Tools for Heirs and Beneficiaries in Iowa

Iowa levies no estate or inheritance tax; only the federal estate tax applies above $15,000,000.

6 tools for Iowa

Who Inherits Without a Will?

Without a will in Iowa, a surviving spouse takes the entire estate when every child of either spouse is a child of both, and descendants divide what passes to them per stirpes.

Use Calculator

How Much Are Estate & Inheritance Taxes?

Iowa levies no estate or inheritance tax; only the federal estate tax applies above $15,000,000.

Use Calculator

What Taxes Apply to My Inheritance?

Iowa imposes no inheritance or estate tax; probate assets arrive when the estate closes, 6 months to 9 months for a simple estate.

Learn More

How Does Step-Up in Basis Work?

Inherited assets in Iowa take a basis reset to fair market value on the date of death, and the gain on a later sale faces ordinary income tax at the state's regular rates.

Use Calculator

When Do I Have to Withdraw an Inherited IRA?

See which federal withdrawal rules apply to an inherited IRA, Roth IRA, or employer plan, the deadline year, and the missed-withdrawal tax.

Check Withdrawal Rules

Do I Have to File Tax Returns for Someone Who Died?

Iowa requires a final state income tax return for the decedent alongside the federal Form 1040; a federal estate tax return (Form 706) is required only for estates above $15,000,000.

Check Requirements

No. Iowa imposes no state estate tax and no inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax applies, on an estate above $15,000,000, an exemption the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21 §70106) set permanently from 2026 and indexes for inflation.

Not on the inheritance itself: Iowa taxes neither the estate nor the beneficiary, and the IRS does not treat an inheritance as income. What an heir can owe is income tax on withdrawals from an inherited retirement account, and capital gains on a later sale of inherited property, where the basis is reset to fair market value on the date of death and the gain faces ordinary income tax at the state's regular rates.

No. The IRS does not treat inherited money, real estate or personal items as income, so a beneficiary in Iowa does not report them on a federal return when received. Two exceptions: an inherited retirement account (a 401(k) or a traditional IRA) is taxed as ordinary income as it is withdrawn, and earnings after the date of death are taxable. Inherited property takes a stepped-up basis, its value on the date of death, for any later capital gain.

When someone dies, the cost basis of the property they leave is reset to its fair market value on the date of death under IRC § 1014. A later sale is taxed on the gain above that stepped-up basis, not above what the original owner paid, so the appreciation of the owner's lifetime is never taxed. The rule is federal and applies in Iowa as in every state.

Iowa intestacy law decides. Iowa follows separate property rules: the surviving spouse's share depends on whether children survive and whose children they are. The estate passes to the closest surviving relatives, in most cases the spouse and children first, then in order: Parents; Issue of your mother and issue of your father; Grandparents and their issue; Great-grandparents and their issue; Issue of a deceased spouse; Escheat to the State of Iowa.

Tools for Heirs and Beneficiaries in Iowa

Estate taxes are paid by the estate before anything is distributed; inheritance taxes are paid by the person who receives the property. In 2026 the federal estate tax reaches only estates above $15 million per person, and there is no federal inheritance tax. 12 states plus the District of Columbia levy their own estate tax at lower thresholds, and 5 states levy an inheritance tax whose rate depends on the beneficiary's relationship to the person who died.

Beneficiaries in Iowa owe no state tax on what they receive; inherited assets take a basis reset to fair market value on the date of death, and the gain on a later sale faces ordinary income tax at the state's regular rates. Probate assets arrive when the estate closes: a simple estate closes in 6 months to 9 months.

SimplyTrust Editorial·Updated September 15, 2026

Legal Sources

Data sourced from Iowa statutes and official state code. How we research.