Washington Federal Estate Tax

Washington charges its own estate tax and no inheritance tax. For a death on or after July 1, 2026, RCW 83.100.020(1)(a) sets the applicable exclusion at $3,000,000, and the rate table in RCW 83.100.040 runs from 10 percent to 20 percent. The federal line sits far higher, at $15,000,000 for a 2026 death.

Both numbers moved recently, and they moved in the same direction on the same day. Here is how each threshold is built, why the filing test measures something different from the taxing test, what community property does to the return, and which figure no honest page can publish for 2027 yet.

Two Estate Taxes, Two Different Lines

Title 83 RCW now holds two live chapters, chapter 83.100 RCW and chapter 83.110A RCW. Everything else in that title, including the old inheritance tax rate chapter and the gift tax chapters, sits on the dispositions list as repealed law.

The Exclusion Is Keyed To The Date Of Death

Washington does not publish one exclusion figure. RCW 83.100.020(1)(a) opens by tying the applicable exclusion amount for the decedent's estate to the amount that applies on the date of the decedent's death, then lists eleven bands. These are the four that matter now.

Read that fourth row twice. The figure steps down from $3,076,000 to $3,000,000 on July 1, 2026. That is what the statute says, and the Department of Revenue prints the same two bands in its own filing thresholds table. Anyone who assumes a transcription error and rounds the two together will misstate the law for a death in the first half of 2026.

The stale number to watch for is $2,193,000. It was right for eight years and stopped being right on July 1, 2025, and a large share of law firm pages, national explainers and estate calculators still show it.

The Rate Table Stepped Down On The Same Day

This is the part almost nobody covers. The 2025 legislature raised the rates alongside the exclusion. The 2026 legislature put the old rates back.

RCW 83.100.040(2)(a) now carries three date-banded tables in one subsection. The table for a death on or after July 1, 2026 is identical to the table that applied from January 1, 2014 through June 30, 2025.

For a death between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026, a different table applies. It shares the same 10 percent bottom rate but climbs to 23 percent at $4,000,000, 26 percent at $6,000,000, 30 percent at $7,000,000 and 35 percent above $9,000,000.

The gap is real money. A Washington taxable estate of $10,000,000 owes $2,280,000 under the July 2025 table and $1,690,000 under the table that starts July 1, 2026.

The change came from Chapter 209, Laws of 2026, enacted as Engrossed Senate Bill 6347 under the title ESTATE TAX, EXCLUSION AMOUNT AND RATE. The signed session law prints its own effective date of June 11, 2026 on the certification page, and the governor approved it March 24, 2026. Both the exclusion step-down and the rate rollback come from that one act.

The Rate Applies To What Is Left After The Exclusion

Washington subtracts before it taxes. RCW 83.100.020(15) defines the Washington taxable estate as the federal taxable estate, less the applicable exclusion amount and the other allowed deductions. RCW 83.100.040(2)(a) then applies the rate table to that reduced figure. The Department of Revenue says the same thing in a note above its own table.

So the brackets restart at zero above the exclusion. Two worked figures for a death on or after July 1, 2026, assuming every asset sits in Washington and no deduction beyond the exclusion applies:

• An estate of $3,500,000 leaves a Washington taxable estate of $500,000. That falls in the first row at 10 percent, so the tax is $50,000.
• An estate of $4,500,000 leaves a Washington taxable estate of $1,500,000. That falls in the second row, so the tax is $100,000 plus 14 percent of $500,000, or $170,000.

If any property sits outside Washington, RCW 83.100.040(2)(b) reduces the result by a fraction. The numerator is the value of the property located in Washington and the denominator is the value of the gross estate. Property that qualifies for the farm deduction comes out of both halves of that fraction.

You can estimate the Washington estate tax on our Washington estate tax calculator before you build a return around a figure.

The Filing Test Measures The Gross Estate

Here is the trap that catches executors who assume no tax means no paperwork. RCW 83.100.050(1) requires a Washington return whenever the gross estate equals or exceeds the applicable exclusion amount. The Department of Revenue prints the point beside its threshold table: the filing threshold is based on the gross estate and not the net estate, and a filing is required even if no tax is due.

The department applies the test to a Washington resident, or to a non-resident who owned Washington real estate or tangible personal property on the date of death. Intangible property owned by a resident counts as Washington property under RCW 83.100.040(1).

RCW 83.100.050(7) carves out one narrow exemption, added for deaths on or after January 1, 2025. Where a surviving spouse exists, a qualifying family residence passes to that spouse, and the gross estate minus the decedent's interest in that residence falls below the exclusion, no return is required. The department stresses that the residence exclusion only answers the filing question. It does not come out of the gross estate if the rest of the assets already reach the threshold, and an estate that wants to make a qualified terminable interest property election must file anyway.

Community Property Changes What Lands On The Return

Washington is a community property state, and that reshapes the return more than any other local rule. The Department of Revenue sets out the mechanics plainly.

All the community property and all the decedent's separate property go on the return. Assets of the surviving spouse are included in the community property listing when they were not kept separate. The estate shows the full value of each asset on the gross estate schedules, then enters a "Less 1/2 community property" reduction below them to reflect the decedent's share.

