Washington's estate tax for deaths in 2026 — the exclusion, the rates, and the traps (this state taxes only what sits above its exclusion), priced on your estate.
Enter the estate's taxable value (after debts, expenses and marital/charitable bequests). Lifetime gifts can pull amounts back into the base in several states — one of the reasons figures near a threshold deserve professional review.
Exact tax on the $5,000,000 above the $3,000,000 exclusion — the 10%–20% schedule applied in full.
| 2026 exclusion | $3,000,000 |
| Amount above the exclusion | $5,000,000 |
| Rate structure | 10%–20% |
| Top rate | 20% |
Washington changed its law twice in two years: deaths in the first half of 2026 fall under the 2025 law (exclusion $3,076,000, top rate 35%); from 1 July 2026 the exclusion is a flat $3,000,000 and the top rate is back to 20% (ESB 6347). The calculator prices both periods on the Department of Revenue’s Table W structure.
Source: the Washington revenue/statutory publications behind this family's research (see the hub's source list).
The federal estate tax for 2026 starts at $15,000,000 per person (40% top rate), with portability between spouses. Washington's exclusion of $3,000,000 is far lower — the state tax is the one most estates here actually meet, and the two systems are filed and paid separately.
Source: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (federal 2026 exclusion, as amended by Pub. L. 119-21 §70106).
Bequests to a US-citizen spouse are generally deductible at both levels, so tax usually first bites at the second death — which is exactly when two exclusions (and, federally, portability) matter.
For the federal tax, yes, through the unified credit. States vary — several pull recent gifts back into the estate-tax base or tax them on a look-back; the state note above flags the position where it is unusual.
No — an estate tax is paid by the estate before distribution. Five states instead (or also) levy an inheritance tax on the beneficiary; those have their own pages in this family.
Washington Estate Tax Calculator for 2026: the exclusion is $3,000,000 and rates run 10%–20%. On an $8,000,000 estate the Washington tax is $730,000. From the state's official schedule.
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Washington's estate tax for deaths in 2026: the $3,000,000 exclusion, the 10%–20% rate structure, and what an estate actually owes.
Washington changed its law twice in two years: deaths in the first half of 2026 fall under the 2025 law (exclusion $3,076,000, top rate 35%); from 1 July 2026 the exclusion is a flat $3,000,000 and the top rate is back to 20% (ESB 6347).
On an $8,000,000 estate, $5,000,000 sits above the exclusion and the tax is $730,000.
$3,000,000 for deaths in 2026.
Only above $15,000,000 per person for 2026 — the state tax is usually the binding one.
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