Updated October 5, 2026. Quick answer: No. Iowa has no estate tax for a person who dies in 2026. The Department of Revenue’s administrative rule 900.1(2) says that for deaths on or after January 1, 2005, “no estate tax is imposed”. Iowa’s inheritance tax also no longer applies to deaths on or after January 1, 2025. 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: Iowa promissory note.
Deeding a home to a family member while you are alive? What Iowa requires, from its own documents: Iowa quitclaim deed requirements.
Iowa estate tax at a glance
| Item | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| State estate tax | None |
| Why | For deaths on or after January 1, 2005, no estate tax is imposed; the underlying statutes have been repealed |
| State inheritance tax | Ended for deaths on or after January 1, 2025 (Iowa Code 450.98) |
| Federal estate tax basic exclusion amount, 2026 | $15,000,000 |
| Source | Iowa Department of Revenue; Iowa Legislature; IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 |
Why Iowa has no estate tax
In its rulemaking, the Department says it is rescinding Chapters 901 and 902 of its rules because the underlying statutes regarding the State’s estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes have been repealed.
Does Iowa have an inheritance tax?
Iowa’s inheritance tax is the one that changed most recently. Rule 900.1(1) says that for deaths on or after January 1, 2025, “no state inheritance tax is imposed”, and Iowa Code 450.98 provides that “The inheritance tax shall not be imposed under this chapter” for a decedent who dies on or after January 1, 2025. For a death before that date, the earlier rules apply.
CMG’s Iowa inheritance tax page covers the beneficiary side.
What applies to an Iowa 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 Iowa owes $0 of state estate tax, and $3,000,000 is below the federal $15,000,000.
Probate: Iowa probate cost. Retirement accounts: how Iowa taxes 401(k) and IRA withdrawals.
What the documents do not say
- The Department’s rulemaking does not say in terms when the estate tax statutes were repealed; it notes only that two of its rulemaking authority sections, 450A.12 and 451.12, were repealed by 2014 Iowa Acts, chapter 1076.
Common mistakes
- Applying Iowa’s old inheritance tax schedule to a death on or after January 1, 2025.
- 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
- ARC 9326C: Inheritance tax; Iowa estate tax; generation skipping transfer tax, adopt ch 900; rescind chs 901, 902: https://rules.iowa.gov/Notice/Details/9326C
- Iowa Code 2025, Section 450.98 Tax repealed: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/2025/450.98.pdf
- Iowa Tax/Fee Descriptions and Rates: https://revenue.iowa.gov/taxes/tax-guidance/general/iowa-taxfee-descriptions-and-rates
- 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.