As the U.S. federal estate tax exemption continues to increase to astronomical levels (the 2015 exemption will be $5,430,000 per person), several U.S. states that collect a death tax are either trying to become more attractive tax-wise to retirees, blowing it all out and keeping pace with the federal exemption, or making the state death disappear once and for all.
While the following U.S. states will collect some form of a death tax in 2014 – Connecticut, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, and Washington –in 2015 the following eight states will see changes to their state death tax laws:
◊ Delaware enacted an estate tax that was only supposed to be around between July 1, 2009 and June 30, 2013. Instead, the Delaware legislature acted in the spring of 2013 to keep the estate tax up and running and it is still being collected today. The Delaware exemption is adjusted for inflation each year so that it matches the federal exemption, so in 2015 the Delaware exemption will be $5,430,000, up from $5,340,000 in 2014. Refer to Overview of Delaware Estate Tax Laws for more information.
◊ Hawaii enacted an estate tax that went into effect on May 1, 2010. Back then the exemption was only $3,600,000, but in May 2012 the Hawaii legislature tweaked the estate tax laws to tie the Hawaii exemption to the federal exemption for deaths occurring after January 25, 2012. Therefore, the 2015 Hawaii exemption will be $5,430,000, up from $5,340,000 in 2014. Note that Hawaii is also the only state that currently recognizes portability of its exemption between married couples. Refer to Overview of Hawaii Estate Tax Laws for more information.
◊ Maryland has had a $1,000,000 estate tax exemption for many years. However, in May 2014 the Maryland legislature made significant changes to the estate tax laws, including increasing the exemption on an annual basis until it matches the federal exemption in 2019. Therefore, in 2015 the exemption will increase to $1,500,000. Aside from this, Maryland will begin recognizing portability of its estate tax exemption between married couples in 2019. Refer to Maryland Estate Tax Changes Go Into Effect in 2015 for more information about the 2014 legislation.
◊ Minnesota made some crazy changes in 2013 by enacting a state gift tax which was then retroactively repealed in 2014. In addition, the estate tax exemption was retroactively increased from $1,000,000 to $1,200,000 for 2014 deaths and the estate tax rate was modified so that the first dollars are taxed at 9% and maxes out at 16%. The estate tax exemption will then increase in $200,000 increments until it reaches $2,000,000 in 2018, so the 2015 exemption will be $1,400,000. Finally, married couples can now use ABC Trust planning to defer the payment of all estate taxes until after the death of the second spouse. Refer to Overview of Minnesota Estate Tax Laws for more information.
◊ New York joined the mix of states making changes to estate tax laws in April 2014. And of course New York had to do things a little different. Instead of making it easy and having the changes go into effect either retroactively back to the first of the year or not beginning until 2015, the New York exemption is $2,062,500 between April 1, 2014 and March 31, 2015, and then increases to $3,125,000 between April 1, 2015 and March 31, 2016. The New York exemption will then continue to increase until it matches the federal exemption in 2019. Refer to Overview of Changes to the New York Estate Tax Exemption Between 2014 and 2019 for more information.
◊ Rhode Island increased its estate tax exemption from $675,000 to $850,000 for deaths occurring in 2010 and began adjusting the exemption for inflation on an annual basis for deaths occurring in 2011 and beyond. Nonetheless, in June 2014 the legislature was at it again, and so the Rhode Island exemption will increase from $921,655 in 2014 to $1,500,000 in 2015, and the exemption will then be adjusted annually for inflation in future years. Refer to Changes are Coming to Rhode Island Estate Taxes in 2015 for more information.
◊ Tennessee acted in May 2012 to repeal its state gift tax retroactively to January 1, 2012 and phase out the state death tax by 2016 (note that the Tennessee death tax is referred to as an inheritance tax in the Tennessee statutes, but its really an estate tax). The Tennessee inheritance tax exemption will therefore increase from $2,000,000 in 2014 to $5,000,000 in 2015. Refer to Overview of Tennessee Inheritance Tax Laws for more information.
◊ Washington tweaked its state estate tax laws in June 2013 in several ways. First, the $2,000,000 is now indexed for inflation annually. Therefore, the exemption will increase from $2,012,000 in 2014 to $2,054,000 in 2015. Second, the estate tax rates for the top four brackets were increased by one percentage point so that the top rate is now 20% for taxable estates valued at least $9,000,000. Finally, certain family-owned businesses now receive an estate tax exemption of up to $2,500,000. Refer to Overview of Washington Estate Tax Laws for more information.
For more information about U.S. state death taxes, refer to the following:
Common Sense Estate Planning 
