Gift & Estate Tax Exemption

Gift & Estate Tax Exemption

July 8, 2025

Under the current law, as enacted by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017, the estate tax exclusion amount was doubled to a base amount of $11.18 million and adjusted for inflation for tax years 2018 through 2025. After 2025, however, the base exclusion amount was set to revert to approximately $7 million per decedent, adjusted for inflation. Beginning on January 1, 2026, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) increases the base exclusion amount permanently to $15 million per individual, indexed for inflation each year.

The table below compares (1) the current law under the TCJA, (2) what the law would have been without the OBBBA and after the TCJA provisions expired, and (3) the new law under the OBBBA.