Imagine spending your life building wealth, investing in real estate, stocks, or your business, with the hope of leaving a legacy for your children. Then one day, you find yourself wondering: Will the government take a massive chunk of it anyway?

If your estate is well above the federal estate tax exemption threshold — $30 million for a married couple in 2026 under the OBBBA — you might be asking a very legitimate question:

“What’s the point of the step-up in basis if my estate still owes millions in estate taxes?”

Conversely, if your estate is well below the federal estate tax exemption threshold, you might also ask the more common question:

“What’s the benefit of the step-up in basis if I won’t be paying the death tax anyway?”

Because I’m not dead yet, I haven’t been focused too much on the estate tax owed upon death. However, like any good