Estate Taxes
Estate taxes in 2026 will affect fewer people than in previous years. The reason? The federal estate tax limit was raised to $15,000,000 per individual. Married couples can pass $30,000,000. Arizona does not have its own estate tax. Some states do but if you are a resident of Arizona with assets owned only in Arizona, the only estate taxes your estate will likely encounter are federal estate taxes.
Amounts over the $15,000,000 are subject to potentially a 40% tax but any amounts under that limit are not taxed.
If your estate is subject to estate taxes, taxes are typically due within nine (9) months of the last spouse's passing. There are many types of trusts that can be used to help reduce estate taxes, such as charitable trusts, generation skipping trusts and irrevocable life insurance trusts.