Yes, if your estate is over $3 million. For most married couples, nothing is owed when the first spouse dies. The exposure is at the second death, or for a single owner.
Three things about that $3 million line that most people get wrong:
It counts the whole house at market value, not your equity. The mortgage comes off later.
Couples cannot combine two exemptions the way federal law allows. Washington has no portability; each estate gets its own $3 million.
The line does not move with home prices. It is $3 million for deaths from July 1, 2026, and the Department of Revenue says it is not set to increase.
Here is what it looks like for a single owner in Bothell, using last month's typical sale price:
House, paid off | $1,040,000 |
Retirement accounts | $1,600,000 |
Life insurance you own | $500,000 |
Total estate | $3,140,000 |
That estate is $140,000 over the line. Washington's tax on it: $14,000, at 10%, before funeral and administration costs come off. Same picture with $300,000 still owed on the house: a return is still filed, because the line is tested before the mortgage, and the tax is $0.
My read: the house alone sometimes crosses the $3 million line, but not always. The house plus retirement accounts plus a policy you own most likely does does, and the person it lands on is a single owner or a surviving spouse.
I am a real estate broker, not a CPA or an attorney, and this is how the tax works in general, not advice about your estate. If your own three numbers add up to anywhere near $3 million, an hour with your estate attorney or CPA is the next step.
If you know someone with a high value house in WA State, forward this to them.
Rami Al-Kabra
REALTOR®, eXp Realty
(206) 701-9272
[email protected]
Sources: Washington Department of Revenue estate tax tables and FAQ, RCW 83.100, as of September 12, 2026. Bothell typical sale price: NWMLS via Infosparks, residential, August 2026, pulled September 11. The example is an illustration, not anyone's estate.