A $15 million proposal: The rich are not out of the woods on estate taxes

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One of the biggest breaks for the wealthy is still up in the air, which means planning for contingencies

Published: May 16, 2025 at 12:51 p.m. ET

The proposal for a tax bill that is now wending its way through Congress contains roughly $4 trillion in tax cuts, and about $200 billion of that amount pertains to increasing the estate-tax exemption to $15 million in 2026, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. This means that paying federal estate taxes will continue to be an extremely ultrarich phenomenon that pertains to a fraction of a percent each year. It’s one baby step from getting rid of the tax altogether.  

The proposal matters most to the ultrarich middle-class subcategory — those with estates worth between $7 million and $15 million. The question now is whether the bill will pass as put forward by Republicans in the House of Representatives, or if it will be changed in the Senate, and when.