Estate and Inheritance Tax in California

California has no state estate tax and no inheritance tax. What can apply is the federal estate tax, and after the 2026 law it only touches estates well into the millions — most families owe nothing. What matters far more for the average estate is the income-tax side: the step-up in basis on inherited property, capital gains when heirs sell, and property-tax reassessment under Prop 19. These guides sort the tax that rarely applies from the tax that usually does, cover the tools that still make sense at higher net worth, and flag the figures that changed for 2026. If you are not sure which rules touch your estate, talk to Eric.

California lottery winners

• Already Claimed a California Lottery Prize? What to Do Now — Already claimed a California lottery prize? What's public, scams to expect, estimated taxes, your annuity and a trust, and offers…
• California Lottery Lawyer: Estate Planning for Lottery Winners — Eric Ridley, California lottery lawyer: trusts, pool agreements, gifts and annuity assignments for winners, before and after the claim.…
• California Lottery Pool Agreement, With a Free Sample — A free California lottery pool agreement, plus how the Lottery pays groups, when IRS Form 5754 applies, and the gift tax trap when one…
• California Lottery Tax Calculator: Cash Option vs. Annuity, After Tax — Estimate your take-home on a California Powerball or Mega Millions prize, cash option vs. annuity, after federal tax. California taxes…
• California's Biggest Lottery Jackpots, and What the Winners' Claims Show — Every California Powerball and Mega Millions jackpot over $100 million since 2013: where it sold, who claimed, cash or annuity, and how…
• Can You Stay Anonymous After Winning the Lottery in California? — California publishes lottery winners' names under Lottery Regs § 5.8.1. What's public, why, whether you must appear, name…
• Can a Trust Claim Lottery Winnings in California? — No trust, LLC, or blind trust can claim a California Lottery prize. How the $500 Qualifying Trust assignment works, and which trust fits…
• Giving Lottery Money to Family Without Wrecking Anyone — How to give lottery winnings to family in California: the $19,000 exclusion, $15M exemption, Form 709, tuition, 529s, AFR loans, and…
• How Lottery Winnings Are Taxed in California (2026) — California doesn't tax California Lottery prizes, but the IRS does, and 24% withholding falls short. 2026 brackets, worked…
• Just Won the California Lottery? What to Do Before You Claim — Just won a California Lottery, Powerball or Mega Millions prize? Sign and secure the ticket, know your deadline, and settle ownership…
• Lottery Lump Sum vs. Annuity in California: How to Choose — How the Powerball and Mega Millions annuity works, a 30-year payout chart, the 60-day cash election, taxes, and the estate tax trap…
• Lottery Winnings and Divorce in California — Is a lottery prize community property in California? When your ex can claim it, how separation dates matter, and why hiding a win cost…
• What Happens to a Lottery Annuity When the Winner Dies? — Lottery annuity payments continue to your trust, named beneficiary, or estate. No lump sum at death, estate tax on present value, and…
• What to Do If You Win the Lottery in California — Won the California Lottery, Powerball, or Mega Millions? Claim deadlines, why a trust can't claim, taxes, cash vs. annuity, and…
• Won Powerball or Mega Millions in California? What's Different Here — California pays Powerball and Mega Millions prizes differently, taxes them differently and publishes your name. Claim deadlines, taxes…

The federal estate tax

• CA Dynasty Trusts: Benefits Guide 2026 — The Benefits of Establishing a Dynasty Trust in California If you\\\'re considering ways to preserve and protect your wealth for future…
• CA Estate Planning for Non-Citizens — Non-citizen estate planning in CA: $60K NRA exemption, QDOT for non-citizen spouses, $194K gift limit. Free consult with Ridley Law.
• California Billionaire Tax: What Prop 40 Would Do — Prop 40, the California wealth tax on billionaires, read from its text: who owes 5%, the $1B to $1.1B phase-in, trusts, gifts,…
• California Estate Tax in 2026: There Is None, and Here Is What That Actually Means
• Do I Still Need My Old A/B (Bypass) Trust in California? — For most CA couples an old mandatory A/B trust is now unnecessary and can cost a second step-up. 2026 exemption is $15M/person. (805)…
• Do You Still Need a SLAT After the 2026 Tax Law? (California) — The 2026 exemption sunset that drove SLAT urgency was repealed. When a spousal lifetime access trust still makes sense in California — and…
• Estate Planning Before Selling a Business in California: Timing, Trusts and Taxes — Estate planning before selling a business in California: gift timing after Hoensheid, GRATs, QSBS stacking, CRTs, residency and Prop 40,…
• Estate Planning: Non-Citizen CA Guide 2026 — Estate Planning for Non-Citizens in California: A Comprehensive Guide Estate planning can often seem daunting, especially if you\\\'re a…
• Estate Tax Cases Won and Lost: 34 Cases Scored — We read 34 federal estate and gift tax cases on GRATs, FLPs, formula clauses, split-dollar and QTIPs. Taxpayers won 12, the IRS 17, and…
• Estate Tax Deferral Under Section 6166: Paying Estate Tax on a Family Business Over 14 Years — Section 6166 lets an estate pay federal estate tax on a family business over 14 years at 2% and 3.15%. Who qualifies, what accelerates…
• Estate Tax Portability in California: The 706 Most Families Skip — Portability lets a surviving spouse keep the first spouse\\\'s unused $15M exemption — but only if you file a 706. The real 5-year deadline…
• Estate Tax Protection for Ventura
• Estate Tax Statistics (2026): 36 Verified Figures With Sources — 36 federal estate tax statistics from the IRS: returns filed, taxable estates, revenue, the exemption from 2001 to 2026,…
• Form 709: The Federal Gift Tax Return, Explained — Who must file Form 709, due dates and extensions, split gifts, GST elections, adequate disclosure and appraisals, and what happens when…
• Gift Tax in 2026: What California Families Can Give Tax-Free — In 2026 you can give $19,000 per person tax-free and the lifetime exemption is $15 million (permanent). California has no gift tax — but…
• Non-Citizen Spouse and the Estate Tax: The QDOT Rule (California) — The unlimited marital deduction doesn\\\'t apply to a non-citizen spouse. How a QDOT defers the estate tax, the $194,000 gift limit, and who…
• QTIP Trust Administration After the First Spouse Dies — What the surviving spouse can and cannot do, and the elections that have to be made on time.
• Ultra-High-Net-Worth Estate Planning in California: Above the $15 Million Exemption — Ultra high net worth estate planning in California above the $15M exemption: estate freezes, SLATs, GRATs, grantor trust sales, FLPs and…