The department also warns that in Washington all assets are deemed community property for a married couple unless an asset was designated separate before marriage under a separate property agreement, or inherited and then kept separate with no commingling. Titling does not settle the question.

For a married couple, the return falls due when the decedent's half of the community property plus the decedent's separate property meets the filing threshold. That holds even when the entire estate passes to the surviving spouse and no tax is owed. Our Washington community property guide covers how the halves are drawn.

Deductions Washington Allows That The Federal Return Does Not

Three of these are worth knowing before you accept a first draft of the return.

The farm deduction. RCW 83.100.046 allows a deduction from the federal taxable estate for the value of qualified real property, and for tangible personal property used for a qualified use, where the decedent was a United States citizen or resident. Qualified woodland trees can come in too.

Qualified family-owned business interests. RCW 83.100.048 allows a deduction capped at the applicable deduction amount, which the Department of Revenue calculated at $3,076,000 for a 2026 date of death. The gates are steep. The interests must exceed 50 percent of the Washington taxable estate figured without the exclusion, the family must have owned and materially participated for five years out of the eight before death, the interests must pass to a qualified heir, and their value must not exceed $6,000,000. An additional estate tax claws the benefit back if the heir sells or stops participating within three years.

A separate Washington marital election. RCW 83.100.047(1)(a) lets the department provide by rule for a separate election on the Washington return, consistent with sections 2056 and 2056A of the Internal Revenue Code, when a federal election was made or when no federal return is required. RCW 83.100.047(1)(b) goes further and requires the department to treat a state registered domestic partner as a surviving spouse for the marital deduction, whether or not the same interest would deduct federally.

That separate election matters because chapter 83.100 RCW carries no portability. Federal law lets a surviving spouse claim the deceased spousal unused exclusion amount under 26 U.S.C. Sec. 2010(c), by election. Washington ties the exclusion to each decedent's own date of death and says nothing about carrying an unused share forward. A Washington revocable living trust does not change that arithmetic on its own, which is the most common misreading of what a trust does for tax.

Deadlines, Interest, And The Penalty You Can Avoid

The Washington return falls due nine months after the date of death, tracking the federal due date under RCW 83.100.050(2). A timely extension application extends the filing deadline six months.

Payment does not move with it. RCW 83.100.060(1) makes the tax due on the date the return is required to be filed under RCW 83.100.050, "not including any extension of time for filing." The department repeats the point: approval of an extension to file does not grant more time to pay, and any amount unpaid after the nine-month date accrues daily interest. Interest runs at the rate computed under RCW 82.32.050(2), adjusted every January 1, and the department published 6 percent for 2026 and 2027.

The late-filing penalty has an escape hatch worth using. Under RCW 83.100.070(3)(a), an executor who files late but files voluntarily, before the department writes to say it has determined no return was filed, pays no penalty at all. Wait for that letter and RCW 83.100.070(3)(b) charges 5 percent of the tax due for each month until the return arrives, capped at the lesser of 25 percent of the tax or $1,500. The department can waive the penalty where the delay came from circumstances beyond the responsible person's control.

A second extension is available only in a narrow case. The department grants one beyond the initial six months only where the executor is abroad, and the request must arrive before the fifteen-month date runs out.

What Washington Does Not Tax

A beneficiary owes Washington nothing on what they receive. The Department of Revenue states it directly: Washington does not have an inheritance tax, and a person living in Washington who inherits property or money does not owe Washington taxes on the inheritance.

The history explains why stale pages get this wrong. Voters repealed the inheritance tax and enacted an estate tax at the November 1981 general election. The switch took effect January 1, 1982, and the department notes Washington no longer issues an inheritance tax waiver. Chapters 83.04 and 83.08 RCW, which once held the inheritance tax base and rates, are marked repealed by 1981 2nd ex.s. c 7, Initiative Measure No. 402.

Washington has no gift tax either. The two gift tax chapters that once sat in Title 83 RCW, along with the chapter on gifts of powers of appointment, appear on the dispositions list rather than in the live code. What an heir faces when they later sell an asset is a question about basis, not estate tax, and that sits on a separate page.

Where the money goes is a matter of public record, and it takes two sections to say it. RCW 83.100.220 directs all receipts from taxes, penalties, interest and fees collected under the chapter into the education legacy trust account. RCW 83.100.230 then creates that account and limits what comes out of it: money is spendable only after appropriation, and only for common schools, higher education enrollment and financial aid, early learning and child care, and other educational improvement efforts.

The 2027 Figure Nobody Can Publish Yet

Two official sources disagree, and honest reporting names the conflict rather than picking a side.

RCW 83.100.020(1)(a)(xi) says that for estates of decedents dying in calendar year 2027 and each year after, the $3,000,000 amount "must be adjusted annually." The adjustment multiplies $3,000,000 by the growth in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton consumer price index for all urban consumers, all items, measured against October 2024, rounded to the nearest $1,000. RCW 83.100.020(1)(a)(xi) also blocks any adjustment that would produce the same or a lesser amount than the prior calendar year, so the figure never falls.

