Federal Estate Tax in Missouri

Most Missouri families will never owe estate tax. Missouri collects no state estate tax, no inheritance tax, and no probate tax on the value of an estate. The only estate-level tax that can reach a Missouri estate is the federal one, and it applies to very few families because the federal exclusion sits at $15 million per person for 2026.

Still, a large estate or a filing decision for a surviving spouse can make the federal rules matter. This guide walks through the estate and inheritance tax posture in Missouri: why the state takes nothing, the current federal exclusion, the portability election, what counts in the estate, and how the estate tax differs from the income-tax question you face when you later sell an inherited asset. Use it as a planning map, and confirm any figure that affects a specific estate with a tax professional.

Missouri Has No State Estate or Inheritance Tax

Start with the reassuring part for Missouri families: the state imposes no estate tax and no inheritance tax.

Missouri's old estate tax was a "pick-up" tax. Under RSMo 145.011, the Missouri estate tax equaled the maximum credit for state death taxes that federal law allowed against the federal estate tax under Internal Revenue Code Section 2011. It collected only what the federal government already credited back, so it cost an estate nothing extra. When Congress phased out that federal credit, the number Missouri's tax was tied to dropped to zero. RSMo 145.1000 then provides that no tax is imposed on the transfer of a decedent's estate in Missouri once the federal tax the credit rested on is gone. The Missouri Department of Revenue confirms the result on the ground: no Missouri estate tax return is required for deaths on or after January 1, 2005.

Missouri also charges no inheritance tax. An inheritance tax is a separate tax that some states levy on the people who receive an inheritance, based on their relationship to the person who died. Missouri has neither kind of state death tax, so a beneficiary who receives a Missouri inheritance owes no Missouri tax on the receipt itself. Money or property you inherit is generally not Missouri income to you.

One more reassurance. Missouri imposes no probate tax on the value of an estate when a will is admitted or letters are granted. The cost of opening an estate is court filing fees, publication charges, and recording fees, not a tax on what the estate is worth. See the Missouri probate guide for how those court costs work.

Two cautions still apply. If you inherit property located in another state, or from someone who lived in a state that does levy an estate or inheritance tax, that other state's rules can reach the property inside its borders. Living in Missouri does not shield out-of-state property from another state's death tax. And Missouri still has an income tax, so a final individual return, and a fiduciary return if the estate earns income during administration, can still be due.

The Federal Estate Tax Exclusion

The federal estate tax reaches only estates whose value climbs above the federal exclusion amount, the exemption threshold set by federal law. To check a specific estate against the current thresholds, run the numbers in the Missouri estate tax calculator.

For deaths in 2026, the federal estate tax exclusion is $15 million per person. In plain terms:

One person can pass up to $15 million free of federal estate tax.
A married couple can shield up to $30 million using portability, covered below.
Only the amount above the exclusion is taxed.
The top federal estate tax rate is 40%.

The exclusion is indexed for inflation, so it rises in later years. Because the tax bites only the amount over $15 million, the effective rate across a whole estate always lands below 40%, and for almost every Missouri estate it is zero.

A Note on the 2026 Law

Many older planning documents warned that the exclusion would roughly cut in half at the start of 2026 under a sunset in the 2017 tax law. That sunset did not take effect. Under current federal law the exclusion stands at $15 million per person for 2026 and is indexed each year after that. If your plan holds trusts or gifting steps built around a smaller exclusion, review them with your attorney, because the design may no longer fit and could work against the step-up in basis your heirs would otherwise receive.

What Counts in the Gross Estate

The "gross estate" for federal purposes is wider than what passes through probate or gets listed in a will. Under Internal Revenue Code Sections 2031 through 2046, it generally takes in:

Real estate, bank and brokerage accounts, stocks, and bonds
Life insurance proceeds on a policy the decedent owned or controlled, since ownership, not who the beneficiary is, drives inclusion
Retirement accounts such as IRAs, 401(k)s, and 403(b)s
Business interests and closely held company stock
The decedent's share of jointly owned property
Assets in a revocable living trust
Certain gifts made within three years of death, especially transfers of life insurance
Powers of appointment the decedent held

Someone with a paid-off Missouri home, a large IRA, and a life insurance policy can have a gross estate far bigger than their probate estate, because most of those assets pass outside probate but still count for the federal tax. The gross estate then drops by debts, funeral and administration costs, and the deductions below to reach the taxable estate.

