Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax Return (REV-1500): A Guide for Executors

Figures verified October 17, 2026 against PA REV-1500 instructions (08-24) · Update log

Short answer

When a Pennsylvania resident dies, the executor (the "personal representative") files the REV-1500, in two copies, with the Register of Wills in the county where the person lived. The tax is due at death and becomes late 9 months after it. Pay within 3 months and you get a 5% discount on what you pay, and you can prepay at the Register before the return is ready.

There is no dollar exemption. The rates are: spouse 0%; lineal heirs 4.5%; siblings 12%; everyone else 15%. Life insurance, property owned jointly with a spouse, and gifts to charity are exempt.

Who files, where, and when

Who: the personal representative, meaning the executor named in the will or the administrator the Register of Wills appoints. If there is none, or they don't file, or their return leaves property out, the person who received that property files.
Where: the Register of Wills of the county where the person lived at death. File in duplicate on the original form, attach a copy of the will (and of any living trust), and make checks payable to "Register of Wills, Agent."
What it covers: Pennsylvania real estate and tangible property located in Pennsylvania, plus intangibles such as bank accounts, stocks and bonds wherever they are held. Tangible property located outside Pennsylvania is not taxed.
When: the tax is due at death and delinquent 9 months after the date of death.
Extension: if you can't file in 9 months, ask the Department of Revenue for an extension before the due date, by mail to Inheritance Tax Division-EXT, PO Box 280601, Harrisburg, PA 17128-0601, or by email to RA-InheritanceTaxExt@pa.gov. The statutory extension is six months, so 15 months in all. It never extends the time to pay.

If the person lived outside Pennsylvania, this return does not apply. Nonresident estates that owe Pennsylvania tax (typically on Pennsylvania real estate) file a nonresident return and pay the Department of Revenue in Harrisburg, not a county Register.

Rates by relationship

The rate depends on each beneficiary's relationship to the person who died, and it applies from the first dollar. Use the Pennsylvania inheritance tax calculator to see each heir's amount.

Beneficiary	Who	Rate
Spouse	Surviving spouse; a parent inheriting from a child aged 21 or younger; a child aged 21 or younger inheriting from a parent or stepparent	0%
Lineal heirs	Children, grandchildren and other descendants, a child's spouse, parents, grandparents	4.5%
Siblings	Brothers and sisters	12%
Everyone else	Nieces, nephews, friends and other beneficiaries	15%

Children include natural, adopted and stepchildren. The 0% parent rate runs one way only: it covers a parent inheriting from a child aged 21 or younger. A minor child inheriting from a parent pays the 4.5% lineal rate. Charities, exempt institutions and government bodies are exempt.

The 5% discount and paying before the return is ready

Tax paid within three months of the date of death gets a 5% discount, capped at 5% of the total tax due. Most estates can't finish the REV-1500 in three months, which is why the instructions allow a prepayment at the Register of Wills before the return is filed. Keep the receipt: the return asks for the receipt numbers of prior payments.

The math: each $95 you prepay in time covers $100 of tax. If you expect about $20,000 of tax, a $19,000 prepayment inside three months covers it all. If the final tax turns out higher, the discount applies only to the part you prepaid; if you overpaid, you can ask for the refund on the return. If you are paying near the end of the window, confirm the last day with the Register of Wills.

The schedules in plain words

The REV-1500 itself is a summary. The detail goes on schedules, and you attach only the ones that apply. Do not submit blank schedules. Values are as of the date of death.

Schedule	Form	What goes on it
A	REV-1502	Pennsylvania real estate in the person's name alone or as a tenant in common. Value it by a sale within 15 months of death, a certified appraisal, or the county assessment times the common level ratio.
AU	REV-1197	Agricultural use exemption for qualifying farmland, one schedule per parcel.
B	REV-1503	Stocks and bonds held alone or as a tenant in common.
C	REV-1504	A closely held corporation, partnership or sole proprietorship.
C-SB	REV-571	The family-owned small business exemption.
D	REV-1507	Mortgages and notes owed to the person.
E	REV-1508	Cash, bank accounts in the person's sole name, wages owed, cars, jewelry, household goods, and IRAs or annuities payable to the estate.
F	REV-1509	Property jointly owned with someone other than a spouse, with survivorship, such as a joint bank account with a child.
G	REV-1510	Transfers during life and non-probate property: gifts within one year of death, POD and in-trust-for accounts, IRAs and annuities with a named beneficiary, and transfers where the person kept the use or income.
H	REV-1511	Funeral expenses and administration costs.
I	REV-1512	Debts, mortgages and liens.
J	REV-1513	Every beneficiary and their relationship, plus charitable and government gifts.
K, M, O	REV-1514, 1647, 1649	Life estates and annuities (K), future interests whose rate is uncertain (M), and sole-use spousal trusts (O). These usually need professional help.

