Nebraska Legislature passes bill that lowers taxes on inherited property

Nebraska counties could lose millions of dollars from the tax cut.

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A bill that will lower the property taxes for inheritances was just recently passed in Nebraska.

Sen. Robert Clements of Elmwood proposed the bill, and it passed final approval last Friday, according to the Nebraska Examiner. Clements’ original proposal would have been more drastic, but amendments were made to avoid Nebraska counties losing extreme amounts of money. Despite the amendments, Douglas County is expected to lose around $2 million from the bill.

According to the Nebraska Examiner, under the approved bill:

• Immediate relatives, such as children, would continue to pay a 1% inheritance tax, but the amount of property that is exempt rises from $40,000 to $100,000.
• More remote relatives would pay an 11% tax, down from the current 13%, and get an exemption of $40,000, up from $15,000.
• Nonrelatives who inherit property would pay a 15% tax, down from 18%, and their exemption would rise to $25,000 from the current $10,000.

These tax changes apply to anyone who inherited property from someone who died on or after Jan. 1, 2022.