Deductions That Shrink the Taxable Estate

Two deductions wipe out federal estate tax for most families, even wealthy ones.

Unlimited marital deduction. Property left outright to a surviving spouse who is a U.S. citizen passes free of federal estate tax with no dollar cap. This is why most married couples owe nothing when the first spouse dies. The tax is deferred, not erased, and can surface when the second spouse dies.

Unlimited charitable deduction. Property left to a qualified charity is fully deductible from the estate, dollar for dollar.

Debts, funeral costs, and estate administration expenses also reduce the taxable estate. The Missouri creditor claims guide covers how valid debts get paid before anything is distributed.

Portability: The Filing That Can Save a Spouse Millions

When the first spouse in a marriage dies, their unused federal exclusion does not disappear on its own. Under the portability election, the surviving spouse can claim the deceased spouse's unused exclusion, called the deceased spousal unused exclusion, or DSUE, and add it to their own.

Here is how it plays out. A husband dies in 2026 with a $4 million estate and uses $4 million of his $15 million exclusion. His remaining $11 million can move to his wife. She then holds her own $15 million plus his $11 million, a combined $26 million shielded from estate tax.

Now the trap. Portability is not automatic. The executor has to file IRS Form 706, the United States Estate Tax Return, to make the election. The return is due nine months after death, with a six-month extension available. Portability requires that filing even when the estate owes no tax and sits far below the exclusion.

Many families skip Form 706 because they figure they do not owe anything. That choice can cost a surviving spouse a great deal if the couple's combined estate later grows past one exclusion. Filing only to preserve portability is a straightforward step an attorney can handle.

When Form 706 Must Be Filed

File Form 706 when any of these fit:

The gross estate plus adjusted taxable gifts tops the exclusion, so tax may be owed.
You want to elect portability to preserve the deceased spouse's unused exclusion.
The estate has generation-skipping transfers to allocate.

The return is due nine months after the date of death. Form 4768 grants an automatic six-month filing extension, but any tax owed is still due at the nine-month mark, since the extension covers filing, not payment. Form 706 is one of the more involved federal returns, so estates that must file it usually benefit from a CPA or estate attorney to document valuations, claim deductions, and elect portability correctly.

Gifts During Life and the Annual Exclusion

The federal gift tax and estate tax are unified, which means lifetime gifts and transfers at death draw on the same lifetime exclusion.

Annual gift exclusion. For 2026, you can give up to $19,000 per recipient in a year without touching your lifetime exclusion or filing a gift tax return. A married couple can give $38,000 per recipient, with no limit on the number of recipients.

Gifts that never count. Some transfers sit entirely outside the gift tax: amounts paid directly to a medical provider for someone's care, amounts paid directly to a school for someone's tuition, gifts to a spouse, and gifts to qualified charities.

Larger gifts. A gift above the annual exclusion uses part of your lifetime exclusion and calls for IRS Form 709. Filing that return does not mean you owe tax; it records the gift against your lifetime amount. Because the interplay among gift tax, estate tax, and capital gains can get involved, ask a tax professional before making large lifetime gifts.

Estate Tax Is Not the Same as the Step-Up in Basis

Two different taxes get mixed up here, so keep them apart.

The federal estate tax is a transfer tax on the value of the estate at death. It applies only above the $15 million exclusion, so it reaches almost no one.

The step-up in basis is an income-tax rule that touches nearly every inherited asset, whatever the estate is worth. Under Internal Revenue Code Section 1014, an inherited asset's cost basis resets to its fair market value on the date of death. That reset lowers the capital gains tax an heir owes when they later sell. Missouri is a common-law (separate-property) state, so only the decedent's share of jointly owned property steps up.

