How to Use the Family Business Estate Tax Exemption Calculator
Korea's family-business inheritance deduction exists because its base estate tax exemption is relatively low, so without a special carve-out, handing a family business down a generation could trigger a tax bill large enough to force a sale. The US used to have something similar: the Qualified Family-Owned Business Interest (QFOBI) deduction, which allowed up to $675,000 in additional exclusion for family businesses.
QFOBI was repealed in 2004 for a simple reason — the general federal estate tax exemption was raised so dramatically that a dedicated business carve-out became mostly unnecessary. As of 2026, the federal estate and gift tax exemption stands at $15 million per individual (roughly $30 million for a married couple using portability), made permanent by 2025 legislation. The vast majority of family-owned businesses simply fall entirely below this threshold and owe no federal estate tax at all.
Enter your total estate value, including the family business, and your filing status to see how much of your exemption the estate would use and whether any amount would be taxable. If your estate is near or above the exemption, tools like Section 6166 installment payments (for tax that is owed) may still help — but for most family businesses, no dedicated deduction is needed because the blanket exemption already covers it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not anymore. A Qualified Family-Owned Business Interest (QFOBI) deduction existed until 2004, when it was repealed after the federal estate tax exemption was raised so high that most family businesses stopped owing estate tax at all.
As of 2026, the federal estate and gift tax exemption is $15 million per individual ($30 million for a married couple using portability), made permanent by 2025 legislation and indexed for inflation going forward.