Estate Value Calculator: How to Work Out What an Estate Is Worth

To work out what an estate is worth, list everything the person owned, value each item as of the date of death, and subtract what they owed. The catch is that an estate has more than one value. The total for estate tax, the total for probate and the total your heirs actually receive are three different numbers. This guide walks through each one with a worksheet you can copy into a spreadsheet.

What counts as the "value" of an estate?

Three totals matter, and each answers a different question:

The IRS says the gross estate "will likely include non-probate as well as probate property." Cornell's Legal Information Institute explains that non-probate transfers pass outside the court through tools such as living trusts and beneficiary designations.

How do you calculate an estate's value, step by step?

1. List every asset and debt. Use our estate inventory checklist so nothing is missed, including accounts you find in the mail and online.
2. Value each item on the date of death. Bank balances come from statements, listed securities from market data, and real estate and collectibles from appraisals.
3. Record how each item was owned. Sole name, joint with survivorship, payable-on-death, beneficiary named, or held in a trust.
4. Total the gross estate. Add everything that counts toward tax.
5. Total the probate estate. Add only the sole-name items that have no beneficiary or survivor.
6. Subtract debts and expenses. Take off mortgages, loans, bills, funeral costs and administration costs to see the net estate.
7. Compare each total with the right yardstick. Probate estate against your state's small-estate limit, and taxable estate against the federal and state estate tax thresholds.

What does a worked example look like?

These figures are made up for illustration. Put your own numbers in each row.

Now subtract the debts and expenses:

The net estate is $855,000 on the gross estate figure. This example is far below the $15,000,000 federal threshold for 2026 deaths, but the same estate might be over the threshold in a state with a low estate tax, such as Oregon at $1,000,000 or Massachusetts at $2,000,000. Probate rules look only at the $565,000 probate estate, and small-estate limits vary widely by state. See our guide to small estate probate for limits by state, and estate tax by state for the tax thresholds.

How do you value each type of asset?

Use the value on the date of death, not today's value and not the price the person paid. The IRS defines fair market value as the price a willing buyer and a willing seller would agree on, with neither forced to act and both knowing the relevant facts.

The executor of a federal estate tax return may elect the alternate valuation date, six months after death, but only if the election lowers both the gross estate and the estate tax. It's a tax-return choice, and your court's inventory generally still uses date-of-death values.

What property is counted in the gross estate even if it avoids probate?

Several kinds of property skip probate but are still counted for estate tax:

• Life insurance. Proceeds are included if payable to the estate or if the person held incidents of ownership, such as the right to change the beneficiary.
• Jointly held property. For spouses who hold property as joint tenants with survivorship or as tenants by the entirety, half the value is included. For other joint owners, the full value is included unless the survivor can show they contributed to it.
• Revocable trusts. If the person had the power to alter, amend or revoke the trust, the property is generally included.
• Retirement accounts and annuities. They can be part of the gross estate even though a beneficiary receives them directly. See 401(k) and IRA accounts after death.

The estate tax only applies when the gross estate plus lifetime taxable gifts passes the filing threshold, which is $15,000,000 for 2026 deaths. Our guide to the federal estate tax has the details.

Which debts and expenses do you subtract?

List every known debt, with the creditor, the balance and the date. The FTC says a person's debts are owed by and paid from the estate, and relatives usually aren't personally responsible unless they co-signed or another exception applies. Subtract these for the net estate:

• mortgages and loans
• credit cards, medical bills and unpaid taxes
• funeral and burial costs
• court fees, appraisal costs, and attorney or executor fees

For the estate tax, the IRS lists mortgages and other debts, estate administration expenses and property passing to a surviving spouse or charity among the allowed deductions. Pay debts and taxes before you distribute assets. Our guide to debt when someone dies explains how creditors are handled.

Why does the date-of-death value matter later?

Heirs generally take a new tax basis in inherited property equal to its fair market value on the date of death, according to the IRS. If an heir later sells the house or shares, the gain is measured from that value. When an estate has to file a federal estate tax return, heirs must use the value reported on it.

Keep a dated appraisal or statement for each asset. If you sell a house, our guide to selling a house after death covers how the sale ties to the estate.

What mistakes make an estate value wrong?

• Using one number for everything. Probate, small-estate limits and estate tax each use a different total.
• Leaving out non-probate property. Life insurance, retirement accounts and joint accounts can push the gross estate over a state threshold.
• Using today's value. Values must be fixed at the date of death, even if the market has moved since.
• Forgetting debts. An estate with a large mortgage or medical bills may have little left to distribute.
• Missing digital assets. Add online accounts, loyalty points and cryptocurrency to your list. See cryptocurrency after death.

What to do next

1. Make a spreadsheet with the columns from the worked example, and add your own assets.
2. Order appraisals for real estate, business interests and collectibles, dated to the date of death.
3. Compare the probate estate with your state's small-estate limit, and the taxable estate with the federal and state thresholds.
4. Ask a probate attorney or tax professional to review the figures if the estate is large, has a business, or sits near a threshold.