Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax Calculator

How this calculator works

Pennsylvania is one of six US jurisdictions that imposes an inheritance tax rather than (or in addition to) an estate tax. The framework is 72 P.S. §§ 9101–9196 (the Inheritance and Estate Tax Act) and 61 Pa. Code Chapter 91 (PA Department of Revenue regulations). The return is Form REV-1500, due 9 months from the date of death under 72 P.S. § 9136.

Two structural differences from a federal-style estate tax are essential:

1. The rate is keyed to the beneficiary's relationship to the decedent, not to the size of the estate. The same $1,000,000 transfer is taxed at 0% to a spouse, 4.5% to an adult child, 12% to a sibling, and 15% to a niece. There is no rising-rate schedule on estate size — the schedule rises on relational distance.

2. The legal incidence is on the beneficiary, not on the estate. In practice the estate withholds and remits, but the tax is computed per-beneficiary. The will or trust may apportion the tax differently (typically against the residuary), but the underlying computation is always per-beneficiary, per-relationship.

This calculator models five primary outputs:

1. Net taxable estate — gross less deductions under 72 P.S. § 9127 (funeral, administration, debts, last medical) less the $3,500 family exemption under § 9111(p).
2. Per-beneficiary tax breakdown — each beneficiary's share, the relationship-keyed rate, and the tax on that share.
3. Gross PA inheritance tax before discount — the sum of all per-beneficiary tax lines.
4. Early-payment discount under § 9143 — 5% off the bill if paid within 3 months of date of death.
5. REV-1500 filing deadline — 9 months from date of death under § 9136.

The 4-tier rate schedule under 72 P.S. § 9116

Pennsylvania's relationship-keyed rate schedule is the central concept:

• 0% — Surviving spouse (§ 9116(a)(1.1)). The single largest planning lever. A spousal transfer of any size generates no PA inheritance tax.
• 0% — Charitable, educational, governmental recipient (§ 9111(c)–(e)). Donor-advised funds, qualifying private foundations, public charities, qualifying educational institutions, and governmental units.
• 0% — Parent receiving from a child age 21 or under (§ 9116(a)(1.2)). The "young decedent" exception. Rare but real.
• 4.5% — "Direct descendants and lineal heirs" (§ 9116(a)(1)). Children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, parents from an adult-child decedent, and legally-adopted stepchildren.
• 12% — Siblings (§ 9116(a)(1.3)). Full or half. Step-siblings without legal adoption fall into the collateral rate.
• 15% — "Collateral heirs" (§ 9116(a)(2)). Nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins of any degree, friends, unrelated beneficiaries, and non-adopted stepchildren.

The relational gradient is intentional: PA structures the tax to encourage transfers within the spousal community and the lineal descent path, and to recoup more from lateral transfers within or beyond the nuclear family.

Worked example: $1M estate, mixed relationships

A Pennsylvania decedent dies on May 15, 2026 with a $1,000,000 estate. The will leaves $100,000 to the surviving spouse, $700,000 to two adult children equally ($350,000 each), and $200,000 to the decedent's brother. Deductible expenses (funeral, administration, debts, last medical) total $50,000. Family exemption claimed.

• Net taxable estate = $1,000,000 − $50,000 − $3,500 = $946,500.
• Spouse's share of the net taxable estate, pro-rata to the $100K/$1M = 10%: $94,650 × 0% = $0.
• Each adult child's share, pro-rata to $350K/$1M = 35%: $331,275 × 4.5% = $14,907.38 each, $29,814.75 combined.
• Brother's share, pro-rata to $200K/$1M = 20%: $189,300 × 12% = $22,716.
• Gross tax before discount = $0 + $29,814.75 + $22,716 = $52,530.75.

If the estate pays within 3 months of death (by August 15, 2026), the 5% discount under § 9143 saves $2,626.54, leaving $49,904.21 owed. If the estate pays after the 3-month window, the full $52,530.75 is owed.

Worked example: $500K to a niece

A Pennsylvania decedent dies leaving $500,000 to a sole beneficiary — a niece. No spouse, no children, no other heirs. Deductible expenses $25,000. Family exemption not claimed (no qualifying spouse or household-member children).

• Net taxable estate = $500,000 − $25,000 = $475,000.
• Niece's share is 100% of the net taxable: $475,000.
• Tax = $475,000 × 15% (collateral rate, § 9116(a)(2)) = $71,250.

The same $500,000 left to a child instead would generate $475,000 × 4.5% = $21,375 — a $49,875 swing on the same dollar amount. The relationship classification is the central planning variable in PA estate work with non-lineal beneficiaries.

The 5% early-payment discount under § 9143

Pennsylvania is one of the few US inheritance-tax jurisdictions that meaningfully rewards early payment. Under 72 P.S. § 9143, a 5% discount is allowed on any inheritance tax paid within 3 months of the date of death. The discount is computed on the tax actually paid in that window — partial early payments earn a partial discount on the portion paid early.

For a $52,530.75 tax bill, paying within 3 months saves $2,626.54. For a $200,000 tax bill, paying within 3 months saves $10,000. The discount is forfeit on any tax paid after the 3-month mark.

