[WSBARP] Estate Tax Update - BREAKING NEWS

Thu Apr 24 10:38:56 PDT 2025

To answer the question about whether the Bill addresses portability - NO,
there is no change on the portability front.

In full transparency - the bill also addressed changes to the capital gains
tax, but given where the discussion with us had been around the Estate tax,
I just wanted to share that bit of news first. Full and formal recaps will
be created as soon as there is final action.

*Brent Williams-Ruth* (pronouns: he/him)
*Attorney-At-Law*

*Law Offices of Brent Williams-Ruth, **a division of BWR Consulting, PLLC*

*Physical Address: 500 S 336th Street, Suite 214; Federal Way, WA 98003*

*Mailing Address: **PO BOX 3319; Federal Way, WA 98063 *

Office/Scheduling Phone: (253) 285-7751

For All Meetings & Scheduling: info at williams-ruthlaw.com

e-mail <Brent at Williams-RuthLaw.com> / website
<http://www.williams-ruthlaw.com/> / facebook
<http://www.facebook.com/bwrlaw> /

On Thu, Apr 24, 2025 at 10:27 AM Paul Neumiller <pneumiller at hotmail.com>
wrote:

> Did the Bill address the portability issue similar to the federal
> taxations we don’t need to play the disclaimer trust in a Will game??
>
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> *From:* wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com <
> wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> *On Behalf Of *Brent Williams-Ruth
> *Sent:* Thursday, April 24, 2025 10:17 AM
> *To:* WSBA Real Property Listserv <wsbarp at lists.wsbarppt.com>; WSBA
> Probate & Trust Listserv <WSBAPT at lists.wsbarppt.com>
> *Subject:* [WSBARP] Estate Tax Update - BREAKING NEWS
>
>
>
> Greetings List Members -
>
>
>
> Last night the Washington House of Representatives passed SB 5813, with
> two amendments.  It is NOT YET signed by the Governor....but here is what
> has been agreed to between the House and the Senate:
>
>
>
> 1) The Estate Tax Exemption Level will be adjusted to $3,000,000, to be
> adjusted annually with the CPI report that includes the City of
> Seattle....hopefully forever preventing a future "stall" in
> adjustments when the CPI report changes its name.
>
>
>
> 2) The Tax Brackets remain the same.
>
>
>
> 3) The Tax Rates for the respective brackets will change, with the top
> effective tax rate being 35%, here is the table:
>
> Washington Taxable Estate, the Current Rate, and the New Rate
>
>
>
> $0 to $1,000,000, old rate 10%, new rate 10%
>
> $1,000,000 to $2,000,000, old rate 14%, new rate 15%
>
> $2,000,000 to $3,000,000, old rate 15%, new rate 17%
>
> $3,000,000 to $4,000,000, old rate 16%, new rate 19%
>
> $4,000,000 to $6,000,000, old rate 18%, new rate 23%
>
> $6,000,000 to $7,000,000, old rate19%, new rate 26%
>
> $7,000,000 to $9,000,000, old rate 19.5%, new rate 30%
>
>  $9,000,000 and up, old 20%, new rate 35%
>
>
>
> What is NOT yet agreed to.....
>
> When this will take effect. Senate version has it go back to January 1,
> 2025 (good for those over 2.193, and below $3,000,000......bad for those in
> the top two tack brackets).   The House version has this taking effect on
> July 1, 2025.
>
>
>
> Also, the house version included the qualified non-familial heir.
>
>
>
> It is my personal belief that both of these house amendments will pass the
> Senate version....
>
>
>
> Please note that the Governor has not weighed in on this specific topic
> (publically)....but I believe that this will be signed into law.
>
>
>
> To everyone who helped us lobby in our PERSONAL capacities as
> practitioners and citizens. Thank you. When we went to Olympia in support
> of the first bill that simply sought to fix the inflation indexing, the
> comments and support of the over 200 signatories to our letter made an
> impact.
>
>
>
> Should I be re-elected to the RPPT Executive Committee again, I will
> propose a prospective plan where those who wish to follow legislation can
> "opt-in" and be kept appraised.  The bill that passed both the House and
> Senate was made public last week (during Spring Break and Easter Holiday)
> and the Senate hearing was given less than 24 hours notice.
>
>
>
> For future bills and laws, we will want to put into place a rapid response
> plan.
>
>
>
> Thank you and stay tuned for the final update after the Governor takes
> action!
>
>
>
> Brent
>
>
>
>
>
> *Brent Williams-Ruth* (pronouns: he/him)
> *Attorney-At-Law*
>
> *Law Offices of Brent Williams-Ruth, **a division of BWR Consulting, PLLC*
>
> *Physical Address: 500 S 336th Street, Suite 214; Federal Way, WA 98003*
>
> *Mailing Address:** PO BOX 3319; Federal Way, WA 98063 *
>
> Office/Scheduling Phone: (253) 285-7751
>
> For All Meetings & Scheduling: info at williams-ruthlaw.com
>
> e-mail <Brent at Williams-RuthLaw.com> / website
> <http://www.williams-ruthlaw.com/> / facebook
> <http://www.facebook.com/bwrlaw> /
> ***Disclaimer: Please note that RPPT listserv participation is not
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> attorneys, law students, professionals working in related fields, and
> others.***
>
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