Updated October 5, 2026. Quick answer: No. Texas has no estate tax for a person who dies in 2026. The Texas Comptroller’s revenue estimate described the state’s death tax, which it calls the inheritance tax, as a pick-up on the federal tax, meaning that “the tax will be eliminated in calendar 2005 and thereafter”. The federal exclusion is $15,000,000 for 2026.
Naming a beneficiary on a brokerage account or a vehicle title is covered here: transfer-on-death registration in Texas.
Inheriting from, or planning for, someone in this state? Whether the state has an inheritance tax, from its own tax documents: Does Texas have an inheritance tax?.
Texas estate tax at a glance
| Item | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| State estate tax | None |
| Why | Texas’s tax was a pick-up on the federal credit, eliminated from calendar 2005; the inheritance tax statute was repealed effective September 1, 2015 |
| State inheritance tax | None: the Comptroller says the 84th Legislature repealed the inheritance tax effective September 1, 2015 |
| Federal estate tax basic exclusion amount, 2026 | $15,000,000 |
| Source | Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts; IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 |
Why Texas has no estate tax
The Comptroller’s 2006-07 revenue estimate says “the state inheritance tax is being phased out” as a result of Congressional action, and that the tax due to Texas equaled the federal credit allowed for state inheritance taxes paid. The 2016-17 certification revenue estimate says “The 84th Legislature repealed, effective September 1, 2015”, several taxes in its Other Taxes category, including the inheritance tax.
Does Texas have an inheritance tax?
The Comptroller’s documents use the name inheritance tax for the state’s death tax, the pick-up described above. The 2016-17 estimate records its repeal effective September 1, 2015, and neither document describes a separate tax on heirs.
CMG’s inheritance tax by state page covers the beneficiary side.
What applies to a Texas 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 Texas owes $0 of state estate tax, and $3,000,000 is below the federal $15,000,000.
Probate: Texas probate cost. Retirement accounts: how Texas taxes 401(k) and IRA withdrawals.
What the documents do not say
- Texas’s documents call the death tax the inheritance tax even though it was a tax on the estate set at the federal credit. No Comptroller document read cites the repeal statute by number.
Common mistakes
- Treating Texas as having a death tax because older documents mention an inheritance tax; the Comptroller says the Legislature repealed it effective September 1, 2015.
- 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
- Biennial Revenue Estimate 2006-07: https://comptroller.texas.gov/transparency/reports/biennial-revenue-estimate/2006-07/available.php
- The 2016-17 Certification Revenue Estimate: https://comptroller.texas.gov/transparency/reports/certification-revenue-estimate/2016-17/overview.php
- 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.