Estate Tax Calculator Philippines
Estate tax is a flat 6% of the net taxable estate for deaths on or after January 1, 2018 (TRAIN Law). Deaths from 1998 to 2017 use the old graduated 5-20% rates with smaller deductions. Late payment adds a 25% surcharge plus interest (20% per year up to 2017, 12% from 2018).
The current DO revision is used as an estimate. The BIR values an estate at the value in force at the date of death, so older deaths may fall under a prior revision and differ.
Notarized claims against the estate, unpaid mortgages, transfers for public use. For deaths before 2018 you may also add funeral expenses (max ₱200K), medical expenses within 1 year of death (max ₱500K), and judicial expenses. The standard deduction and family home deduction are applied automatically for the correct era.
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What this calculates
- • Era branching: TRAIN flat 6% or old graduated 5-20%, chosen by date of death.
- • Deduction ladder: spouse share, family home, and standard deduction for the correct era.
- • Late penalties: 25% surcharge plus split-rate interest from the deadline.
- • Amnesty status: dated eligibility under the pending HB 6614 extension.
Estate tax amnesty status
The amnesty under RA 11213 (as extended by RA 11956) lapsed on June 14, 2025. An extension is moving through the 20th Congress: the House passed HB 6614 on final reading in December 2025 (280-0), extending availment to December 31, 2028 and covering deaths on or before December 31, 2024, with 2-year installment payments (min 25% down). The Senate version remains in committee, with proposed deadlines ranging from June 2027 to June 2028. It is a Marcos administration priority with DOF support, but it is not yet law. Regular surcharge and interest apply in the meantime. From 2019 to June 2025, about 322,000 estates availed of the amnesty, paying ₱15.7B total.
Status as of 2026-07-05
How Philippine estate tax is computed
Estate tax is charged on the net taxable estate, not the gross value. The computation chain is the same in both eras; only the rate and the deduction amounts differ.
- Gross estate (all assets; real property at the higher of zonal value or tax-dec FMV)
- − ordinary deductions (claims, mortgages, transfers for public use)
- − surviving spouse share = ½ of the net conjugal estate (if married)
- − family home (½ interest if conjugal), capped at the era limit
- − standard deduction (₱5M TRAIN / ₱1M pre-TRAIN)
- = net taxable estate (floored at zero)
- × rate (6% flat, or the graduated table) = estate tax
Deductions by era
| Item | TRAIN (deaths ≥ 2018) | Pre-TRAIN (1998-2017) |
|---|---|---|
| Rate | Flat 6% | Graduated 5-20% |
| Standard deduction | ₱5,000,000 | ₱1,000,000 |
| Family home cap | ₱10,000,000 | ₱1,000,000 |
| Filing deadline | 1 year after death | 6 months after death |
| Funeral / medical / judicial | Not deductible (replaced by std) | Funeral ≤ ₱200K, medical ≤ ₱500K, judicial |
| Spouse share & ½ conjugal family home | Yes | Yes |
Two worked examples
A ₱13,000,000 conjugal estate with an ₱8M family home, a ₱900K mortgage, and a surviving spouse.
After the ½ spouse share (₱5,700,000), the ½ family home deduction (₱4,000,000), and the ₱5M standard deduction, the net taxable estate is ₱0 — so the estate tax is ₱0. The heirs still file Form 1801 for the eCAR.
A ₱20,500,000 estate settled only now, under the old graduated 5-20% table.
Net taxable estate ₱18,500,000, basic tax ₱2,915,000. Because it is years late, a ₱728,750 surcharge and split-rate interest push the total to about ₱9,239,272 (as of 2026-07-05). If the pending amnesty passes, this estate would instead pay about ₱1,110,000.
Penalties on a late estate
File and pay after the deadline and the BIR adds a 25% surcharge on the basic tax (50% in fraud cases) plus interest. Interest is split by law: 20% per year from the deadline through December 31, 2017, then 12% per year from January 1, 2018 onward under TRAIN Section 249. The filing deadline is one year after death for TRAIN-era deaths and six months for pre-2018 deaths. A zero-tax estate carries no surcharge or interest, but still must be filed. These figures are estimates; the deficiency-versus-delinquency interest mechanics under RR 21-2018 should be confirmed with the BIR for a specific estate.
Filing requirements
- • BIR Form 1801 is the estate tax return, filed even when no tax is due.
- • The eCAR (electronic Certificate Authorizing Registration) is issued after settlement and is required to transfer titles at the Registry of Deeds.
- • Banks apply a 6% final withholding tax on withdrawals from a decedent's account before the eCAR (Sec. 97).
- • Installments within two years of the deadline are allowed when the estate lacks cash (Sec. 91).
Frequently Asked Questions
Philippine estate tax, penalties, and the 2026 amnesty
For anyone who died on or after January 1, 2018, estate tax is a flat 6% of the net taxable estate under the TRAIN Law (RA 10963). For deaths between 1998 and 2017, the old graduated rates of 5% to 20% apply, with much smaller deductions. The date of death, not the date of filing, determines which rules apply.
As of 2026-07-05, the amnesty is NOT currently in force. The program under RA 11213 (as extended by RA 11956) lapsed on June 14, 2025. The House passed an extension, HB 6614, on third reading in December 2025 (280-0), which would run availment to December 31, 2028 and cover deaths on or before December 31, 2024, but the Senate version is still in committee and it is not yet law. Regular surcharge and interest apply in the meantime.
The law in force at the date of death governs. An estate of someone who died in 2015 is taxed under the old graduated 5-20% rates even if it is only being settled and paid now. This is why unsettled old estates can owe substantially more once surcharge and interest are added.
Yes. Even when conjugal-property sharing and deductions bring the net taxable estate to zero, the heirs must still file BIR Form 1801 to obtain the electronic Certificate Authorizing Registration (eCAR) needed to transfer titles.
For a married decedent, the surviving spouse's one-half share of the net conjugal estate is deducted before tax. A conjugal family home is only counted at half its value. This conjugal treatment flips many middle-class estates to zero tax, which generic calculators that ignore it get wrong.
A 25% surcharge on the basic tax (50% for fraud), plus interest. Interest runs at 20% per year from the filing deadline through December 31, 2017, then at 12% per year from January 1, 2018 onward under the TRAIN Law. The filing deadline is one year after death for TRAIN-era deaths and six months for pre-2018 deaths.
Real property is taken at the higher of its BIR zonal value or the fair market value in the tax declaration, measured at the date of death. This calculator can auto-fill the current zonal value per square meter from the BIR data; note that older deaths may fall under a prior zonal revision.
Yes. Under Section 91 of the Tax Code, if the estate lacks enough cash, the tax may be paid in installments within two years of the filing deadline without civil penalty or interest, subject to BIR approval.
Estimates only, for citizen and resident decedents. Real property is valued at the higher of BIR zonal value or tax-declaration FMV at the date of death. The pre-TRAIN graduated table and RR 21-2018 interest mechanics should be verified against the statutes for any specific estate. This is not legal or tax advice.
Legal basis: RA 10963 (TRAIN Law), RR 12-2018, RA 8424 (old NIRC), RA 11213 / RA 11569 / RA 11956 (amnesty), and HB 6614 (pending extension). Status last reviewed 2026-07-05.
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