The discount mechanic creates a tight administrative window: the executor must (1) inventory the estate, (2) classify each beneficiary by relationship, (3) compute the per-beneficiary tax, and (4) tender payment to the PA DOR — all within 90 days of death. For routine estates with clear asset titling and well-documented beneficiary classifications, the 90-day window is workable. For estates with contested valuations, undiscovered assets, or unresolved beneficiary disputes, the discount is often forgone in exchange for accuracy.

The $3,500 family exemption (§ 9111(p))

72 P.S. § 9111(p) provides a $3,500 family exemption that reduces the taxable estate dollar-for-dollar. The exemption is available to:

• A surviving spouse, OR
• If no spouse, children who were members of the decedent's household at the date of death.

The exemption is small relative to a typical PA estate but is essentially free in any qualifying case. The calculator defaults to claiming it. The exemption is separate from (and stacks with) the deductions under § 9127.

Deductions under § 9127

72 P.S. § 9127 allows deductions against the gross estate for:

• Reasonable funeral expenses — burial, cremation, headstone, related services.
• Administration expenses — executor commission, attorney fees, court costs, accounting fees, appraisal fees.
• Debts of the decedent at death — mortgages on real property (limited to the equity portion includible in the estate), credit-card balances, unpaid taxes, personal loans.
• Last medical expenses — medical bills incurred for the decedent's last illness.

For a routine $1M PA estate, $40,000–$80,000 of combined deductions (4%–8% of gross) is a common planning band. Each line is reported on a separate schedule of the REV-1500. The calculator collapses these into a single "deductible expenses" input for planning simplicity — the schedule-by-schedule allocation matters for the actual return but does not change the total tax computation.

Joint accounts and survivorship property (61 Pa. Code § 93.131)

Joint accounts with right of survivorship are taxed on the survivor's proportionate share of the balance at the relationship rate. The default presumption is equal ownership absent contribution evidence — so a two-party joint account with $200,000 balance is presumed to transfer $100,000 to the surviving joint owner at the relationship rate.

If the survivor is a spouse, $100,000 × 0% = $0. If the survivor is an adult child, $100,000 × 4.5% = $4,500. If the survivor is an unrelated friend, $100,000 × 15% = $15,000. Tenancy by the entireties between spouses is taxed at the 0% spouse rate on the full value.

Joint accounts are a common but high-friction PA planning device because the relationship-rate exposure on collateral or unrelated co-owners can substantially exceed the documentation cost of a proper testamentary disposition.

Comparison to federal estate tax

Federal estate tax (IRC § 2001(c)) is 40% on the gross estate above the applicable exclusion (~$14.45M per individual in 2026 pre-sunset, ~$7M post-sunset) — paid by the estate, before distribution, irrespective of beneficiary identity. PA inheritance tax is 0%–15% on each beneficiary's share at the relationship-keyed rate, with NO size threshold.

The two analyses run in parallel and rarely substitute for one another:

• A $500,000 PA estate left to a niece pays $0 in federal estate tax (well below the exclusion) but ~$71,250 in PA inheritance tax (15% collateral rate).
• A $20,000,000 PA estate left entirely to a surviving spouse pays substantial federal estate tax above the exclusion (subject to the unlimited marital deduction under IRC § 2056, which may zero it out) but $0 in PA inheritance tax (0% spouse rate).

PA inheritance tax paid is deductible against the federal estate tax under IRC § 2058 (state death-tax deduction). For estates near or above the federal exclusion, engage federal estate-tax counsel in addition to PA probate counsel.

Common errors

• Misclassifying a non-adopted stepchild as a lineal heir. Non-adopted stepchildren are taxed at 15% (collateral), not 4.5% (lineal). Legal adoption is the bright-line test.
• Forgetting the early-payment discount. A 5% savings under § 9143 is meaningful on any non-trivial estate; tender payment within 90 days when feasible.
• Treating PA inheritance tax as an estate tax. It is per-beneficiary, per-relationship. A "small" estate left to collateral relatives produces meaningful tax; a "large" estate left to a spouse produces none.
• Missing the 9-month REV-1500 deadline. Interest accrues from the original due date even with a filing extension.
• Overlooking the charitable exemption under § 9111(c)–(e). A 15% collateral rate on a $100,000 bequest to a friend converts to 0% if directed instead to a qualifying charity.
• Ignoring the joint-account survivorship rule. The survivor's share is taxable at the relationship rate; an unrelated joint owner can produce a large tax surprise.

What this calculator does not do

• Replace counsel or a CPA. PA inheritance-tax preparation is procedurally exacting — schedule-by-schedule reporting on the REV-1500, beneficiary classification disputes, valuation challenges, and apportionment issues all require licensed professional judgment.
• Compute federal estate tax. See the federal-tax cluster's portability calculator for IRC § 2001(c) / § 2010(c) analysis.
• Apply non-default tax apportionment. When the will directs that each beneficiary bears their own tax (rather than the residuary bearing all tax), the per-beneficiary calculation here is the right input but the apportionment treatment differs.
• Handle PA realty transfer tax on real property transferred to beneficiaries — a separate regime under 72 P.S. § 8101-C et seq.
• Compute the IRC § 1014 stepped-up basis for income-tax purposes on inherited property. Coordinate with a CPA.

The calculator's outputs are planning-stage estimates. For any PA estate with meaningful tax exposure, engage a PA probate attorney experienced with REV-1500 preparation.