We’ve been writing a lot about the Massachusetts estate tax since the threshold was raised from $1 million to $2 million, which can be as much as $4 million for a married couple that undertakes basic estate tax planning. We have covered the change in the law, what it means for out-of-state real estate, the effect of gifts, and in a webinar how taxpayers may or may not want to change their existing estate tax plans.
A number of people have asked for one more planning aid, a chart showing the tax for different sized estates. So, here it is:
| Size of Estate | Tax Under Prior Law | % of Estate | Tax Under Current Law | % of Estate |
| $2 million | $99,640 | 5% | $0 | 0% |
| $3 million | $182,040 | 6.1% | $82,400 | 2.75% |
| $5 million | $391,640 | 7.8% | $292,000 | 5.8% |
| $10 million | $1,067,640 | 10.7% | $968,000 | 9.7% |
These figures do not reflect any tax planning steps or deductions, such as for the costs of estate administration or for gifts to charity. None of the estates in these examples are subject to federal estate taxation, for which the credit in 2023 is $12.92 million. It will increase to $13.61 million for those dying in 2024 and then be cut in half for those dying in 2026 or later.
