Eleven states have only an estate tax: Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. The District of Columbia does, as well. Estate taxes are levied on the value of a decedent's assets after debts have been paid.                 

Iowa, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Jersey and Pennsylvania have only an inheritance tax — that is, a tax on what you receive as the beneficiary of an estate. Kentucky, for example, taxes inheritances at up to 16 percent. Spouses and certain other heirs are typically excluded by states from paying inheritance taxes.

Maryland is the lone state that levies both an inheritance tax and an estate tax.