BorderFolio/Withholding by residence/US estate tax calculator
US estate tax calculator for non-resident investors
Rates from IRS Form 706 instructions, Table A (Rev. September 2025) · last reviewed 31 August 2026
This is the threshold a long-term index investor crosses in an ordinary month, with no email, no warning and no change of state on any dashboard — because from the dashboard's point of view nothing happened. Enter what you hold in US-domiciled funds and US stocks, and the potential exposure is computed on the published rate schedule.
This calculator needs JavaScript. The rate schedule it applies is printed below.
How the figure is built
Three steps, all published:
- Tentative tax on the whole US-situs estate, under the IRS unified rate schedule — 18% on the first $10,000, rising in bands to 40% above $1,000,000.
- Minus the unified credit of
$13,000generally available to estates filing Form 706-NA. - The threshold falls out of the arithmetic. The tentative tax on exactly
$60,000is$13,000— the credit cancels it precisely. That is why the number everyone quotes is $60,000, and why the first dollar above it is taxed at 26%, not at 18%.
That last point is the one that surprises people. This is not a graduated tax that eases you in. By the time you cross the line, the bracket you land in is already well up the schedule.
| Taxable amount over | Not over | Tax on the lower figure | Rate on the excess |
|---|---|---|---|
0 | 10,000 | $0 | 18% |
10,000 | 20,000 | $1,800 | 20% |
20,000 | 40,000 | $3,800 | 22% |
40,000 | 60,000 | $8,200 | 24% |
60,000 | 80,000 | $13,000 | 26% |
80,000 | 100,000 | $18,200 | 28% |
100,000 | 150,000 | $23,800 | 30% |
150,000 | 250,000 | $38,800 | 32% |
250,000 | 500,000 | $70,800 | 34% |
500,000 | 750,000 | $155,800 | 37% |
750,000 | 1,000,000 | $248,300 | 39% |
1,000,000 | — | $345,800 | 40% |
What this cannot see, and it is a lot
Withholding tax is arithmetic on a published rate. Estate tax is not — the number above is a structural indication, not a bill. What it does not account for:
- Treaty relief. Where an estate tax treaty applies, it can change the outcome substantially, and how depends on its terms. The calculator flags whether a treaty exists; it does not apply one.
- Deductions and credits beyond the unified credit — debts, expenses, charitable and marital provisions.
- How the assets are held. Ownership structure changes what is US-situs in the first place.
- Prior taxable gifts, which enter the computation and can reduce the credit available.
- Anything about your estate specifically. This is the single place on this site where the gap between "structurally exposed" and "actually owes" is widest.
Treat the output as a reason to ask a professional a specific question, not as an answer. If it returns a number above zero, the useful next step is establishing what your treaty position and holding structure actually are — before it matters, rather than after.
Common questions
How much is US estate tax for a non-resident?
US-situs assets above USD 60,000 can expose a non-resident, non-citizen estate to US estate tax. The tax is computed on the whole US-situs estate under the IRS unified rate schedule, which runs from 18% on the first $10,000 to 40% above $1,000,000, and a unified credit of $13,000 is then subtracted. Because the tentative tax on exactly $60,000 is $13,000, the credit is what produces the $60,000 threshold. Estate tax treaties, deductions and how the assets are held can change the result.
Do US-domiciled ETFs count as US-situs assets?
Yes. Shares in a US-domiciled ETF and shares in US companies are generally treated as US-situs assets for estate tax purposes. Irish-domiciled UCITS funds are not, which is why fund domicile changes this exposure completely rather than by a few percent.
Does a tax treaty remove US estate tax exposure?
Not automatically. The United States maintains estate tax treaties with a limited number of countries, and where one applies it can substantially modify the exposure — but what relief is available depends on the treaty's terms, the deductions claimed, how the assets are held and the circumstances of the estate. An income tax treaty is a different instrument and does not provide estate tax relief.