Washington Estate Tax 2026: Exemption, Rates, Rules

Washington's estate tax changed twice in about a year, so the date of death, not the date you are reading this, decides both the exclusion and the rate. For a death on or after July 1, 2026, the exclusion is $3,000,000 and the top rate is 20 percent on the amount over $9,000,000.1 For a death between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026, the top rate was 35 percent instead, and the exclusion was $3,000,000 or $3,076,000 depending on the month.1 Most families never owe a dime. This guide tells you whether your estate is on the hook, how much it would owe, when a return is required even with no tax due, and which rate schedule applies to your date of death.

If you are settling an estate or planning your own, the numbers below are the ones that matter.

In This Guide

• Washington Estate Tax at a Glance
• How the Washington Estate Tax Works
• Estate Tax Is Not Inheritance Tax
• Not the Federal Tax, Not Medicaid Recovery
• Who Should Worry About This
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Next Steps

Washington Estate Tax at a Glance

Here is the whole picture in one table. Washington runs a graduated estate tax, paid by the estate before assets pass to heirs, and there is no separate inheritance tax on the people who receive the money.

How the Washington Estate Tax Works

The estate tax is a tax on the value of everything a person owned at death, paid by the estate itself, not by the heirs. The estate's executor files the return and pays the bill out of estate assets before the remainder is distributed.

The first thing to check is the exclusion, and the figure depends entirely on when the person died. It is $2,193,000 for deaths from January 1, 2018 through June 30, 2025, $3,000,000 for deaths from July 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025, $3,076,000 for deaths from January 1, 2026 through June 30, 2026, and $3,000,000 for deaths on or after July 1, 2026.1 RCW 83.100.020(1)(a)(xi) adjusts the $3,000,000 figure annually against the Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton CPI-U for deaths in calendar year 2027 and later, but the Department of Revenue's published table currently shows $3,000,000 for 2027 and after, and its estate tax page says the figure "is not set to increase going forward due to an expired CPI in the statute."1 Check the year you need against the Department's own table rather than assuming an increase.

That same number is the filing threshold, and this is where executors get caught: filing and owing are two different questions. Only the value left after the exclusion and other allowable deductions gets taxed, so an estate at or below the exclusion owes nothing.1 But a return is still required if the gross estate exceeds the filing threshold and the person was domiciled in Washington, or was a non-resident who owned real estate or tangible personal property located in Washington, and it is required in that case even when no tax is due.1

What counts toward the estate is broader than people expect. The taxable estate generally includes the home and any other real estate, bank and brokerage accounts, retirement accounts like IRAs and 401(k)s, the death benefit of life insurance the deceased owned, business interests, vehicles, and personal property. It is the gross value of what the person owned or controlled at death, not just the cash on hand. In a state with home values as high as Washington's, a long-time homeowner with retirement savings can clear the $3,000,000 exclusion without ever thinking of themselves as wealthy.1

The rate is graduated, meaning it climbs in brackets as the estate gets larger, and the schedule itself changed twice in about a year. For deaths from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026, Table W runs from 10 percent to a top rate of 35 percent, which works out to $1,930,000 plus 35 percent of the amount over $9,000,000.1 For deaths from January 1, 2014 through June 30, 2025, and again for deaths on or after July 1, 2026, the earlier Table W applies: 10 percent up to a top rate of 20 percent, which is $1,490,000 plus 20 percent of the amount over $9,000,000.1 The 35 percent schedule was a one-year window, not a permanent change, so anyone settling an estate has to match the date of death to the right table before quoting a rate to the family. Either way the rate applies to the Washington taxable estate, meaning the amount left after all allowable deductions including the applicable exclusion amount.1

There is a hard deadline attached to all of this. The Washington estate tax return and any tax due are both due nine months after the date of death.1 You can request an extension of time to file, but it does not extend the time to pay; interest accrues daily on any unpaid tax after the nine-month mark. For an executor, that clock starts the day the person dies, so getting a valuation together early matters.

The rules for married couples are narrower than most summaries make them sound. Where the federal taxable estate is determined by a section 2056 or 2056A election, or where no federal return is required at all, RCW 83.100.047 lets the Department of Revenue provide by rule for a separate Washington election, and it requires that a state registered domestic partner be deemed a surviving spouse entitled to the deduction.1 That separate election, and not a carryover of the first spouse's exclusion, is Washington's mechanism for the second spouse: a Washington estate tax return has to be filed for the predeceased spouse in order to make it, the Washington QTIP election can be zero, and without a separate Washington filing the entire federally elected QTIP is brought back into the surviving spouse's Washington estate.1 That last point is the expensive one, and a family that files only federally at the first death can find the whole QTIP counted again at the second.

