This bill amends existing Washington estate tax law (reenacting and amending RCW 83.100.020 and amending RCW 83.100.040) to change the exclusion amounts and tax rate schedule. It sets specific applicable exclusion amounts by date of death (including $3,000,000 for deaths on or after January 1, 2025 and a CPI-based annual adjustment beginning in calendar year 2026) and replaces the estate tax rate table for estates of decedents dying on or after January 1, 2025 with a new graduated table of initial tax amounts and marginal tax rates while retaining the existing table for deaths before January 1, 2025. The act clarifies that Washington’s estate tax is a stand-alone tax that incorporates only Internal Revenue Code provisions as of January 1, 2005 that do not conflict with the chapter, and it adds or restates definitions, a proration rule for property located outside Washington (tax multiplied by in-state property value divided by gross estate value, excluding property that qualifies for a specific deduction), and other procedural provisions. The bill applies prospectively and retroactively to estates of decedents dying on or after January 1, 2025, preserves existing rights and liabilities under amended or repealed sections, includes a severability clause, and takes effect immediately as an emergency measure. The chunked text does not include the full content of referenced RCW sections dealing with deductions and additions (RCW 83.100.046, .047, .048, .120), and the precise mathematical application of the provided tax tables (for example exactly how the “Initial Tax Amount” and “Plus Tax Rate %” are to be calculated) is not fully set out in the extracted material.

If enacted, the law raises Washington’s basic estate tax exclusion to $3,000,000 for decedents dying in 2025 and then ties future exclusion amounts to Seattle-area CPI increases starting in 2026, while replacing the estate tax rate schedule for deaths on or after January 1, 2025 with a steeper graduated table. Practically, fewer very small estates will owe tax because the exclusion increases, but estates that remain above the new exclusion — especially very large estates — are likely to face higher marginal rates and therefore higher tax bills. The tax is calculated as a Washington stand-alone estate tax using the federal tax code as of January 1, 2005, and any estate with property outside Washington will have its tax reduced proportionally by the share of property located in the state. The main people affected are decedents’ estates and the personal representatives or beneficiaries who settle them, plus the Department of Revenue which must administer the new schedules and annual CPI adjustments; those estates may see changed tax liabilities, need to recalculate Washington taxable estate amounts, and face added complexity for prorating out-of-state property. The act applies retroactively and prospectively to deaths on or after January 1, 2025 and takes effect immediately, so estates from 2025 onward will be subject to the new rules. Important details needed to predict exact tax bills — such as the specific deduction rules in the cited RCW sections and the precise method for applying the tabular “initial tax amount” and percentage — are not included here, so exact calculations cannot be confirmed from the provided text.