How the front page adds up

Lines 1 to 7 carry the totals of Schedules A through G, and line 8 is the gross estate. Lines 9 and 10 carry the deductions from Schedules H and I. Line 12 is the net estate, line 13 subtracts charitable and government gifts from Schedule J, and line 14 is the amount subject to tax. Lines 15 to 18 split that amount by rate (spouse 0%, lineal 4.5%, sibling 12%, everyone else 15%), and line 19 is the tax.

Page 3 asks four yes-or-no questions: did the person make a transfer and keep the use or income; make a transfer within one year of death; own a POD or in-trust-for account; or own an IRA, annuity or other property with a named beneficiary. If any answer is yes, you must complete Schedule G.

What is exempt

Life insurance on the life of the person who died, for deaths on or after December 13, 1982, whoever it is paid to.
Property owned jointly by spouses. Anything else passing to a surviving spouse is taxed at 0%.
Retirement accounts, depending on age. An IRA is fully taxable if the person was 59½ or older, or disabled at any age. If they were under 59½ and not disabled, it is not taxed. Employer pension and retirement plans are exempt to the extent the person did not have the right to possess, enjoy, assign or anticipate the payments; attach the plan terms. Annuities are fully taxable.
Charitable and government gifts, reported on Schedule J.
Farmland. Real estate devoted to agriculture at death that passes to members of the same family (or a trust for them) is exempt if it stays in agricultural use for seven years and produces at least $2,000 a year of farm income, with an annual certification by each new owner. Report it on Schedule AU on a return filed on time.
A family-owned business. It must have fewer than 50 full-time-equivalent employees, a net book value of assets under $5 million, and have existed for at least five years at death. It must pass to qualified family members (including siblings and their descendants) and stay with them for seven years, with an annual certification. Claim it on Schedule C-SB.
Military service. For deaths on or after September 6, 2022, personal property of a service member who died from an injury or illness received on active duty, in the reserves or in the National Guard is exempt.
Tangible property outside Pennsylvania, such as a car kept at a Florida home.

Gifts and joint accounts in the last year

Gifts made within one year of death are taxable on Schedule G to the extent they exceed $3,000 per recipient in a calendar year. Gifts made earlier are generally outside the tax, unless the person kept the use or income of the property.

Joint property with anyone other than a spouse goes on Schedule F. The person's share is the value divided by the number of owners, so half of an account held with one child. Putting a child's name on an account "for convenience" does not change that. An account or property made joint within one year of death is taxable in full, less $3,000. You can tick "separate billing" on Schedule F so the surviving joint owner gets their own tax notice.

Deductions you can take

Schedule H: funeral and administration

Funeral: the mortician, embalming, transportation, casket, flowers, religious service fees, funeral refreshments, the burial lot, and the headstone or marker and its setting. A prepaid funeral account counts only if you also report it as an asset on Schedule E.
Administration, in reasonable amounts: letters testamentary or of administration, accounting and return-preparation fees, estate notices, appraisers, certified copies of the will, recording fees, postage, broker commissions, realty transfer taxes, safe deposit box supervision, and upkeep of estate property.
Attorney fees and the personal representative's commission. The Department does not accept a set percentage for attorney fees, only a reasonable fee for the work. A commission is taxable income to the representative.
Not deductible: legal fees for suits beneficiaries bring for their own benefit, and post-death costs of property that passed to a surviving joint owner.

Schedule I: debts

Debts the person owed at death, mortgages and liens (proof of a mortgage is always required), and property taxes owed before death.
Last-illness medical bills only if insurance won't pay them. Debts on joint property only up to the person's share.

The family exemption

A $3,500 family exemption can be claimed by the surviving spouse; if there is none, by children who lived in the person's household; and if none, by parents who lived there.

Interest, penalties and payment plans

Interest starts the day after the 9-month deadline on any tax not paid on time. The rate is set each year; for 2025 and 2026 it is 7% a year (a daily factor of 0.000192). Failing to file can also bring a penalty of 25% of the tax found due or $1,000, whichever is less. If the estate can't pay in full, ask the Department for a payment plan by email (RA-RV-CEC-DPP@pa.gov) or by phone (717-425-2495).

After you file: the notice and appeals

The Department of Revenue reviews the return and mails a notice of appraisement and assessment: its valuation of the assets, the deductions it allowed, and the tax due. Depending on how complex the return is, that can take three to six months from filing.

If you disagree, you have 60 days from receiving the notice to act. You can file a written or online protest with the Department's Board of Appeals, ask the Register of Wills to send it for audit review, or appeal to the Orphans' Court Division. Obvious factual errors can often be corrected by letter. If you did not ask for a refund of an overpayment on the return, use Form REV-1313.

