While it can be difficult to keep each state’s individual rules in mind, the Tax Foundation creates helpful summaries.

This year, they updated their “Estate and Inheritance Taxes by State ” data to 2024, publishing a new map of the country.

Here is a static image of the map. You can also see their embedded iframe below.

In 2024, there are 18 states that have some form of death taxes. Those are:

1. Connecticut
2. Hawaii
3. Illinois
4. Iowa
5. Kentucky
6. Maine
7. Maryland
8. Massachusetts
9. Minnesota
10. Nebraska
11. New Jersey
12. New York
13. Oregon
14. Pennsylvania
15. Rhode Island
16. Vermont
17. Washington
18. District of Columbia

We are thankful that Virginia is not part of the list.

Even if your state is spared this painful tax, reviewing the different death tax rules can still be an interesting read.

For example, author Joseph Johns explains how some states have a proximity test, where assets given to more distant relatives are taxed at higher rates while other states increase the tax on generational wealth transfers.

This reminds me of David and my previous writing in "Should We Hate the Richest Kids in the Graveyard?":

Inheritance, almost uniquely, has the ability to anger both those who believe in equality of means and those who believe in equality of outcome. Imagine a wealthy father who was able to amass more wealth than another similar dad; this is inequality of outcomes. And then that wealthy deceased father passes his fortune on to his one child while the poorer dad passes on very little and divides it among his three children. This creates an inequality of means for the next generation.

Although equality may divide party lines, the jealousy and bitterness surrounding inheritance may not be divided. Most people just hate heirs.

They hate them so much, they cry for a 100% death tax, without even thinking of the implications.

If you live in one of the 18 states with death taxes, I encourage you to research your state's inheritance or estate tax burden. If it might be impactful to your estate plan, discuss the matter with your estate attorney and your financial planner to see what steps might be taken to prepare.