Death tax is the informal, political name for taxes triggered by dying: estate taxes, charged to the estate before anything is distributed, and inheritance taxes, charged to the people who receive it. Neither is one single tax - each state chooses its own, and the federal government has its own estate tax.
For Arizona families the answer is clean: Arizona has no estate tax, no inheritance tax, and no gift tax. The federal estate tax only reaches estates above a threshold in the many millions - for deaths in 2026, fifteen million dollars per person.
What actually shrinks Arizona estates is not a tax at all: it is probate - court costs, professional fees, and months of process. Families who route around probate keep what no tax was ever going to take.
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Educational information only, not legal advice. Terms have statutory details beyond these summaries - confirm your situation with a licensed professional.