Scheuren: It’s Time to Eliminate the Inheritance Tax for PA Residents

October 23, 2026

HARRISBURG - Emphasizing the need to update an antiquated and unfair system, Rep. Donna Scheuren (R-Montgomery) fully supports repealing the Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax to ease financial burdens placed on grieving families.

"Families who lose a loved should not receive a tax bill as a result of what that loved one left behind," Scheuren stated. "Sadly, our state's inheritance tax structure punishes families for simply receiving what was already theirs."

Scheuren is a co-sponsor of House Bill 1394, a bipartisan piece of legislation that seeks to eliminate the inheritance tax, better known as the "death tax" because the tax is levied on money or property that is received when someone dies.

In its current form, the Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax is assessed on the value of a decedent's estate transferred to beneficiaries, with rates based on the relationship between the deceased and the heir:

• 0% on transfers to a surviving spouse or to a parent from a child 21 or younger.
• 4.5% on transfers to direct descendants and lineal heirs.
• 12% on transfers to siblings.
• 15% on transfers to other heirs (excluding charitable organizations, exempt institutions and government entities).

Unlike the federal estate tax, which includes a general exclusion of up to $13 million, Pennsylvania imposes its inheritance tax with no comparable exemption, placing a significant burden on many middle-class families. Scheuren says the policy is economically misguided and morally out of touch.

"Pennsylvania is one of only five states in the union that still has the death tax," Scheuren noted. "Why does our state have to be last in everything? Eliminating the inheritance tax will modernize our current law. Let's finally run legislation that has the potential to benefit every individual and family across the Commonwealth."

House Bill 1394 currently sits in the House Finance Committee for consideration.

Representative Donna Scheuren
147th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Melissa Fox
[email protected]