At a glance
| State estate tax | No |
|---|---|
| Estate top rate | — |
| Inheritance tax | No |
| Small-estate ceiling | $75,000 (summary administration)Fla. Stat. § 735.201 · 2025 |
| TOD deed for real estate | Not availableFlorida Statutes — no statutory real-property TOD deed · 2025 |
| Community-property state | No |
Estate tax
Florida does not levy its own estate tax. An estate here is subject only to the federal estate tax, which most estates never owe — the federal exclusion is measured in the millions. See the federal lifetime exemption for how that works.
Inheritance tax
Florida has no inheritance tax — beneficiaries are not taxed on what they receive by the state. Florida imposes no inheritance tax; beneficiaries owe no Florida tax on what they inherit.
Probate basics
Florida offers summary administration under Fla. Stat. § 735.201 when the estate subject to administration, less property exempt from creditors, does not exceed $75,000, or when the decedent has been dead more than two years. Very small estates can use "disposition without administration" under § 735.301.
Florida is a common-law (separate-property) state for ownership between spouses. A transfer-on-death deed for real estate is Not available Florida Statutes — no statutory real-property TOD deed · 2025. The probate deadlines for this state — filing the will, the creditor-claim window, the inventory — are cited in the Executor & Heir’s Guide.
State-specific quirks
Florida uses the Lady Bird deed, not a statutory TOD deed
Florida has not enacted a statutory transfer-on-death deed for real property. Practitioners instead use the enhanced life-estate (Lady Bird) deed, which lets an owner keep lifetime control and pass the property outside probate — it rests on case law rather than a dedicated statute.
Homestead is protected but restricted
Florida's constitutional homestead protection shields the residence from most creditors, and homestead value is not counted toward the $75,000 summary-administration threshold. But if the decedent is survived by a spouse or minor child, the homestead cannot be freely devised.
Summary administration appoints no personal representative
In summary administration no personal representative is appointed, and those who receive estate assets can remain personally liable to creditors for up to two years after death — a trade-off against the speed of the process.
Where to read next
- the federal lifetime exemption — how the far larger federal exclusion works — and why a state tax can still apply below it
- funding a revocable trust — the most common way to keep property out of probate entirely
- the ILIT cluster — keeping a life-insurance death benefit out of a taxable estate
- the Executor & Heir's Guide — the probate deadlines for this state, cited to the statute
- ← Back to the 51-jurisdiction comparison
Sources & methodology
Methodology & sources
Every tax figure on this page links to the primary source it was verified against — a Florida statute or department-of-revenue page — with that source’s own effective date. Aggregator round-ups are never used as a source. State death and probate law changes every legislative session; this page carries the date it was last re-verified, and any figure that could not be confirmed from a primary source is flagged for you to check with the state rather than guessed. See our editorial standards.
This page is educational and is not legal or tax advice. Whether a death tax applies turns on residency, where property sits, and how title is held — details a general page cannot resolve. Confirm your own situation with a professional licensed in Florida.
Last verified July 20, 2026.