Do inheritor's have to pay inheritance tax on estate worth under $300,000?

Assuming this estate is in NC, then there is no inheritance tax in NC on any amount of money. Where are you getting $300,000 from? There is an estate tax. However, the rules used to state that estates under $650,000 were exempt from the estate tax. This rule was changed in 2001 by Congress and the limits were gradually increased to $1 million then $3 million in 2009. The tax went away completely in 2010 but the limits were set to roll back to $1 million in 2011. However, in December of 2010, Congress changed the limits and made them permanent (nothing is permanent and Congress could will tinker with this again). They are now at about $5 million for single persons and $10 million for a married couple. What this means is that if you or someone single dies after 2010 with an estate under $5 million there is no estate tax for federal or NC estate tax purposes.