Updated October 5, 2026. Quick answer: No. Alaska has no estate tax for a person who dies in 2026. The Alaska Court System’s probate FAQ answers the question directly: “No. As of 2005, Alaska no longer collects a state estate tax”. The federal exclusion is $15,000,000 for 2026.
Putting a loan in writing? The interest limit, the signing rules and the time limit to sue, from the state’s own statutes: Alaska promissory note.
Deeding a home to a family member while you are alive? What Alaska requires, from its own documents: Alaska quitclaim deed requirements.
Naming a beneficiary on a brokerage account or a vehicle title is covered here: transfer-on-death registration in Alaska.
Alaska estate tax at a glance
| Item | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| State estate tax | None |
| Why | Alaska’s tax (AS 43.31) was based on the federal state death tax credit, which Congress phased out by 12/31/2004 |
| State inheritance tax | Not addressed in the documents read |
| Federal estate tax basic exclusion amount, 2026 | $15,000,000 |
| Source | Alaska Court System; Alaska Department of Revenue, Tax Division; IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 |
Why Alaska has no estate tax
A 2005 fiscal note from the Department of Revenue’s Tax Division explains why. It says Alaska’s estate tax (AS 43.31) was based on the state death tax credit allowed under federal law, and that the tax “was effectively reduced to zero by the change in federal law”. The Court System’s FAQ adds a caution for people with property elsewhere: “estate taxes may be due in that state”, meaning a state where the person lived or owned property.
Does Alaska have an inheritance tax?
The documents read for this page do not address whether Alaska levies an inheritance tax, so this page makes no statement about it. CMG’s inheritance tax by state page lists the states that do and links each one.
What applies to an Alaska estate instead
Federal estate tax is separate. Revenue Procedure 2025-32 says the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, section 70106, increased the “basic exclusion amount to $15,000,000 for calendar year 2026”.
An estate of $3,000,000 in Alaska owes $0 of state estate tax, and $3,000,000 is below the federal $15,000,000.
Probate: Alaska probate cost. Retirement accounts: how Alaska taxes 401(k) and IRA withdrawals.
What the documents do not say
- No Department of Revenue page answering the question could be retrieved, so this page rests on the Court System’s FAQ and a 2005 Tax Division fiscal note. No document read names a repeal statute.
Common mistakes
- Assuming an Alaska resident with property in another state owes nothing there; the Court System’s FAQ says estate taxes may be due in the other state.
- Assuming the state answer settles the federal one, or the answer for property held in another state.
Related: estate tax by state, inheritance tax by state, and probate cost by state.
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Answer againSources
- Federal Tax Matters (Probate: Estates FAQ): https://courts.alaska.gov/shc/probate/tax-matters.htm
- Fiscal Note No. 1, SJR 14 (2005 Legislative Session): https://www.akleg.gov/pdf/24/F/SJR014-1-1-032305-REV-N.PDF
- Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (Internal Revenue Service): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-25-32.pdf
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 5, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and an estate attorney, a tax preparer or the state agency itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.