For 2011, the federal estate tax exemption will be $5 million and the estate tax rate for estates valued over this amount will be 35%. The estate tax has also become unified with federal gift and generation-skipping transfer taxes such that in 2011 the lifetime gift tax exemption and generation-skipping transfer tax exemption will be $5 million each and the tax rate for both of these taxes will also be 35%. There is NO federal level inheritance tax.

There is no inheritance or estate tax in Virginia. It is limited and related to federal estate tax collection only.

There is no federal inheritance tax, but there is a federal estate tax.

A few states have a state inheritance tax and each state sets its own tax rate.

You may be seeking information about the estate tax (which taxes the value of an estate after someone has died). Be sure you know the difference.

I assume you mean the estate tax, not the inheritance tax. (There is a federal estate tax, but no federal inheritance tax.)

The federal estate tax will be abolished in 2010.

And (unless the law is changed) it will be reinstated in 2011 and the exclusion amount will drop from the $3.5 million in 2009 to $1 million in 2011.

Note that this does not apply to state estate or inheritance taxes. Because of the craziness on the federal level, many states have been revising their estate taxes to decouple them from federal changes.

***Caution*** Before making any plans to die in 2010 in order to take advantage of the estate tax repeal, be aware that this situation is very fluid and the law could be changed.

To find information on federal estate tax, one should visit the government's official information pages. Alternatively, speak to a financial expert for advice on tax.