Updated October 5, 2026. Quick answer: No. California has no inheritance tax for a death in 2026. The State Controller’s Office says it “will continue to collect the Inheritance Tax” only for decedents who died before June 8, 1982.
California inheritance tax at a glance
| Item | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| State inheritance tax | None |
| What the documents say | The State Controller’s Office collects the California inheritance tax only for decedents who died before June 8, 1982 |
| State estate tax | None: the State Controller says no California Estate Tax Return is required for deaths on or after January 1, 2005 |
| Source | California State Controller’s Office, Tax Administration Section; IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 |
What the California documents say
The State Controller’s Office, which administers California’s death taxes, says that for decedents who died before June 8, 1982 it “will continue to collect the Inheritance Tax”. That is the only California inheritance tax the page describes.
For later deaths the Controller’s page says that for decedents who die on or after January 1, 2005 there is “no longer a requirement to file a California Estate Tax Return”, because the federal state death tax credit was eliminated.
What an heir in California still faces
The federal estate tax is paid by the estate, with a 2026 basic exclusion amount of “$15,000,000 for calendar year 2026”. California levies no estate tax of its own: the Controller’s page says there is “no longer a requirement to file a California Estate Tax Return” for deaths on or after January 1, 2005. CMG’s California estate tax page covers it.
An heir’s basis under 26 U.S.C. 1014(a) is generally the value at “the date of the decedent’s death”. Inherited retirement money is an income tax question: California 401(k) and IRA withdrawals, the inherited IRA RMD calculator and California probate cost cover the rest.
How current the California documents are
Read on October 5, 2026: California Estate Tax (California State Controller’s Office, Tax Administration Section, undated).
What the documents do not say
- No California document read says “California has no inheritance tax” in so many words. The Controller’s page limits its collection of the inheritance tax to deaths before June 8, 1982. The Florida Legislature’s 2025 EDR Tax Handbook says “Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania levy inheritance taxes”, which does not include California.
Common mistakes
- Reading the Controller’s collection of the old inheritance tax, which covers deaths before June 8, 1982, as a current tax on a 2026 death.
Related: inheritance tax by state, California estate tax, California probate cost, and how California taxes 401(k) and IRA withdrawals.
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Answer againSources
- California Estate Tax: https://www.sco.ca.gov/ardtax_estate_tax.html
- Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (Internal Revenue Service): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-25-32.pdf
- 26 U.S.C. 1014 Basis of property acquired from a decedent (U.S. Code, 2023 edition, GovInfo): https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title26/html/USCODE-2023-title26-subtitleA-chap1-subchapO-partII-sec1014.htm
- Florida Tax Handbook 2025 (Florida Legislature, Office of Economic and Demographic Research): https://edr.state.fl.us/Content/revenues/reports/tax-handbook/taxhandbook.pdf
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 5, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a tax professional or the state agency itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.