Estate & Probate · For executors and heirs
Property Taxes After a Death in Washington: What Executors and Heirs Need to Know
The short answer
The property taxes do not stop when the owner dies. They are a lien on the house from January 1 (RCW 84.60.020), and whoever now controls the house, usually the personal representative, has to keep them paid. Washington mails one tax statement a year, by March 15, with two payment stubs: the first half is due April 30 and the second half October 31 (RCW 84.56.020). No separate reminder is required before the second half, so if the owner paid the first half before dying, the October payment is the one families miss.
From chapter 84.56 RCW and RCW 84.64.050, checked October 1, 2026. A due date on a weekend or holiday moves to the next business day.
One family's experience
Shared with permission by someone who settled a parent's estate: they and their brother had paid every bill they could find. Their father had already paid the first half of that year's property taxes, and the second-half stub had come in the same envelope months earlier, so no new bill arrived. Only much later, in the middle of selling the house, did a letter come for the unpaid second half, plus a penalty. Their advice: if you are handling a relative's final bills, look up the property tax account yourself.
Since January 1, 2023, a late payment on a house with up to four units carries interest but no penalty. Details below.
How the Washington property tax bill works
The county assessor values the house as of January 1, and that value is used for the taxes paid the following year (RCW 84.40.020). Values are updated every year (RCW 84.41.030), so a change in the market shows up in the tax bill about a year later.
The county treasurer distributes one tax statement a year, by March 15 (RCW 84.56.020). It covers the whole year and has two payment stubs. The first half is due April 30 and the second half October 31. If the year's total is under $50, the full amount is due April 30. When a due date falls on a weekend or holiday, it moves to the next business day.
Many owners never see the statement: if the house has a mortgage with an escrow account, the loan servicer collects the taxes with each monthly payment and pays the county directly.
Why the second half gets missed after a death
Washington law requires the March statement and a notice once a payment is late, but no reminder before the October 31 due date (RCW 84.56.020). The second-half stub arrived months earlier, in the same envelope as the first, and is often still sitting in the person's papers.
After a death, the mail may go to an empty house or be forwarded somewhere no one checks. If the owner paid the taxes themselves, nobody may know they were due, and the family thinks every bill is paid.
What happens if a payment is late
A late payment on a house with four or fewer units accrues interest at 9 percent a year, computed monthly from the date it became delinquent. Since January 1, 2023, no penalty is charged on that kind of property. For other property the interest is 12 percent a year, plus a 3 percent penalty on June 1 and another 8 percent on December 1 (RCW 84.56.020). Advice that mentions penalties on a home's late taxes is out of date.
The unpaid tax stays a lien on the house from January 1 of the year it was levied (RCW 84.60.020), and it comes ahead of the mortgage and most other debts (RCW 84.60.010). Once taxes have been delinquent for three years, the county can start foreclosure (RCW 84.64.050). In practice, an estate sale pays any unpaid taxes from the proceeds at closing, because the title company will not close with the lien in place.
If the owner had a senior exemption or a tax deferral
Many older Washington homeowners have the senior citizen and disabled person exemption, which lowers their taxes. It ends when the owner dies, unless a surviving spouse or domestic partner is 57 or older and otherwise qualifies (RCW 84.36.381). If no one qualifies, the taxes are recalculated on the full value for the rest of the year, starting the day after the death, so the estate can receive a supplemental bill. The state's rule asks the estate or the next owner to file a change-in-status form with the county assessor to avoid interest (WAC 458-16A-150).
A tax deferral is different: the state paid the owner's taxes and holds a lien on the house for the deferred amount, with 5 percent yearly interest (RCW 84.38.100). The whole deferred balance comes due when the owner dies, when the house is sold, or when the owner moves out for good (RCW 84.38.130). A surviving spouse, domestic partner, heir or devisee who qualifies for the program can choose to keep the deferral going (RCW 84.38.130, 84.38.150). Otherwise it is paid off, usually from the sale.
If there is still a mortgage
If the loan has an escrow account, the servicer keeps paying the property taxes from it as long as the monthly loan payments keep being made. Tell the servicer about the death, keep the payments current if the estate can, and ask for the escrow balance. If payments stop, the escrow account stops being funded, and a shortfall can leave a tax installment unpaid.
The escrow portion of the payment can change even on a fixed-rate loan, because the taxes and the homeowners insurance it covers change. That is normal, not a sign that something is wrong with the loan.
When the house is sold
At closing, the escrow company pays any unpaid taxes from the sale proceeds and splits the current year's taxes between the estate and the buyer as of the closing date. The estate pays for the part of the year it owned the house; the buyer pays the rest. A supplemental bill from an ended senior exemption is handled the same way.
Buyers should know that the tax amount on a listing looks backward: it is based on an earlier assessment, not the price being paid. A sale does not reset the assessed value in Washington, but the assessor revalues every property each year (RCW 84.41.030) and uses recent sales as evidence, so next year's bill can be different.
Checklist for the executor
- Look up the house on the county treasurer's website by address or parcel number and confirm whether both halves of this year's tax are paid.
- Find out whether taxes are paid through a mortgage escrow account or directly by the owner. If directly, the next payment is now your job.
- Ask the county treasurer to send statements and notices to you, as personal representative, instead of to the empty house.
- Ask the county assessor whether the owner had the senior or disability exemption or a tax deferral, and file the change-in-status form if so.
- Put April 30 and October 31 on your calendar for every year the estate still owns the house (the next business day when either falls on a weekend or holiday).
- Pay from the estate account and keep the receipts with the estate's records; the payments are an estate expense.
- Before listing the house, ask the title company for a preliminary report: it shows any unpaid taxes, which will be paid from the sale proceeds at closing.
Related guides
General information, not legal or tax advice. County treasurers and assessors can answer questions about a specific account. Real Property Planning does not refer clients to attorneys.
Frequently Asked Questions