Estate Tax Audit Matrix

2026 Estate Tax Compliance Architecture

The federal estate tax, often referred to as the 'death tax' in legislative discourse, functions as a transfer levy on assets exceeding institutional exemption thresholds. In the 2026 financial environment, the core focus is the **Portability Logic** for married couples and the pending **Sunset Clause** of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Our S-Class engine analyzes the three core exposure vectors: **Gross Estate Valuation**, **Portability Optimization**, and **State-Level Fragmentation**.

The Actuarial Model: Mapping the Sunset

Standard calculators often fail to account for the **Exemption Sunset Gap**. If an individual has an estate of $10M today, they owe zero federal tax. However, if they pass away after 2025 without legislative intervention, their estate could suddenly face a $1.2M+ tax bill as the exemption drops back to the $6-7M range. Our Audit Engine applies a **Sunset Multiplier** to your projections, ensuring your estate plan is resilient to the pending structural shifts in the tax code.