The Department of Revenue reads it differently. Its estate tax page says the filing threshold and exclusion amount "is not set to increase" because of "an expired CPI in the statute," and its published table lists $3,000,000 for 2027 and after. Its own FAQ page still describes an exclusion that may be adjusted annually using a Seattle area October consumer price index.

Nothing in either source supports a specific 2027 dollar figure today. Check the department's filing thresholds table before you rely on a number for a 2027 death, and treat any page that already prints one as unsourced.

Next Steps

Pull the date of death first, because it picks both the exclusion band and the rate table. Then value the gross estate before any deduction, since that is the number the filing test reads. If the gross estate is anywhere near the exclusion, get the return prepared even when the arithmetic says no tax is due. A Washington estate tax attorney or a CPA who files these regularly is the right call once a return is in play, and the department's own FAQ recommends an attorney for matters concerning the estate.

Sources:

• Title: RCW 83.100.020, Definitions. Publisher: Washington State Legislature. Publication Date: 2026 c 209 s 1; 2025 c 421 s 201. URL: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=83.100.020
• Title: RCW 83.100.040, Estate tax imposed, Amount of tax. Publisher: Washington State Legislature. Publication Date: 2026 c 209 s 2; 2025 c 421 s 202. URL: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=83.100.040
• Title: RCW 83.100.046, Deduction, Property used for farming, Requirements, conditions. Publisher: Washington State Legislature. Publication Date: 2025 c 421 s 204. URL: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=83.100.046
• Title: RCW 83.100.047, Marital deduction, qualified domestic trust, Election, State registered domestic partner entitled to deduction, Other deductions taken for income tax purposes disallowed. Publisher: Washington State Legislature. Publication Date: 2013 2nd sp.s. c 2 s 6. URL: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=83.100.047
• Title: RCW 83.100.048, Deduction, Qualified family-owned business interests. Publisher: Washington State Legislature. Publication Date: 2026 c 250 s 20. URL: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=83.100.048
• Title: RCW 83.100.050, Tax returns, Filing dates, Extensions, Extensions during state of emergency, Exemption. Publisher: Washington State Legislature. Publication Date: 2024 c 82 s 1. URL: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=83.100.050
• Title: RCW 83.100.060, Date payment due, Extensions. Publisher: Washington State Legislature. Publication Date: 2005 c 516 s 6. URL: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=83.100.060
• Title: RCW 83.100.070, Interest on amount due, Penalty for late filing, Exceptions, Rules. Publisher: Washington State Legislature. Publication Date: 2005 c 516 s 7. URL: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=83.100.070
• Title: RCW 83.100.220, Deposit of funds into education legacy trust account. Publisher: Washington State Legislature. Publication Date: 2005 c 516 s 16. URL: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=83.100.220
• Title: RCW 83.100.230, Education legacy trust account. Publisher: Washington State Legislature. Publication Date: 2021 c 199 s 105. URL: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=83.100.230
• Title: Title 83 RCW dispositions, Estate Taxation (chapters 83.04 and 83.08 repealed by 1981 2nd ex.s. c 7, Initiative Measure No. 402). Publisher: Washington State Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/dispo.aspx?cite=83
• Title: Chapter 209, Laws of 2026, Engrossed Senate Bill 6347, ESTATE TAX, EXCLUSION AMOUNT AND RATE. Publisher: Washington State Legislature. Publication Date: Approved March 24, 2026; effective June 11, 2026. URL: https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2025-26/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Laws/Senate/6347.SL.pdf
• Title: Estate tax. Publisher: Washington State Department of Revenue. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://dor.wa.gov/taxes-rates/other-taxes/estate-tax
• Title: Estate tax tables, filing thresholds and exclusion amounts, Table W and interest rates. Publisher: Washington State Department of Revenue. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://dor.wa.gov/taxes-rates/other-taxes/estate-tax-tables
• Title: Estate tax FAQ. Publisher: Washington State Department of Revenue. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://dor.wa.gov/taxes-rates/other-taxes/estate-tax/estate-tax-faq
• Title: Estate tax spousal personal residence exclusion. Publisher: Washington State Department of Revenue. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://dor.wa.gov/taxes-rates/other-taxes/estate-tax/estate-tax-spousal-personal-residence-exclusion
• Title: Estate tax apportionment for out of state property. Publisher: Washington State Department of Revenue. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://dor.wa.gov/taxes-rates/other-taxes/estate-tax/estate-tax-apportionment-out-state-property
• Title: Estate tax filing options and forms. Publisher: Washington State Department of Revenue. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://dor.wa.gov/forms-publications/forms-subject/estate-tax-filing-options-and-forms
• Title: Estate tax (federal filing threshold by year of death). Publisher: Internal Revenue Service. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/estate-tax
• Title: 26 U.S.C. Sec. 2001, Imposition and rate of tax. Publisher: Office of the Law Revision Counsel, United States House of Representatives. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title26-section2001&num=0&edition=prelim
• Title: 26 U.S.C. Sec. 2010, Unified credit against estate tax (deceased spousal unused exclusion amount). Publisher: Office of the Law Revision Counsel, United States House of Representatives. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title26-section2010&num=0&edition=prelim

It is not legal advice.