Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: Washington’s estate tax exclusion is $3,000,000 for deaths on or after July 1, 2026, but its widely cited 35% top rate no longer applies: 2026 legislation rolled the top rate back to 20% for deaths on or after July 1, 2026, reversing a temporary 35% rate that applied only from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026.
2026 exemption: $3,076,000 for deaths January 1 to June 30, 2026, then $3,000,000 for deaths on or after July 1, 2026 · Top rate: 20%, not 35%, for deaths on or after July 1, 2026; the 35% top rate applied only to deaths between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026 and was reversed by 2026 legislation · Key statute: RCW 83.100.040 (Table W rate brackets, as amended by 2026 c 209 s 2); RCW 83.100.020 (definitions and exclusion amounts, as amended by 2026 c 209 s 1)
2026 rate rollback: top rate is 20%, not 35%, for deaths after July 1, 2026
The current statute sets a distinct rate table for estates of decedents dying on or after July 1, 2026, running from 10% up to 20% on amounts over $9,000,000, identical to the pre-2025 table. The 35% top rate applied only to the one-year window covering deaths from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026, and was reversed by legislation that passed the Senate 38 to 11 and House 85 to 8 and was signed by the Governor on March 24, 2026. On a $10,000,000 Washington taxable estate the difference is real: $2,280,000 of tax under the 7/1/2025 to 6/30/2026 table versus $1,690,000 under the table now in force.
Exclusion confirmed, but the expired-CPI story changed
The $3,076,000 exclusion for deaths January 1 to June 30, 2026 and the $3,000,000 exclusion for deaths on or after July 1, 2026 both check out against the Department of Revenue’s estate tax tables page. The same 2026 legislation that rolled back the rate table also rewrote the statute to reinstate CPI indexing of the exclusion starting calendar year 2027. The Department’s own tables still list the 2027 exclusion at $3,000,000, no increase computed yet, and the department’s general estate tax landing page has not yet been updated to reflect the reinstated CPI mechanism.
Filing deadline and no spousal portability
The Washington return and payment are due nine months after the date of death; a timely-filed application automatically extends the filing deadline six months, and a further extension is granted only if the executor is abroad. An extension of time to file never extends the time to pay. Washington law does not have, nor does it incorporate, the federal provisions of portability for estate tax; each estate is entitled to the applicable exclusion amount based on the decedent’s date of death.
The top rate is 20% again, after a single year at 35%.
For deaths on or after July 1, 2026 the exclusion is $3,000,000 and the top rate is 20%, reversing a 35% rate that applied for one year only. A plan built while the higher rate was in force is working from arithmetic that has since changed.
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Non-resident apportionment: Washington taxes a fraction of the worldwide estate
Washington taxes every transfer of property located in the state and treats any intangible property owned by a resident as located there, so a Washington-domiciled decedent's worldwide stocks, bonds, cash and business interests are all pulled in; only out-of-state real estate and tangible property escape it. For a non-resident, only Washington-situs real estate and tangible property count. Tax is first computed as if the entire worldwide estate were Washington property, then apportioned by the ratio of Washington property to gross estate. The Department's own worked example applies this to a Colorado resident with a $6,000,000 gross estate and a $650,000 Washington vacation home, yielding $54,505 owed to Washington.
The math on a $4,000,000 estate
Tax owed: $100,000. Gross estate $4,000,000 minus the $3,000,000 applicable exclusion amount leaves a Washington taxable estate of $1,000,000. Under the current rate table, a taxable estate of at least $1,000,000 but less than $2,000,000 owes an initial tax of $100,000 plus 14% of the amount over $1,000,000. Amount over $1,000,000 equals $0, so tax equals $100,000. For contrast, on a $10,000,000 estate the current 20% top table produces $1,690,000 of tax versus $2,280,000 under the now-superseded 35% top table.
Honest gaps
Did not directly open the enacted PDF session-law text of the 2026 rate-rollback bill; confirmed its substantive changes by reading the current codified statute (which already incorporates the 2026 amendments) plus the official Legislature bill-status page showing passage and the Governor's signature. Could not determine why the Department's general estate-tax landing page still carries the pre-2026 expired-CPI language while its own tables page and the current statute already reflect the reinstated CPI mechanism.
Source note. Read from https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=83.100.040; https://dor.wa.gov/taxes-rates/other-taxes/estate-tax-tables; https://dor.wa.gov/taxes-rates/other-taxes/estate-tax/estate-tax-faq; https://dor.wa.gov/taxes-rates/other-taxes/estate-tax/estate-tax-apportionment-out-state-property on 2026-09-04.
Related: estate tax by state · who actually pays the estate tax · the lifetime gift and estate tax exemption.
Statutory text read at each state's own department of revenue or legislature. General information, not legal or tax advice; exemptions, rates and filing rules change, and a qualified estate or tax professional should confirm the current figures before you rely on them.