Buy Your Next Washington Home Before This One Sells
Program and regulatory figures verified September 19, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
Most buy-before-you-sell plans are built on the sale price. In Washington the number that matters is what is left after the state takes its share, and the gap is larger here than anywhere else.
The number most plans leave out
Every buy-before-you-sell structure eventually depends on one figure: how much cash the departing home produces at closing. A bridge loan is repaid from it. A recast is funded by it. The whole plan rests on it.
In Washington that figure is meaningfully smaller than the sale price, because the state takes real estate excise tax off the top. The graduated state rate runs 1.10% on the portion of the selling price at or below $525,000, 1.28% above that to $1,525,000, 2.75% to $3,025,000 and 3.0% above. A city or county may add up to 0.50% on top.
Work it on a Seattle-typical sale of $727,359. The first $525,000 at 1.10% is $5,775. The remaining $202,359 at 1.28% is about $2,590. State excise tax of roughly $8,365. Add a 0.50% local REET of about $3,637 and you are at roughly $12,000, or about 1.65% of the price, gone before the mortgage payoff is calculated.
That is not a closing-cost footnote. On a plan that depends on net proceeds, it is the plan. Detail on the net proceeds page.
The half that works in your favour
Excise tax is imposed on sales of real property. Financing the departing residence is not a sale, so borrowing against it triggers no REET at all.
That makes Washington the mirror image of a state like Virginia, which taxes the loan instrument and leaves the sale comparatively cheap. Here the loan is free of state transaction tax and the exit is expensive.
For structure selection that matters: reaching your equity through financing carries no state tax penalty in Washington. What costs money is the sale itself, and the sale is happening either way. Compare the routes on the structures page.
How Washingtonians buy first
| Structure | Works best when | Washington wrinkle |
|---|---|---|
| Carry both, recast after | Income supports both payments | The recast is funded by net proceeds, so model REET into it |
| Borrow against current equity | Equity is strong and the sale is near | No state excise tax on the financing, but the payoff still comes from net proceeds |
| Keep it and rent it | The departing home covers its own payment | HB 1217 caps annual rent increases at 9.683% for 2026 |
A flat market that is getting slower
Washington values moved less over the year to August 2026 than anywhere else we build. Fourteen of the eighteen metros we track sat between down 0.9% and up 1.2%, with Seattle weakest at down 1.5% and Centralia strongest at up 1.6%.
Time moved instead. Days to pending rose year over year in thirteen of seventeen metros: Walla Walla by 19 days, Yakima 17, Aberdeen 15, Shelton 14, Kennewick and Moses Lake 11, Olympia 10, Spokane 9.
So the departing asset roughly holds its value while taking longer to convert, and the exit costs about 1.65%. That is an argument for a conservative carry estimate rather than an aggressive one. Numbers on the market page.
What we do and do not do
We are a lender. We do not write your offer or advise on its terms; your agent does that. We do not calculate the excise tax on your transaction; your closing agent does. What we do is model the real payment on the house you want, size the financing against net proceeds rather than gross, and tell you which structure your numbers support.
Start with the Washington guide, or run your own figures on the REET and net proceeds calculator.
Frequently asked questions
Who pays real estate excise tax in Washington?
Usually the seller. The Washington Department of Revenue states that the tax applies to most sales of real property and that usually the seller pays it, but if they do not, the buyer is responsible. That secondary liability is worth knowing on both sides of a transaction.
How much is Washington's real estate excise tax?
Through December 31, 2026 the state graduated rate is 1.10% on the portion of the selling price at or below $525,000, 1.28% above that to $1,525,000, 2.75% to $3,025,000 and 3.0% above $3,025,000. A city or county may add a local REET of up to 0.50% under RCW 82.46.010 and 82.46.035.
Does Washington charge excise tax on a bridge loan or refinance?
No. Real estate excise tax is imposed on sales of real property. Financing a departing residence is not a sale, so borrowing against it does not trigger REET. Washington taxes the exit rather than the loan, which is the reverse of states like Virginia.
What changes for Washington excise tax in 2027?
The thresholds rise about $26,000 each, to $551,000, $1,551,000 and $3,051,000, effective January 1, 2027. The rates themselves stay at 1.1%, 1.28%, 2.75% and 3.0%. Thresholds are adjusted every four years by CPI under RCW 82.45.060, so the practical difference on a typical residential sale is modest.
Why does excise tax matter to a bridge loan?
Because a bridge loan is repaid from the net proceeds of the departing home, and excise tax comes out before the payoff. On a $727,359 sale that is roughly $12,000 with local REET included. A bridge sized against the gross sale price is sized against money that never reaches the closing table.
Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about financing, not a loan commitment and not legal, tax, or real estate advice. Excise tax treatment, rent-cap exemptions, and county relief thresholds change and depend on your facts; your closing agent, your county assessor, your CPA or a Washington attorney, and your real estate agent each handle their own part. Loans are subject to borrower and property qualification.