Stepped-up basis:
the inheritance-vs-sale math.

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• Sell now: gain = (current price − cost basis) × BTC. Tax = gain × (federal rate + state rate), when the gain is positive. Net proceeds = current price × BTC − tax. The federal choices, 0%, 15% and 20%, are the long-term capital gains rates^[5]. The chosen rate applies flat to the whole gain with no bracket stacking; for 2026 the 20% rate starts at $545,500 of taxable income single and $613,700 joint^[4], so when either gain exceeds $545,500 and the rate chosen is below 20%, the page shows a note that the tax can be understated.
• Hold until death: an heir's basis is generally the fair market value on the date of death^[6], entered here as the price at death. A sale right after inheriting has $0 gain, so the heir keeps price at death × BTC, before any estate tax.
• Tax saved by holding = (price at death − cost basis) × BTC × (federal + state rate), or $0 when price at death is at or below cost basis: the tax the owner would owe selling at that same price. Estate to heir and tax saved by holding are before any estate tax.
• Estate tax: when estate value exceeds the exemption, tax = tentative tax on the estate minus tentative tax on the exemption, both from the unified rate schedule^[7]. With an exemption of $1,000,000 or more this is exactly (estate − exemption) × 40%, the schedule's top rate. The exemption defaults to $15,000,000, the 2026 basic exclusion per person^[1]. Estate value is an input of its own, not BTC held × price at death; when it is below that product the page says so.
• Inputs: a blank or negative value, or a state rate above 15%, shows a message and no result; nothing is read as zero.

The current price fills in from the latest daily close in the site's price snapshot when the page loads. A price typed in or carried in a shared link is never overwritten. Only a typed or shared price is saved in this browser; a filled-in price is not, so a later visit starts from the site's latest saved close. Clearing the field hands it back to that close. Not modeled: the 3.8% net investment income tax above $200,000 single or $250,000 joint MAGI^[8], state estate taxes (12 states and DC) and inheritance taxes (5 states, Maryland levies both)^[3], a spouse's unused exemption, lifetime taxable gifts, and price moves after the heir inherits. Verify the methodology or inspect the source code in your browser's dev tools.