Actually the current rule is not taxable up to $12M but that changes with the whims of politicians and has changed quite frequently.

No, it is not income (nor taxable) to the recipient regardless of amount.

There is a tax on the estate of the decedent if the estate is larger than the exclusion amount.

I think we are saying the same thing.

Not taxable until it is over $12M. The only difference is that I didn't state that it wasn't taxed as income (which it shouldn't be) - it should be taxed as inheritance if it should be taxed at all.

Its unusual to start an agreement response with “actually” but glad we cleared up my misunderstanding of that phrase.

In the context of “an inheritance put me in the top 1% of income”, that’s obviously wrong, which was my point.