Income and property tax

• Can a Nevada Trust Avoid California Income Taxes? — Mostly no — California taxes trusts based on where fiduciaries and beneficiaries live, and its throwback rule catches accumulated income.…
• Capital Gains Tax on Inherited Property in California — How the step up in basis works on inherited real property, and what the heirs actually owe when they sell.
• Charitable Lead Annuity Trust (CLAT): Zeroed-Out CLATs, GST Traps and California Rules — How a charitable lead annuity trust works in 2026: grantor vs. nongrantor, zeroed-out CLATs at the 5.6% 7520 rate, GST traps, cases and…
• Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust (CRAT): Rules, 2026 Payout Math and the SPIA Listed Transaction — What a charitable remainder annuity trust (CRAT) is, how it differs from a CRUT, 2026 payout math, and the CRAT/SPIA listed transaction…
• Community Property vs. Separate Property Step-Up in California — Community property gets a full basis step-up in California; separate property only gets half. Here's the difference and what it costs if you get it wrong.
• Do Irrevocable Trust Assets Get a Step-Up in Basis at Death? — Only if the assets are included in the taxable estate — Rev. Rul. 2023-2 settled it. What that means for California families, plus the co…
• Does a Living Trust File a Tax Return? (California, 2026) — While you\\\'re alive, a revocable living trust files no separate tax return and needs no EIN. What changes after death, the Form 1041, and…
• GRAT (Grantor Retained Annuity Trust): How It Works, With the California Rules — How a GRAT works: § 2702, the 5.6% § 7520 hurdle, zeroed-out and rolling GRATs, Walton and Badgley, death during the term, and what…
• Gifting Appreciated Assets vs. the Step-Up in Basis: When a Lifetime Gift Costs More Tax — Gifting low-basis assets gives up the step-up in basis. California break-even math at 40% estate tax and 37.1% income tax, when a gift…
• How to Avoid Capital Gains Tax on an Inherited House in Ventura County
• Inheriting an Annuity in California: Your Options and the Tax — Inherited an annuity? Your payout options under IRC 72(s), why annuities get no step-up in basis, and how the gain is taxed as ordinary…
• Moving California Real Estate Into an LLC: The Prop 13 Reassessment Trap — Deeding California property into an LLC, or giving LLC units to your kids, can trigger Prop 13 reassessment under R&TC § 64(c) and…
• Swap Powers and Upstream Basis Planning: Getting a Step-Up After Rev. Rul. 2023-2 — Grantor trust swap powers after Rev. Rul. 2023-2: swapping cash for low-basis assets before death, Rev. Rul. 2008-22, upstream basis…
• Who Files a Deceased Person\\\'s Final Tax Return in California? — Someone still has to file the year-of-death tax returns. Who signs, when Form 1310 is needed, and when the estate needs its own return (f…

