Only five states, and shrinking
Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania are the only states left that tax the person receiving an inheritance rather than the estate itself. Iowa repealed its inheritance tax entirely for deaths on or after January 1, 2025 — many older guides still list it as a sixth state, but that figure is now out of date. Every state page below breaks down the exact rate by beneficiary class (spouse, child, sibling, unrelated heir), the exemption each class gets, and who's actually on the hook to pay. See our methodology for how we verify each figure.
Inheritance tax vs. estate tax
These two get confused constantly, and the confusion costs people real money in bad planning decisions. Inheritance tax is paid by the beneficiary, at a rate set by how closely they were related to the deceased — spouses pay nothing everywhere, children often pay nothing or very little, and distant relatives or unrelated heirs pay the most. Estate tax is paid by the estate itself before distribution, based on the estate's total value, regardless of who inherits. Maryland is the only state that charges both on the same estate. If the state you're looking for isn't listed above, check our State Estate Tax Calculator instead — a much longer list of 12 states plus DC falls there.
Location follows the deceased, not the heir
Inheritance tax is triggered by where the deceased lived (plus any real estate they owned in a taxing state) — not where the heir lives. An heir in Florida, Texas, or any other no-inheritance-tax state can still owe Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Kentucky, Nebraska, or Maryland inheritance tax if that's where the person who died was domiciled. This surprises a lot of out-of-state family members who assume their own state's tax rules apply.