Washington estate tax, inheritance tax & probate costs

What the Washington Estate Data Reveals

Washington layers a state estate tax on top of the federal regime, exemption of $2,193,000 with rates from 10% to 20%, and spousal portability is not recognized. For estates above this state threshold but below the permanent federal $15M exemption, state law is the binding constraint, which is exactly the bracket most affluent households fall into. There is no separate inheritance tax, so beneficiaries receive their share without a second state-level deduction at distribution.

IRS Statistics of Income data show 175 federal estate tax returns filed by Washington residents in the most recent available year (filing year 2023), reporting $5.62 billion in combined gross estate value. Net federal estate tax paid totaled $0.50 billion that year. Across the multi-year IRS SOI series above, Washington averages roughly 146 taxable filings per year, with an effective federal rate on reported gross estates of about 8.1%.

Probate itself typically runs 6–12 months in Washington (roughly 9 months on average), with court filing fees of $240–$400. Attorney fees are negotiated rather than statutory, so engagement letters and hourly-vs-flat structures matter more to the total bill. Washington does offer a simplified small-estate track for estates under $100,000, which most families use to bypass full formal probate. Because Washington has not adopted the UPC, probate practice can vary materially by county and judicial district. Washington's community property framework also means marital assets generally pass with a 50/50 baseline split, which affects both tax basis step-up and the size of the taxable estate.