Which is right for me? Ahhh! the 5.45 million dollar question. The IRS has announced that the estate tax for 2016 is 5.45 million per individual. That means that no estate tax is owed if you die leaving less than 5.45 million in your estate - remember life insurance policies count towards that 5.45 million dollars and there are some rather tricky rules, so if you fall into this category, you need some serious estate planning. Assuming you do not fall into the category above