Gera Tools

New York Estate Tax Calculator

Estimate New York estate tax liability above the state exemption threshold.

Estimate New York State estate tax using the current basic exclusion amount and graduated 3.06% to 16% rate schedule. Models the notorious New York estate tax cliff, where estates above 105% of the exemption lose the exclusion entirely.

What is the New York estate tax exemption?

New York's basic exclusion amount is the value an estate can pass free of state estate tax. It is indexed for inflation each year and is well below the much larger federal exemption. Estates below the exclusion owe no New York estate tax at all.

New York’s estate tax and its infamous cliff

New York is one of a minority of states that levies its own estate tax, separate from and far stricter than the federal one. Its exemption — the basic exclusion amount — is a fraction of the federal exemption, so many estates that owe nothing federally still owe New York tax. The defining quirk is the cliff: cross 105% of the exemption and you lose the exclusion entirely, taxing the whole estate, not just the excess. This calculator shows where your estate sits relative to the exemption and the cliff, and estimates the tax.

How it works

The tool compares the taxable estate against the basic exclusion amount in three zones:

estate ≤ exemption          → no NY estate tax
exemption < estate ≤ 105%   → exclusion phases out; tax applies near the margin
estate > 105% of exemption  → exclusion fully lost; ENTIRE estate is taxable

For estates over the cliff, the graduated rate schedule (about 3.06% up to 16%) is applied to the full taxable estate. For estates in the narrow phase-out band between 100% and 105% of the exemption, the marginal effect is severe — the tax can approach the size of the amount over the threshold. The calculator uses New York’s bracket table to compute the tax once the taxable base is determined.

Notes and example

With an exemption of about $6.94 million, an estate of $6.9 million owes nothing. An estate of $7.3 million sits above the 105% cliff (about $7.29 million), so the entire $7.3 million is taxable — producing a tax in the high hundreds of thousands, even though only $360,000 exceeded the exemption. That cliff is why estates near the threshold get the most value from planning.

This is an estimate using New York’s published exclusion and rate schedule. It does not model the marital deduction, portability, prior taxable gifts, or the federal estate tax. Consult an estate attorney for real planning. All figures stay in your browser.