Estate & Gift Tax Planning
Washington taxes estates starting at $3 million, far below the federal threshold and with no break for the married couples who don't plan for it. We help Pacific Northwest families find out whether they're over that line and build the trusts and gifting strategies that keep more of the estate with the family instead of the state.
Talk to an attorneyFounded
1965
Attorneys
11
AV-rated
Martindale-Hubbell
Office
Bellevue, WA
Founded
1965
Attorneys
3
AV-rated
Martindale-Hubbell
Office
Bellevue, WA
Estate and gift tax planning lawyers for Bellevue and Seattle families
Oseran Hahn helps Pacific Northwest families and business owners reduce the estate and gift tax that would otherwise be owed when wealth passes to the next generation. Washington has its own estate tax with a far lower exemption than the federal one and, unlike the federal system, no portability between spouses, which means families who plan well keep far more than those who don't. We calculate the exposure, build the credit-shelter trusts and lifetime-gifting strategies that shrink it, and coordinate the whole plan with the returns that have to be filed.
Estate tax planning in Washington starts with one number: whether you're over the state's $3 million line. We calculate the exposure. We fix the married-couple trap that wastes an exemption. We use lifetime gifting to move wealth out. We bring in the trusts and discounts built for larger estates. And we coordinate the documents, the titling, and the returns so the plan actually holds.
The Washington estate tax, and why it hits earlier than people expect
Washington imposes its own estate tax, separate from the federal one and with a much lower exemption: $3 million per person as of July 1, 2025 (raised from $2.193 million and now indexed for inflation), with graduated rates reaching 35%. Because a home, retirement accounts, and life insurance add up fast in this region, many Puget Sound families are over the line without realizing it. We calculate your taxable estate and model what would be owed under current law (RCW 83.100), so the planning starts from a real number rather than a guess.
The piece Washington leaves out: no portability
At the federal level, a surviving spouse can carry over the deceased spouse's unused exemption, a feature called portability. Washington has no portability, so a married couple that does nothing can waste the entire exemption of the first spouse to die. The fix is structural: a credit-shelter or bypass trust funded at the first death captures that exemption instead of losing it. We build the documents that preserve both spouses' exemptions, which for an estate over the threshold can save hundreds of thousands in Washington estate tax.
Lifetime gifting, and Washington's quiet advantage
Washington has no gift tax and no inheritance tax, only the estate tax, which means gifts made during life leave your Washington taxable estate entirely. We use the annual gift tax exclusion (about $19,000 per recipient each year, with no tax or reporting), larger gifts that draw on the federal lifetime exemption, direct payment of tuition and medical expenses, and vehicles like 529 plans to move both the asset and its future growth out of your estate while you're alive and in control of the timing.
Trusts and tools for larger estates
When the estate is bigger or the assets are illiquid, we use the structures built for transfer-tax planning: irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs) that keep insurance proceeds out of the taxable estate, grantor trusts and GRATs that shift appreciation to the next generation, valuation discounts on closely held business and real estate interests, and generation-skipping (GST) planning for grandchildren. We match the tool to the estate and to how much control you're willing to give up, because the most aggressive structure isn't always the right one.
Coordinating the plan and the return
Tax planning only works if the documents, the titling, and the beneficiary designations agree, and if the elections actually get made. We coordinate the estate-tax plan with your wills, trusts, and powers of attorney, make sure assets are titled so the credit-shelter trust can be funded, and prepare or oversee the Washington (RCW 83.100) and federal estate tax returns, including the portability election on the federal return. The plan and the filing are the same project, and a plan that isn't carried through on the return doesn't save anything.
Sixty years of Pacific Northwest estate work means we know exactly where Washington's low exemption and missing portability cost families money, and how to structure around both before it's too late to fix.
We know the Washington trap.
A $3 million exemption and no spousal portability is a combination most people don't see coming. We plan for the state tax that actually applies here, not just the federal one that usually doesn't.
Lifetime gifting is Washington's quiet win.
Because the state has no gift tax, assets given away during life leave your Washington estate for good. We use annual gifts, larger lifetime transfers, and direct tuition and medical payments to move wealth, and its growth, out from under the tax.
We coordinate, we don't just draft.
A plan only saves tax if the titling matches the documents and the elections get made on the return. We connect the trusts, the asset titling, and the Washington and federal filings so nothing falls through.
The attorneys behindthe work.
Our business and corporate attorneys handle this work alongside our litigation team, so you have coverage whether your matter stays transactional or becomes something more.
What clientsask us first.
Does Washington have an estate tax separate from the federal one?
Yes, and it's the one that catches Washington families. The state estate tax applies at a far lower threshold than the federal tax, $3 million per person as of mid-2025, versus a federal exemption millions of dollars higher. You can owe Washington estate tax while owing nothing federally. We plan for both, but the Washington tax is usually what drives the structure.
How much can I give away without tax?
Each year you can give up to the annual exclusion, about $19,000 per recipient, to as many people as you like, with no tax and no return. Larger gifts draw down your federal lifetime exemption, and Washington has no gift tax at all, so lifetime gifts leave your Washington taxable estate entirely. Tuition and medical bills paid directly to the institution don't count against any limit.
We're married. Do we automatically get both exemptions?
Federally, yes, through portability. In Washington, no. The state doesn't let a surviving spouse use the first spouse's unused exemption, so without planning a couple can lose the first $3 million of shelter. A credit-shelter or bypass trust fixes it, but it has to be in the documents and actually funded. This is the most common, and most expensive, Washington planning miss.
Is my house going to push me over the estate tax line?
Often, yes. With Puget Sound real estate values, a home plus retirement accounts and life insurance can clear $3 million quickly, and life insurance you own is fully in your taxable estate. Plenty of people who don't think of themselves as wealthy have a taxable Washington estate. We add it up honestly and tell you whether you have an exposure worth planning around.
What's a credit-shelter trust, and do I need one?
It's a trust funded at the first spouse's death with up to the exemption amount, so that money passes tax-free and isn't taxed again at the second death, capturing an exemption Washington would otherwise waste. Whether you need one depends on the size of your estate and whether you're married. For married Washington couples at or above $3 million, it's usually the core of the plan.
When should we do estate tax planning?
Before your estate grows past the point where the easy tools still work, and well before any health event. Gifting and trusts are most effective with time and while you clearly have capacity, and some strategies shift future growth out of your estate, so starting earlier captures more. If you're near or over the Washington threshold, it's worth a conversation now.
Recentarticles.
Estate and gift tax planning for Washington families and business owners, built around the state's low exemption and its missing spousal portability.
Oseran Hahn P.S. · 11225 SE 6th St, Suite 100 · Bellevue, WA 98004
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