More guides

• 2026 Legacy Guide: Wishes to Your Heirs — How to Effectively Communicate Your Legacy Wishes to Your Heirs Planning for the future often involves making decisions that will impact…
• 2026 Tax Guide: Trust Changes Explained — Hello there! I\\\'m Eric Ridley, an estate planning lawyer from California. Today, let\\\'s talk about something that puzzles many: how do…
• 7 Inheritance Tax Myths California Families Need to Know — Uncover 7 common inheritance tax myths that can cost California families. Learn the facts and protect your estate and loved ones with…
• Building a Contest-Proof Estate Plan: Capacity Documentation — How to document capacity at signing so a later contest has nothing to work with.
• CA Estate Planning Without Heirs
• Deathbed Family Limited Partnerships: Why Late FLPs Fail Under Section 2036 — Deathbed family limited partnerships fail under IRC § 2036. What Strangi, Powell and Fields cost, the facts that sink an FLP, and…
• Defined Value Clauses and the Wandry Clause: Formula Gifts That Survive an Audit — How a Wandry or defined value clause caps a gift of LLC units at a dollar amount, the cases that upheld and rejected them, and the…
• Do California Trusts and LLCs Have to File a BOI Report? (2026 Update) — As of 2026, U.S.-formed LLCs and California trusts do not file a FinCEN BOI report — the March 2025 rule change exempted domestic entities…
• Estate Planning Strategies That Backfire: Abusive Tax Shelters and Costly Mistakes — High-net-worth estate planning mistakes and abusive tax shelters, from deathbed FLPs to CRAT annuities and ING trusts, with the cases…
• Estate Planning: First Meeting Prep — How to Prepare for Your First Meeting with an Estate Planning Attorney Embarking on the journey of estate planning can feel daunting, but…
• Estate Tax Planning Strategies Compared: 22 Techniques Side by Side — 22 estate tax planning strategies in one table: what leaves the estate, exemption used, basis, California rules, risks, and the law and…
• Estate Tax Planning: A 2026 Guide — You may not realize how tax obligations can significantly impact your estate planning. Understanding the nuances of estate taxes, gift…
• Expatriation Tax and Estate Planning: Sections 877A and 2801 — The 2026 expatriation tax rules: who is a covered expatriate, the $910,000 exclusion, Form 8854, the 40% tax on gifts to U.S. heirs, and…
• High Net Worth Estate Planning Examples: Four California Families by Net Worth — Four hypothetical California families at $12M, $45M, $180M and $1.5B: problems ranked in dollars, the plan, and the numbers before and…
• High-Net-Worth Estate Planning in California — High net worth estate planning in California for estates under $30M married: the double step-up, Prop 19 and LLCs, 13.3% state tax and…
• How Estate Planning Attorneys Can Help with Tax Planning — Understanding the Role of an Estate Planning Attorney Estate planning attorneys are often associated with drafting wills and trusts, but…
• How to Minimize Taxes Through Estate Planning — Understanding the Basics of Estate Planning Estate planning is the process of organizing and managing your assets to ensure they are…
• ING Trusts in California: How SB 131 and R&TC § 17082 Ended the NING — ING trusts in California after SB 131: how NING and DING trusts worked, the PLRs, R&TC § 17082 taxing ING income to the grantor…
• Intentionally Defective Grantor Trust (IDGT): How a Sale to a Grantor Trust Works in California — How a sale to an intentionally defective grantor trust works: grantor trust powers, the AFR note, the 10% seed, Rev. Rul. 2004-64, and…
• Is a QPRT Still Worth It in 2026? A California Reality Check — Qualified personal residence trusts made sense when the estate tax exemption was lower. With $15M per person now permanent, most Californ…
• Leaving California: Is There an Exit Tax, and What Follows You — California has no exit tax. What follows a mover is the residency test, California-source income, trust rules and, for billionaires,…
• Micro-Captive Insurance: Section 831(b), the Court Losses and Form 8886 in 2026 — Micro-captive insurance under IRC § 831(b): why the IRS wins in court, where the listed transaction rules stand after Drake Plastics,…
• Monetized Installment Sales: Why the IRS Says the Deferral Fails — A monetized installment sale promises 30 years of tax deferral. Why the IRS says § 453 doesn't apply, the proposed listing status…
• Private Foundation vs. Donor Advised Fund: Control, Deductions, 2026 Rules and California — Private foundation vs. donor advised fund in 2026: control, 60/30/20 limits, the new 0.5% floor, 1.39% tax, 5% payout, self-dealing and…
• Private Placement Life Insurance (PPLI): Investor Control, Webber and California Rules — How private placement life insurance (PPLI) qualifies under IRC 7702 and 817(h), the investor control doctrine after Webber, MEC rules…
• Private Trust Companies and Family Offices: A California Guide — Private trust companies and family offices for California families: Notice 2008-63, the SEC family office rule, state charters,…
• Reforming a Trust for Tax Purposes in California — Trust reformation fixes drafting errors that threaten stepped-up basis, GST exemption, or marital deduction. Here's how California courts handle it.
• Spendthrift Trust Guide 2026: Secure Heirs — Why a Spendthrift Trust Can Be a Great Solution for Your Heirs
• Split-Dollar Life Insurance in Estate Planning: Levine, Morrissette, Cahill and Connelly — Split-dollar life insurance under Treas. Reg. 1.61-22: economic benefit vs. loan regimes, intergenerational split-dollar after Levine,…
• Stepped-Up Basis in a California Trust, Explained — Stepped-up basis resets an inherited asset's value to date-of-death value, often erasing capital gains tax. Here's how it works for California trustees.
• Valuation Discounts, Qualified Appraisals and Adequate Disclosure for Family Entity Gifts — What discounts courts allow on gifts of LLC and partnership interests, how adequate disclosure starts the 3-year clock, the appraisal…