How to legally lower PA inheritance tax

If you are the executor now, the savings come from filing correctly:

Prepay within three months for the 5% discount.
Claim every Schedule H and I deduction and the family exemption.
Leave out what is exempt: life insurance, property owned jointly with the spouse, an IRA of someone under 59½ who was not disabled, and qualifying employer plans.
Use the right real estate value. A sale within 15 months of death, an appraisal or the assessment times the common level ratio can give different figures.

If your family is planning ahead, for example for a surviving parent, these are the legal levers:

Life insurance is exempt, so money held as a policy passes free of Pennsylvania tax.
Gifts made more than a year before death are generally outside the tax. Gifts above $19,000 per person in 2026 need a federal gift tax return. A gift keeps the giver's original tax basis, while inherited property gets a basis equal to its value at death, so giving away appreciated assets can raise the family's capital gains tax later.
Adding a child to an account is not a workaround. Their share is still taxed, and in full if it happened within a year of death.
Charitable gifts in a will are exempt, and qualifying farms and family businesses can pass tax-free to family who keep them for seven years.

Planning moves have trade-offs, so talk them through with a Pennsylvania estate attorney or CPA before acting.

Common mistakes

Leaving out a joint account with a child, or a POD account, because it didn't go through probate.
Treating an IRA as exempt when the person was 59½ or older, or reporting life insurance as taxable.
Forgetting gifts made in the last year above $3,000.
Using the county assessment without the common level ratio, or a sale price from more than 15 months after death.
Deducting medical bills insurance paid, or post-death costs of jointly owned property.
Missing the three-month prepayment window, or assuming an extension delays payment.
Attaching blank schedules, filing one copy instead of two, or forgetting the copy of the will.

If the person had a safe deposit box in their name, or shared with someone other than a spouse, it must be inventoried before the contents are removed (only a will or burial instructions can come out first). Give the Department at least seven days' notice on Form REV-1845 and return the inventory on Form REV-485 within 20 days of entry.

Optional: get help filing

Get a flat-fee quote to file the Pennsylvania inheritance tax return

Tell us a little about the estate and a CPA or Enrolled Agent who prepares Pennsylvania REV-1500 returns will reply with a fixed price. Free, and no obligation.

Next steps

Frequently asked questions

Who must file a Pennsylvania inheritance tax return?

The personal representative: the executor named in the will, or the administrator appointed by the Register of Wills if there is no will. If nobody is appointed, or the representative doesn't file, the people who received the property must file and pay.

When is the REV-1500 due?

The tax is due at death and becomes delinquent 9 months after the date of death. You can ask the Department of Revenue for an extension to file before the due date (the statutory extension is six months, for 15 months in all), but an extension does not extend the time to pay.

How does the 5% PA inheritance tax discount work?

Tax paid within three months of the death gets a 5% discount, capped at 5% of the total tax due. You don't need the return to be ready: you can prepay at the county Register of Wills. Each $95 you prepay in time covers $100 of tax.

What forms do I need for PA inheritance tax?

The REV-1500 return, plus only the schedules that apply to the estate (for example Schedule A for real estate, E for bank accounts, F for joint property, G for POD accounts and IRAs, H and I for deductions, and J for beneficiaries). File two copies with a copy of the will. Don't attach blank schedules.

Is life insurance subject to Pennsylvania inheritance tax?

No. All life insurance on the life of the person who died is exempt, whether it is paid to a named beneficiary or to the estate.

Is an IRA subject to PA inheritance tax?

Yes, in full, if the person was 59½ or older, or disabled, at death. If they were younger than 59½ and not disabled, the IRA is not taxable. Employer plans such as a pension or 401(k) are exempt to the extent the person did not have the right to possess, enjoy, assign or anticipate the payments before death.

Is a joint bank account with a child taxed in Pennsylvania?

Yes. The person's share is taxed, worked out by dividing the account by the number of owners, so half of a two-name account. That applies even if the child's name was added only for convenience. If the account was made joint within one year of death, the full value is taxable, less $3,000.

Does PA inheritance tax apply to beneficiaries who live in another state?

Yes. The tax depends on where the person who died lived and on the heir's relationship to them, not on where the heir lives. A Pennsylvania resident's estate is taxed at the same rates whether the child inherits in Pennsylvania or Florida.

What happens if the REV-1500 is filed late?

Interest runs from the first day after the 9-month deadline on any tax not paid on time (7% a year for 2025 and 2026). Failing to file can also bring a penalty of 25% of the tax found due or $1,000, whichever is less.

Can I appeal a Pennsylvania inheritance tax assessment?

Yes. You have 60 days from receiving the Department's notice to file a written or online protest with the Board of Appeals, ask the Register of Wills for an audit review, or appeal to the Orphans' Court Division. Obvious factual errors can often be fixed by letter.

Sources

This information is provided for educational purposes only and should not be considered legal or tax advice. Consult a qualified tax professional for guidance specific to your situation.