Does New Jersey update estate tax rates annually?

The amount of the federal credit for inheritance and estate taxes in effect on Dec. 31, 2001, determined the New Jersey estate tax exclusion. This number does not change annually. As of August 2015, it remains at $675,000, according to the NJ Division of Taxation.

New Jersey's estate tax exemption is the lowest of the 19 states, plus the District of Columbia, that still impose death tax levies, reports Forbes. New Jersey legislators cannot agree on the best way to handle the estate tax, whether to raise the exclusion or eliminate the tax entirely. Nearby states New York and Maryland have made changes to their estate tax laws and gradually raise the exemption to the inflation-indexed federal amount.