What was the federal estate tax in 2014?

The maximum estate tax in 2014 was 40 percent, according to the Tax Foundation. The estates of individuals who died during that year were exempt from taxation if they were valued at or below $5.34 million, explains the IRS.

In 2013, the average effective state tax rate was 7.7 percent on estates valued in the $5 million to $10 million range, 15.8 percent on estates valued in the $10 million to $20 million range and 18 percent for estates valued over $20 million, according to a 2015 online publication released by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. The publication states that roughly 0.02 percent of estates are taxed at all.