When working through your Pennsylvania estate planning, preserving wealth often requires minimizing taxes whenever possible. While Pennsylvania currently does not have a state estate tax, it is one of six states that have an inheritance tax.
The Pennsylvania inheritance tax is a tax that beneficiaries of an estate must pay based on a percentage of their inheritance’s value. Wills, intestacy succession, and other transfers by operation of law pass inheritances to the heirs or beneficiaries. The person’s relationship to the deceased is also a factor in determining the inheritance tax owed.
Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax Rates
As of 2021, the current inheritance tax rates are:
- 0 % for transfers to a living spouse or parent from a child who is age 21 or younger
- 4.5 % on transfers to direct descendants and lineal heirs (children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren)
- 12 % on transfers to siblings
- 15 % on transfers to other heirs (not including charitable organizations, exempt institutions, and government entities exempt from tax)
Jointly owned property between husbands and wives are exempt from inheritance taxes. Inheritance tax becomes due on the date of the decedent’s death, and nine months past the death date the tax becomes delinquent. When heirs pay the tax within three months of the decedent’s death, they receive a five percent discount.
A legal team for life, Long & Long estate planning attorneys work diligently with clients from Westmoreland, Allegheny, Indiana, Jefferson, Washington and Fayette counties.
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