusion, and what that means for a basic living trust.
Figures checked October 7, 2026. Sources are listed under "How this is calculated".
General information, not legal advice. This tool gives an estimate from the figures you enter and the California and federal rules listed below. It does not create an attorney-client relationship. Your situation may differ; talk to a California attorney before you act on the result.
The tool adds up what you own, subtracts what you owe, adds back lifetime taxable gifts and compares the total with the federal basic exclusion for the year of death. It does not prepare or estimate a Form 706. Every result is an estimate.
No. California has no estate tax and no inheritance tax. The State Controller says no California estate tax return is required for anyone who died on or after January 1, 2005. The only death tax that can reach a California resident is the federal estate tax.
No. Property in a revocable trust still counts in your estate for federal estate tax, because you can change or revoke the trust. A revocable trust avoids probate. An estate above the federal exclusion needs a different kind of plan, and an attorney should design it.
Sometimes. The filing test and the tax test are different. A Form 706 is required when the gross estate, meaning everything before debts and mortgages, plus taxable gifts made after 1976 is more than the basic exclusion, even if debts, the marital deduction or charitable gifts bring the tax to zero. A married couple also needs a Form 706 at the first death to elect portability, whatever the size of the estate.
Portability lets the surviving spouse add the unused exclusion of the spouse who died first to the survivor’s own exclusion. It is not automatic. The executor has to file a Form 706 for the first spouse on time, which is 9 months after the death, or 15 months with the 6 month extension. If no return was otherwise required and the first spouse was a U.S. citizen or resident, Rev. Proc. 2022-32 allows the election up to the fifth anniversary of the death.
Count the death benefit of any policy on your life that you own or that is payable to your estate. Federal law includes the proceeds if you held any incident of ownership when you died, such as the right to change the beneficiary or borrow against the policy. A policy that someone else has always owned is generally not counted.
A gift to one person in one year above the annual exclusion, which is $19,000 for 2025 and 2026, is a taxable gift reported on Form 709. You usually pay no gift tax when you make it; the gift uses up part of your federal exclusion instead. Gifts to a spouse who is a U.S. citizen and tuition or medical bills paid directly are not taxable gifts. Enter the total taxable gifts from your gift tax returns.
An attorney-prepared living trust is $400 for one person or $500 for a married couple. Moving your home into it takes a deed, which we prepare for $100 per property.
Law Offices of Rozsa Gyene, 3500 W. Olive Ave., Suite 300, Burbank, CA 91505. California State Bar #208356.
Legal Review By
California State Bar #208356 | Licensed Since 2000
25+ years estate planning experience in California