Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: No, not today. Washington has no individual income tax, so pensions, 401(k)/IRA withdrawals and Social Security are all untaxed at the state level right now. That changes for a narrow group in 2028: a new 9.9% state income tax takes effect January 1, 2028 on individuals and joint filers with adjusted gross income over $1,000,000, enacted by the 2026 Legislature (Senate Bill 6346). Ordinary retirement withdrawals held in qualified retirement accounts are also carved out of Washington’s separate capital-gains excise tax.
Confidence note: high. This page is scoped to pension, IRA and 401(k) taxation specifically. For the state’s full retirement-tax picture (Social Security, tax rates, estate and probate), see how Washington taxes retirement income generally.
Pending, not current law: A new 9.9% income tax on AGI over $1,000,000 takes effect Jan. 1, 2028 (2026 SB 6346); first returns due 2029. This is enacted law, not a proposal, but it is not yet in effect and does not apply to ordinary-income retirees.
Coordinate this with your overall retirement plan
An adviser can help weigh how much of a pension or IRA withdrawal to take this year, whether a Roth conversion makes sense before or after a move, and how state tax interacts with the rest of your plan, but that does not replace the numbers in your own return.
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How pensions and retirement-account withdrawals are taxed
| Public (state/local government) pensions | Not taxed today. A new 9.9% tax applies starting Jan. 1, 2028, but only to individuals/joint filers with AGI over $1,000,000, so it does not turn on ordinary pension income for most retirees. |
|---|---|
| Private (employer) pensions | Not taxed today, same 2028 high-income caveat as above. |
| Federal government pensions (FERS/CSRS) | Not taxed today, same 2028 high-income caveat as above. |
| Military retirement pay | Not taxed today, same 2028 high-income caveat as above. |
| IRA and 401(k)/403(b) distributions | Not taxed today. Washington’s separate 7% capital-gains excise tax (on long-term gains over an indexed threshold) explicitly exempts “assets held in certain retirement accounts,” so ordinary IRA/401(k) withdrawals are outside that tax as well as outside the (not-yet-effective) income tax. |
| General retirement-income exclusion | Not applicable today. The 2028 tax carries no separate retirement-income exclusion in the enacted text as fetched this session; its only threshold is the $1,000,000 AGI floor. |
Social Security
Social Security is not taxed today either, and is not reached by the 2028 tax’s AGI-over-$1,000,000 trigger for the overwhelming majority of retirees. Social Security has its own rules in every state; see the full breakdown in how Washington taxes retirement income generally.
Statute and sources
Governing citation: 2026 Wash. Legis., Senate Bill 6346 (new income tax, eff. 1/1/2028); RCW 82.87 as amended (capital-gains tax retirement-account exemption).
- Washington Dept. of Revenue, Income Tax
- Washington Dept. of Revenue, Capital Gains Tax (exemptions list)
Read September 4, 2026.
Related: how Washington taxes retirement income generally · does Washington tax Roth conversions? · Roth conversion taxes, all 51 jurisdictions.
General information drawn from each state’s own published statutes and revenue-department guidance, not legal, tax or financial advice. Figures and exemption amounts are current as of the date in the quick answer, are set by state law, and can change by future legislation; any pending bill named on this page is not yet law. This page cannot see your own return, which governs. We are not a law firm, a tax adviser, or a fiduciary, and this is not personalized advice.