Family · Estate tax
Does Texas Have an Estate Tax?
Whether Texas levies its own estate tax, the exemption threshold that decides if an estate owes anything, and what a surviving spouse inherits tax-free. Estate tax is separate from any inheritance tax. Cited to the statute.
How the estate tax works in Texas
The exemption threshold, how the tax applies only to value above it, and the transfers the law leaves untaxed.
| How the tax works | What it means |
|---|---|
| No state estate tax to pay | Texas does not tax an estate before assets pass to heirs. There is no threshold and no rate schedule. The honest answer is not that a statute allows a large estate to pass tax-free, it is that no statute imposes a state estate tax at all. |
| The old pick-up tax was repealed | Texas once had a pick-up estate tax in Tax Code Chapter 211 that was tied to a federal credit. That credit ended after 2004, and the legislature repealed Chapter 211 through Senate Bill 752, effective September 1, 2015. |
| A 2025 amendment bars a future estate tax | In November 2025 voters approved Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment that prohibits the legislature from imposing any tax on a decedent’s property or estate transfer, including an estate or inheritance tax. |
| What is exempt | What it means |
|---|---|
| Federal estate tax still applies to large estates | Texas has no death tax of its own, but the federal estate tax can still reach a very large estate. That tax is paid by the estate, and only estates above the federal exemption, about $13.99 million per person in 2025 and $15 million in 2026, owe it. |
| Income tax on inherited assets | Inheriting property is not taxed, but income the assets later produce, such as rent, dividends, or gain when you sell, can be taxable under federal law. That is income or capital gains tax, not a state estate tax. |
| Estates in other states | If the person who died owned property in a state that levies an estate tax, that state’s tax can apply to the property there. Texas having no estate tax does not remove another state’s tax on assets governed by its law. |
What you can do right now
Concrete, neutral steps if an estate in Texas may be near the threshold. This is general information, not tax or legal advice.
- Confirm there is no state return to file
Texas has no state estate tax, so there is no Texas estate tax return for an estate to file on a Texas estate.
- Check whether the estate is large enough for federal tax
Only very large estates owe federal estate tax, and the estate pays it. Most estates fall well under the federal exemption.
- Watch for out-of-state estate tax
If the person who died owned property in a state that levies an estate tax, that state’s tax may apply. Check the law where the property was located.
- Plan for income and federal taxes, not a state estate tax
What passes to heirs is not taxed by Texas, but later income or a sale can be, and a very large estate may owe federal tax. Ask a tax professional about basis, capital gains, and any federal filing.
Estate tax turns on the total value of the estate and the current exemption. The state department of revenue publishes the return and the threshold in effect for the year of death.
→ Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts: TaxesThis is general information, not tax or legal advice. Thresholds change and large estates have planning options, so confirm the current figure against the statute or with the state revenue office.
What people in Texas get wrong about estate tax
Texas has no state estate tax, and the reason is history rather than a gap in the law. The state once had a pick-up estate tax in Tax Code Chapter 211 that captured a share of the federal estate tax through a credit. When that credit was phased out after 2004, the Texas tax collected nothing, and the legislature formally repealed Chapter 211 through Senate Bill 752, effective September 1, 2015. Texas went further in November 2025, when voters approved Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment that bars the legislature from imposing any tax on a decedent’s property or estate transfer. So a Texas estate owes no state estate tax before assets pass to heirs. The only death tax that can still touch a Texas estate is the federal estate tax, which the estate pays and only very large estates owe. Keep the ideas separate. An estate tax is paid by the estate; an inheritance tax is paid by the heir. Texas has neither.
Common questions
Does Texas have an estate tax?
No. Texas has no state estate tax. The old pick-up estate tax was repealed in 2015, and a 2025 constitutional amendment now bars the legislature from imposing one.
Do heirs pay any state tax on a Texas estate?
No. Texas has no state estate tax and no inheritance tax. Income the inherited assets later earn, or gain when you sell, can be taxable under federal law, but the transfer itself is not taxed by Texas.
Could Texas add an estate tax later?
Not without changing the state constitution. Proposition 8, approved by voters in November 2025, prohibits the legislature from imposing a tax on a decedent’s property or estate transfer.
Is there still a federal estate tax in Texas?
Yes. The federal estate tax applies everywhere, including Texas, but only to very large estates above the federal exemption, about $13.99 million per person in 2025 and $15 million in 2026. The estate pays it, not the heirs.
What if the person owned property in another state?
If the person who died owned property in a state that levies an estate tax, that state’s tax can apply to the property there. Texas having no estate tax does not remove another state’s tax.
Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.