Here's a good synopsis.

1. The bottom line is the estate tax is paid by the estate, not the inheritor.

2. As of now, 2023, 12.92 million is exempt from estate taxes per individual. Once the deceased leaves an estate above that figure, the estate tax kicks in taking anywhere from 18% to 40%, depending on the excess amount over 12.92 mil. To keep this very simple, once the decedent's estate reaches approximately the 14th million, every dollar thereafter is paid at the 40% rate. Again, there is no obligation by an inheritor to pay a decedent's estate (death) tax. That is done before the disbursement of the inheritance.

3. You can leave anything under 12.92 mil to an heir without any estate tax levied. After that, you can structure a plan to leave the rest to charity. That is one of my options I'm considering with my BRK shares, with embedded gains, going forward.

usbank.com - Estate taxes