At a glance
| State estate tax | No |
|---|---|
| Estate top rate | — |
| Inheritance tax | No |
| Small-estate ceiling | $75,000Tex. Est. Code § 205.001 · current |
| TOD deed for real estate | AvailableTex. Est. Code § 114.051 et seq. (Texas Real Property TOD Act) · 2015 |
| Community-property state | Yes |
Estate tax
Texas 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
Texas has no inheritance tax — beneficiaries are not taxed on what they receive by the state. Texas imposes no inheritance tax; there is no Texas-level transfer tax on what beneficiaries receive.
Probate basics
A small-estate affidavit (Tex. Est. Code ch. 205) is available for intestate estates whose assets, excluding homestead and exempt property, do not exceed $75,000, filed 30 days after death and approved by the judge. Texas also offers muniment of title (ch. 257) and independent administration.
Texas is a community-property state, which affects how a married couple owns property and can give a surviving spouse a full basis step-up on community assets. A transfer-on-death deed for real estate is Available Tex. Est. Code § 114.051 et seq. (Texas Real Property TOD Act) · 2015. 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
Community-property double step-up
Because Texas is a community-property state, when the first spouse dies both halves of community property generally receive a basis step-up to date-of-death value — not just the decedent's half, a significant advantage over separate-property states.
Homestead sits outside the small-estate cap
The $75,000 ceiling excludes the homestead and exempt property, and the small-estate affidavit can transfer the homestead to distributees but not other real property. Texas's constitutional homestead also carries strong creditor protection.
The TOD deed has limits
Texas authorizes a real-property TOD deed (§ 114.051), but it must be recorded before death, stays revocable during life, and passes property still reachable for the transferor's debts and Medicaid recovery. The small-estate affidavit route is limited to intestate estates.
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 Texas 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 Texas.
Last verified July 20, 2026.