Only inheritances above a certain value, which is 11.4 million dollars for 2019 taxes.
I inherited about 90k from my dad when he died last year (my share after I split the estate with my brother), and I paid no taxes on it at all. Most of that came from selling his house, which falls under capital gains for the estate, which also has an exemption of 250k for single, 500k for joint.
If the value of the assets being transferred is higher than the federal estate tax exemption (which is $11.58 million for singles in 2020 and about $23.16 million for married couples), the property can be subject to federal estate tax.
In contrast, with inheritance taxes the focus is usually on who the heir is. And while it’s possible to owe estate taxes at the state and/or federal level, inheritance taxes are only collected by states.
Only six states impose an inheritance tax. So if you’re inheriting something from a person who lived in any of the following places, your inheritance might be subject to state taxes:
Maryland, Nebraska, Kentucky, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Iowa
The people I was thinking of weren't the sort who would need to worry about this but rather the professional middle class who have enough saved into retirement to maintain their professional middle class lifestyle. The sort who after a few generations might accrue generational wealth.
Because the gov taxes the shit out of inheritances.
Only inheritances above a certain value, which is 11.4 million dollars for 2019 taxes.
I inherited about 90k from my dad when he died last year (my share after I split the estate with my brother), and I paid no taxes on it at all. Most of that came from selling his house, which falls under capital gains for the estate, which also has an exemption of 250k for single, 500k for joint.
Source
The people I was thinking of weren't the sort who would need to worry about this but rather the professional middle class who have enough saved into retirement to maintain their professional middle class lifestyle. The sort who after a few generations might accrue generational wealth.