Ohio is not a “death tax” state. Whether the question is phrased as an Ohio inheritance tax or an Ohio estate tax, the answer for a current death is the same: the state collects neither. This article explains what Ohio repealed and when, how an inheritance tax differs from an estate tax, and where the federal estate tax still fits in. It is one of the subjects covered in Ohio estate planning, the state overview of wills, probate, and trusts.
Ohio has no inheritance or estate tax
For a person who dies today, an Ohio estate owes no state-level tax on the transfer of property to heirs. Ohio repealed its estate tax effective for deaths on or after January 1, 2013, and the state has no inheritance tax that charges beneficiaries for what they receive. Ohio Revised Code Chapter 5731 still contains the old estate tax provisions, but they apply only to deaths before that date.
The distinction matters because “inheritance tax” and “estate tax” are often used interchangeably in casual conversation. Ohio has eliminated the only death tax it ever levied, the estate tax under Ohio Rev. Code Chapter 5731, and it never operated a separate inheritance tax on the share each beneficiary takes. So a beneficiary receiving cash, a house, a car, or a bank account from an Ohio estate reports no Ohio inheritance tax on that transfer.
The Ohio estate tax and its 2013 repeal
Before 2013, Ohio levied an estate tax on the taxable estate of a resident who died. Under Ohio Rev. Code § 5731.02, the tax applied to “every person dying on or after July 1, 1968, and before January 1, 2013,” at graduated rates that reached 7% on the portion of a taxable estate over $500,000. A credit against the tax, up to $13,900 for deaths on or after January 1, 2002, meant that taxable estates below roughly $338,333 owed nothing.
The repeal came through House Bill 153, the state budget bill enacted by the 129th General Assembly. It cut off the estate tax at the end of 2012, so the January 1, 2013 date is the dividing line: estates of people who died in 2012 or earlier could still owe the tax, while estates of people who die in 2013 or later do not. Ohio law now provides that no estate tax return is filed for a decedent dying on or after January 1, 2013, under the filing rules that remain in Chapter 5731.
Inheritance tax and estate tax are not the same thing
An estate tax is charged to the estate itself before assets are distributed, based on the total value of what the person owned at death. An inheritance tax is charged to the people who inherit, based on what each beneficiary receives and sometimes on how closely they were related to the person who died. They are separate mechanisms, and a state can have one, both, or neither.
Ohio has neither. A handful of other states still impose one or the other, so the rules can differ when an estate crosses state lines. Whether a particular tax applies generally depends on the state where the person lived at death and, for real estate, the state where the property sits. Ohio’s repeal removed both the estate tax return and any Ohio charge on beneficiaries, which is why “Ohio inheritance tax” describes a tax that does not exist.
The federal estate tax still applies to large estates
Repealing the state tax did not touch the federal estate tax, which is imposed under 26 U.S.C. § 2001 on the transfer of a taxable estate and runs up to a top rate of 40%. Most estates never pay it because a large exemption shields everything below a set threshold.
As of 2026, the federal basic exclusion amount is $15,000,000 per person, up from $13,990,000 in 2025, according to the IRS estate tax guidance. An estate whose gross value exceeds the filing threshold for the year of death files federal Form 706, and only the amount above the exemption is exposed to tax. The IRS estate tax FAQ explains how the gross estate and the filing threshold are calculated.
Because the exemption is set at the federal level, it is the same for an Ohio estate as for one anywhere else in the country. An Ohio resident whose total estate is well under $15,000,000 as of 2026 has no federal estate tax return to file on that basis.
Taxes an Ohio heir may still encounter
No Ohio inheritance tax does not mean an inherited asset is always tax-free forever. Inherited property itself is generally not treated as taxable income to the person who receives it. But certain inherited assets carry their own federal income tax rules once the heir takes control of them.
The most common example is a tax-deferred retirement account. Distributions a beneficiary takes from an inherited traditional IRA or 401(k) are generally taxable as ordinary income for federal purposes, because the original owner never paid income tax on that money. Capital gains can also apply when an heir later sells inherited property that has risen in value after the date of death. These are federal income tax questions rather than any Ohio death tax, and the IRS estate and gift tax pages point to the relevant federal rules.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to pay Ohio tax on money I inherit?
No. Ohio has no inheritance tax, so a beneficiary owes no Ohio tax simply for receiving cash, property, or accounts from an estate. The state’s estate tax was also repealed for deaths on or after January 1, 2013, under Ohio Rev. Code Chapter 5731.
Did Ohio ever have an inheritance tax?
Ohio’s death tax was an estate tax, charged to the estate rather than an inheritance tax charged to beneficiaries. It applied to deaths before January 1, 2013 under Ohio Rev. Code § 5731.02 and was repealed by House Bill 153. Ohio has not operated a separate beneficiary-level inheritance tax.
Is an inheritance taxable as income in Ohio?
Inherited property is generally not counted as taxable income to the person who receives it. Some inherited assets, such as a traditional IRA or 401(k), do produce taxable income when the beneficiary takes distributions, but that is a federal income tax rule described in the IRS estate tax guidance, not an Ohio inheritance tax.
What if the person who died lived in another state?
A few states still impose an estate or inheritance tax. When the person who died lived in one of those states, or owned real estate located there, that state’s tax and return may apply even though Ohio charges nothing. The tax follows the decedent’s state of residence and the location of any real property.
Could an Ohio estate still owe federal estate tax?
Only a very large estate would. The federal estate tax under 26 U.S.C. § 2001 applies to the amount above the federal exemption, which is $15,000,000 per person as of 2026. An estate below that threshold generally files no federal estate tax return on that basis, as explained in the IRS estate tax FAQ.