Washington also has a spousal personal residence exclusion for deaths on or after January 1, 2025, but read its name carefully, because it does less than it sounds like. It is used only to determine whether a filing is required, and the value of the residence is not excluded from the gross estate if the rest of the decedent's assets meet or exceed the filing threshold.1 It requires a surviving spouse, the residence passing to that spouse, and both spouses having occupied it for at least six months of the year before death, and time in long-term care does not break that occupancy test.1

So the decision that matters at the first death is not whether a surviving spouse can inherit an unused exclusion. It is whether a Washington estate tax return gets filed for the first spouse at all, because the separate Washington election can only be made on one.1 Skip that filing and the entire federally elected QTIP comes back into the surviving spouse's Washington estate at the second death.1 For couples with a combined estate near or above the threshold, that is exactly what trust planning (a credit-shelter or bypass trust) is designed to work around, and it is a conversation worth having with a professional well before either spouse dies.

There is also a break aimed at family businesses and farms. Washington allows a Qualified Family-Owned Business Interest (QFOBI) deduction, and the Department of Revenue calculated the maximum QFOBI deduction for 2026 deaths at $3,076,000.1 For a family that owns a working business or farm and meets the qualifying conditions, this deduction can remove a large share of the estate from tax, but the rules on what qualifies are technical, so confirm eligibility with a professional before counting on it.

Estate Tax Is Not Inheritance Tax

People use these two terms as if they mean the same thing. They do not, and the difference decides who writes the check.

An estate tax is paid by the estate, out of the deceased person's assets, before anything is distributed. An inheritance tax is paid by the heirs, on what each one receives, after distribution, and the states that charge one are listed in which states have an estate or inheritance tax. Washington does not.1 So if you inherit from a Washington estate, you do not owe a Washington inheritance tax on your share. Any tax owed was the estate's responsibility and was settled before you received anything.

That is good news for heirs. The estate tax can reduce how much is left to divide, but it does not land a separate bill on each beneficiary.

Not the Federal Tax, Not Medicaid Recovery

Two other things get confused with the state estate tax. Both are different, and the distinction matters for planning.

The federal estate tax is separate, and its exemption is far higher. The federal basic exclusion amount is $15 million per decedent for deaths in 2026, raised by the One, Big, Beautiful Bill, roughly five times Washington's exclusion. Lifetime taxable gifts count against it, and a surviving spouse can use a deceased spouse's unused federal exclusion only if the executor elects it on a timely filed Form 706.2,1 An estate that falls in the gap between the two thresholds can owe Washington tax while owing nothing to the IRS. The two are filed on separate returns, and the federal one is IRS Form 706.2 Clearing the federal bar tells you nothing about whether you owe Washington.

Medicaid estate recovery is not a tax at all. It is the process by which a state seeks repayment from the estate of someone who received certain Medicaid-funded long-term care. It applies to a completely different group of people, for a different reason, and is governed by separate rules. If a parent received Medicaid-paid nursing home care, the relevant concern is recovery, not the estate tax. We cover that fully in Medicaid estate recovery; do not let the similar name fool you into treating them as one issue.

Who Should Worry About This

If the total estate, counting the home, retirement accounts, investments, and life insurance the deceased owned, is comfortably under the exclusion for that date of death ($3,000,000 for a death on or after July 1, 2026), the Washington estate tax almost certainly does not apply.1 For most families, that is the end of it.

If the estate is near or above the exclusion, it is time to file a return within nine months of death and likely time to bring in a professional. Estate tax planning is genuinely intricate: the separate Washington spousal election, the spousal residence exclusion, the QFOBI deduction, and the date-of-death rate tables all turn on details, and the stakes run into six figures fast. An estate attorney or a CPA who handles estates is the right call. This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice.

For the bigger picture of paying for care and protecting assets while a parent is still living, see Building a Senior Care Funding Plan, and if the home is the largest asset, Selling or Renting a Home to Pay for Care.

Learn More

Next Steps

Find out whether your estate is near the threshold, and if it is, get a professional involved early, because the return and payment are due nine months after death, so the clock starts at the date of death.1 Pin down the date of death first, because both the exclusion and the top rate are keyed to it, and an estate attorney can tell you how the separate Washington spousal election, the spousal residence exclusion, and the QFOBI deduction apply to you.

Find personalized help planning for senior care costs at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.