Updated October 5, 2026. Quick answer: No state estate tax, but Kentucky does tax inheritances. The Kentucky Department of Revenue says “There is no Kentucky estate tax”, and its inheritance tax page describes the separate tax on what a beneficiary receives. 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: Kentucky promissory note.
Deeding a home to a family member while you are alive? What Kentucky requires, from its own documents: Kentucky quitclaim deed requirements.
Kentucky estate tax at a glance
| Item | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| State estate tax | None |
| Why | Kentucky’s estate tax equaled the federal state death tax credit minus the inheritance tax; no Kentucky estate tax since January 1, 2005 |
| State inheritance tax | Yes: Kentucky levies an inheritance tax on beneficiaries |
| Federal estate tax basic exclusion amount, 2026 | $15,000,000 |
| Source | Kentucky Department of Revenue; IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 |
Why Kentucky has no estate tax
The Department’s guide to Kentucky inheritance and estate taxes (92F101) explains the history: “Since January 1, 2005, there has been no Kentucky estate tax”. It adds that since state death taxes are no longer treated as a credit for federal estate taxes, there is no Kentucky estate tax.
Does Kentucky have an inheritance tax?
Kentucky is one of the states where the question has a different answer for the inheritance tax: the Department says “The inheritance tax is a tax on a beneficiary’s right” to receive property from a deceased person, and the amount depends on the beneficiary’s relationship to the person who died and the value of the property.
CMG’s Kentucky inheritance tax page covers the beneficiary side.
What applies to a Kentucky 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 Kentucky owes $0 of state estate tax, and $3,000,000 is below the federal $15,000,000.
Probate: Kentucky probate cost. Retirement accounts: how Kentucky taxes 401(k) and IRA withdrawals.
Common mistakes
- Stopping at the estate tax answer: a Kentucky inheritance tax return may still be due for a beneficiary.
- 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
- Inheritance Tax: Department of Revenue (ky.gov): https://revenue.ky.gov/Individual/Inheritance-Estate-Tax/Pages/default.aspx
- A Guide to Kentucky Inheritance and Estate Taxes (92F101): https://revenue.ky.gov/Individual/Inheritance-Estate-Tax/PublishingImages/Pages/default/Inheritance%20Tax%20Guide%2092F101%20(1-21).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.