For the great majority of Missouri families, the step-up is the tax rule that actually matters, not the estate tax. If you sell an inherited home, the stepped-up basis usually shrinks the taxable gain to the price growth since the date of death, not the growth since the original purchase.

Practical Takeaways for Missouri Families

Most Missouri estates need no estate tax planning at all. The exclusion is high, and Missouri adds no state layer. The usual moves are these:

Confirm you are under the exclusion. Add up everything, including life insurance you own and retirement accounts, not just probate assets. If the total sits well below $15 million, no federal estate tax applies.
Preserve portability for a married couple. If one spouse dies, weigh filing Form 706 to lock in the unused exclusion, even when no tax is due. It is a low-cost safeguard.
Lean on the step-up. Holding appreciated assets until death gives heirs a stepped-up basis. Gifting those same assets during life hands the recipient your old basis and wastes the step-up.
Handle the income-tax tasks Missouri still expects. Check whether a final Missouri individual return is needed, and whether estate income calls for a Missouri fiduciary return (Form MO-1041).
Get help when the estate is genuinely large or involved. Business interests, farms, out-of-state property, blended families, or an estate near the exclusion are the cases where an attorney and CPA earn their fee.

To see who inherits when there is no will, read the Missouri intestate succession guide. For the personal representative's role in filing returns and paying debts, see the Missouri executor duties guide, and start any county-specific step from the Missouri county probate directory.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Missouri have an estate tax or inheritance tax?

No. Missouri has no state estate tax and no inheritance tax. Missouri collects no estate tax for deaths on or after January 1, 2005, because its old estate tax was tied to a federal credit that dropped to zero. The only estate-level tax a Missouri family can face is the federal estate tax, and it reaches only estates above the federal exclusion.

How much can I leave without owing federal estate tax?

For deaths in 2026, the federal estate tax exclusion is $15 million per person. A married couple can shield up to $30 million using portability. Only the amount above the exclusion is taxed, at rates up to 40%.

Do I need to file a Missouri estate tax return?

No. Missouri requires no estate tax return for deaths on or after January 1, 2005. You may still need to file the decedent's final Missouri income tax return, and a Missouri fiduciary return (Form MO-1041) if the estate earns income during administration.

What is portability and why does it matter?

Portability lets a surviving spouse add the deceased spouse's unused exclusion (the DSUE) to their own. It is not automatic. The executor must file IRS Form 706 on time, even when no tax is due, or the unused exclusion is lost.

Is money I inherit taxed in Missouri?

No. Missouri has no inheritance tax, and an inheritance is generally not Missouri income to the person who receives it. You may owe capital gains tax later if you sell an inherited asset for more than its stepped-up basis, and other states can tax property located inside their borders.

This guide is general information about Missouri estate and inheritance tax. It is not legal advice, and it is not tax advice. Verify every dollar figure and filing deadline here with the Missouri Department of Revenue, the IRS, or a licensed Missouri tax professional before you act.

Sources:

Title: RSMo 145.011, Tax imposed on transfer of decedent's estate equal to maximum credit allowed by federal law. Publisher: Revisor of Statutes, State of Missouri. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=145.011
Title: RSMo 145.1000, Repeal of federal estate tax, effect on state tax. Publisher: Revisor of Statutes, State of Missouri. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=145.1000
Title: Estate Tax, Missouri estate tax filings no longer required. Publisher: Missouri Department of Revenue. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://dor.mo.gov/taxation/individual/tax-types/estate.html
Title: Estate Tax. Publisher: Internal Revenue Service. Publication Date: 2025. URL: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/estate-tax
Title: IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026. Publisher: Internal Revenue Service. Publication Date: 2025. URL: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-releases-tax-inflation-adjustments-for-tax-year-2026-including-amendments-from-the-one-big-beautiful-bill
Title: About Form 706, United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return. Publisher: Internal Revenue Service. Publication Date: 2025. URL: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-706

It is not legal advice.