Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax Calculator: How to Calculate and File REV-1500

The Pennsylvania inheritance tax is one of the first financial obligations an executor faces after a death, and it carries a hard nine-month filing deadline with no grace period. Getting the calculation right — and filing on time — protects you from personal liability and, if you move fast, qualifies the estate for a meaningful 5% tax discount.

This guide walks through exactly how to calculate the tax and file Form REV-1500.

Step 1: Identify All Taxable Assets

Pennsylvania inheritance tax applies to both probate and non-probate assets. Many executors miss non-probate assets because they bypass the Register of Wills — but "bypasses probate" does not mean "bypasses the Department of Revenue."

Assets you must include on the REV-1500:

• All real estate in Pennsylvania in the decedent's name (solely or partially)
• Bank accounts and money market accounts
• Investment and brokerage accounts (stocks, bonds, mutual funds)
• Payable-on-death (POD) and transfer-on-death (TOD) accounts
• IRA and 401(k) accounts with named beneficiaries (except when passing to a surviving spouse)
• Business interests, LLC memberships, partnership shares
• Personal property: vehicles, jewelry, art, collectibles, furniture
• Cash and digital assets
• Amounts due from life insurance policies payable to the estate

Assets generally excluded:

• Life insurance paid directly to a named beneficiary (not the estate)
• Assets passing to a surviving spouse (taxed at 0%)
• Jointly held property with right of survivorship passing to the surviving joint tenant (in most cases)

Step 2: Establish Date-of-Death Values

Every asset must be valued as of the exact date of death — not the date you discovered it, not the date you opened probate.

Bank and brokerage accounts: Use the statement balance as of the date of death. Most institutions will provide a date-of-death statement on request.

Publicly traded securities: Use the mean between the high and low trading prices on the date of death. If death occurred on a weekend or holiday, use the mean of the preceding and following trading day values.

Real estate: If the property sells to an independent buyer within 15 months of death at arm's length, use the gross sale price. Otherwise, you need either:

• A formal retroactive appraisal by a licensed PA appraiser, or
• The Common Level Ratio (CLR) method: multiply the county's assessed value by the CLR reciprocal published annually by the State Tax Equalization Board

The CLR method is widely accepted and avoids a $300–$600 appraisal fee, but the ratio changes every year and varies by county. See our detailed Common Level Ratio guide for the full calculation.

Vehicles: Use the Kelly Blue Book private party value or a dealer valuation as of the date of death.

Step 3: Calculate Allowable Deductions

Pennsylvania inheritance tax is assessed on the net estate, after deducting legitimate expenses. These deductions are reported on Schedule H (debts and deductions) and Schedule I (prior transfers) of the REV-1500.

Deductible items:

• Funeral and burial expenses (require receipts)
• Executor commissions (if claimed — typically based on the Johnson Estate scale of roughly 5% on the first $100,000)
• Attorney fees for estate administration
• Accountant fees for the inheritance tax return itself
• Court filing fees and short certificate costs
• Outstanding mortgages on real estate as of the date of death
• Documented debts: credit cards, medical bills, personal loans, utilities owed
• The $3,500 Family Exemption (if claimed under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3121)

Keep receipts and documentation for every deduction. The Department of Revenue can audit the return and disallow unsupported deductions.

Step 4: Apply the Tax Rates by Beneficiary

Once you have the net taxable estate, allocate assets by who receives them and apply the correct rate:

Worked example — estate with two beneficiaries:

• Net taxable estate: $280,000
• Distributed to: adult child ($200,000) and sibling ($80,000)
• Tax on child's share: $200,000 × 4.5% = $9,000
• Tax on sibling's share: $80,000 × 12% = $9,600
• Total tax: $18,600

If the executor remits $18,600 within three months of the date of death, the 5% early-payment discount applies: $18,600 × 5% = $930 saved.

Step 5: Decide on the Early-Payment Strategy

Pennsylvania offers a 5% discount on tax paid within three calendar months of the date of death. This is one of the most financially significant decisions in the early phase of estate administration.

The complication: the full picture is rarely clear at three months. Real estate still needs appraisal. Creditor claims are still arriving. Business interests may be in flux.

The standard approach:

1. Calculate a conservative estimate based on known assets
2. Slightly overpay to ensure you are capturing the full potential tax within the window
3. File the full REV-1500 at the nine-month deadline, reconciling the final figure

Critical trap: The 5% discount is not applied to amounts that are later refunded. If you overpay by $5,000 and the state refunds $5,000, the discount evaporates on that $5,000. This means precision matters more than generosity in the estimate. Overshoot by 10–15% of the estimated liability, not 50%.

To make the early payment, remit a check payable to the "Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" with a cover letter identifying it as an estimated inheritance tax payment on the decedent's estate, including the decedent's name, Social Security number, date of death, and your contact information as executor. Some counties accept this payment directly through the Register of Wills; confirm the local procedure before mailing.

Step 6: Complete and File the REV-1500

The Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax Return (Form REV-1500) is available from the Department of Revenue's website. It is filed in duplicate — two signed, original copies — with the Register of Wills in the county where the decedent was domiciled, not directly with the Department of Revenue.

The Register of Wills office processes the return and transmits it to Harrisburg for review.

What gets filed with the REV-1500:

• Schedule A: Real estate
• Schedule B: Stocks, bonds, and securities
• Schedule C: Mortgages, notes, cash
• Schedule D: Insurance (policies payable to the estate)
• Schedule E: Jointly held property
• Schedule F: Other miscellaneous property
• Schedule G: Transfers during decedent's life (gifts within 1 year of death, certain transfers)
• Schedule H: Debts and deductions
• Schedule I: Prior transfers
• Supplementary schedules as needed

For simple estates (a house, a bank account, a 401k to children), the REV-1500 is manageable without professional help. For estates with business interests, agricultural property, out-of-state assets, or gifts made within a year of death, engage a Pennsylvania CPA.

Deadline: Nine months from the date of death. There is no automatic extension. Interest at 3% per year accrues on any unpaid balance after the deadline.

What Happens After Filing

Once the Department of Revenue reviews the return:

• If accepted as filed, they issue a tax release for real estate in the estate. This document is required by title companies before property can be sold or transferred to a new owner. Without it, the property cannot close.
• If the Department questions valuations or deductions, they will contact the executor or their attorney.
• Overpayments generate a refund check (minus the lost discount, as noted above).

Allow 60–120 days for the Department of Revenue to process the return and issue the tax release after filing.

When to Hire a CPA

A CPA is worth the investment when:

• The estate includes closely held business interests or agricultural real estate with complex valuation requirements
• The decedent made significant gifts within the year before death (Schedule G issues)
• The estate is large enough that the 5% discount represents thousands of dollars — precise calculation has real financial stakes
• Multiple states are involved (the PA return must coordinate with any out-of-state property)
• The executor is also filing the decedent's final individual income tax return (a completely separate obligation from the inheritance tax)

The inheritance tax return filing is separate from federal estate tax (Form 706, due only for estates exceeding $15 million in 2026) and from the decedent's final federal income tax return (Form 1040). An executor may need to file all three.

The Pennsylvania Estate Settlement Guide covers the full REV-1500 timeline — from the three-month early-payment deadline through the nine-month filing — alongside every other administrative step in settling a Pennsylvania estate. If you are managing the estate on your own, having that sequence laid out prevents costly missteps.

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