Washington: Homestead Exemption Amounts
The short answer
Washington protects the greater of $125,000 or your county's median single-family home sale price from the prior calendar year, so the real number varies a lot by county and changes every year. In high-cost counties like King, that can mean protection well above $700,000. The exemption is automatic once you occupy the home as your principal residence; you only need to record a declaration if you own the home but haven't moved in yet.
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This is the general rule in Washington. Ezel applies current Washington law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | RCW ch. 6.13 ("Homesteads"), wholly statutory: RCW 6.13.030 sets the amount, RCW 6.13.040 sets automatic-vs-declaration rules, RCW 6.13.070 states the core exemption, RCW 6.13.080 lists exceptions |
|---|---|
| Exemption amount | The GREATER of (a) $125,000, or (b) the county median sale price of a single-family home in the preceding calendar year (using Washington Center for Real Estate Research data), or (c) no dollar limit at all for a judgment for another state's unpaid income tax on Washington-resident pension/retirement income (RCW 6.13.030): meaning the real figure varies by county and by year, and is often well above $125,000 in higher-cost counties |
| Size or acreage limit | None: "improved or unimproved land, regardless of area" qualifies as long as the owner intends to reside there (RCW 6.13.010(1)); Washington limits purely by dollar value |
| Automatic, or do you have to file something? | Automatic once the property is actually occupied as a principal residence (RCW 6.13.040(1)), no filing required. A recorded declaration IS required, however, if the homestead is unimproved or improved land not yet occupied, or certain mobile homes/personal property not yet occupied, in those cases the exemption doesn't attach until the declaration is filed (RCW 6.13.040(2)-(5)) |
| Who qualifies, and can spouses double it? | Available to the owner (including a purchaser under a deed of trust, mortgage, or real estate contract) or a "dependent" of the owner (defined by reference to 11 U.S.C. Sec. 522(a)(1)) who uses the property as a residence; the exemption is per-homestead rather than explicitly doubled per spouse, though appreciation in the property's value during a bankruptcy case is also protected even above the statutory cap once the debtor's interest qualified as of the petition date (RCW 6.13.070(2)) |
| What it actually protects you from | Exempt from attachment and from execution or forced sale for the owner's debts up to the exemption amount (RCW 6.13.070(1)); a judgment against the owner becomes a lien only on the value of the homestead property IN EXCESS OF the exemption amount, from the time the creditor records the judgment (RCW 6.13.090), so unlike some states, a Washington judgment doesn't attach to the protected equity at all |
| Debts that can still reach your home | Not available against: (1) mechanic's, laborer's, construction, maritime, auto-repair, material-supplier's, or vendor's liens tied to work on the specific property; (2) debts secured by a security agreement, mortgage, or deed of trust on the home itself (executed by both spouses/partners, or by an unmarried claimant); (3) certain debts existing when spouses file separate bankruptcies within 6 months of each other; (4) child support or spousal maintenance obligations; (5) state Medicaid recovery debts; (6) condo/HOA/common-interest-community association liens; and (7) unremitted sales/use tax the debtor collected but didn't turn over to the state (RCW 6.13.080) |
| Protection for sale proceeds | Proceeds of a voluntary sale made in good faith to acquire a new homestead, and insurance proceeds for a destroyed homestead, stay exempt (up to the exemption amount) for ONE YEAR from receipt, as does a new homestead bought with those proceeds (RCW 6.13.070(3)), but this reinvestment protection does NOT apply to proceeds from a forced sale in a bankruptcy case, which RCW 6.13.010(2)(c) separately defines as a type of "forced sale" |
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Requirements one by one
Governing law
Washington's homestead exemption is entirely statutory, in RCW Chapter 6.13 ("Homesteads"). RCW 6.13.030 sets the dollar amount, RCW 6.13.040 governs when the exemption is automatic versus when you need to record a declaration, RCW 6.13.070 states the core protection, and RCW 6.13.080 lists the debts the exemption doesn't reach.
Exemption amount
The exemption is the greatest of three figures: $125,000 flat; the county median sale price of a single-family home in the preceding calendar year (using data from the Washington Center for Real Estate Research, or its designated successor); or, in the narrow case of a judgment for another state's income tax on a Washington resident's pension or retirement benefits, no dollar limit at all. Because the middle figure resets every year and varies by all 39 counties, there's no single statewide number, a homeowner in a high-cost county like King routinely has several hundred thousand dollars more protection than the $125,000 floor, while a homeowner in a lower-cost county may be right at that floor.
Size or acreage limit
None. The statute defines a homestead to include "improved or unimproved land, regardless of area," as long as the owner intends to place a home there and reside in it. Washington limits purely by dollar value.
Automatic, or do you have to file something?
Automatic, once you actually occupy the property as your principal residence, no filing is required (RCW 6.13.040(1)). The exception: if the homestead is land you haven't yet built on or moved into, or certain mobile homes or other personal property not yet occupied as a home, the exemption doesn't attach until you record a formal declaration describing the property and stating your intent to reside there (RCW 6.13.040(2)-(5)). In practice, most homeowners living in their own house never need to file anything.
Who qualifies, and can spouses double it?
The exemption is available to the property's owner (which includes someone buying under a deed of trust, mortgage, or real estate contract) or to a "dependent" of the owner who uses the property as a residence, with "dependent" defined by reference to the federal bankruptcy code. The statute doesn't explicitly double the exemption per spouse the way some states do, it protects one homestead up to the amount calculated under RCW 6.13.030. One added protection worth knowing: in a bankruptcy case, if your equity was within the exemption limit on the date you filed, any appreciation in the property's value during the case stays protected too, even if it pushes the value above the original cap (RCW 6.13.070(2)).
What it actually protects you from
The homestead is exempt from attachment, execution, or forced sale for the owner's debts, up to the exemption amount (RCW 6.13.070(1)). Washington's structure is notably debtor-friendly on one point: a judgment against the homeowner becomes a lien only on the value of the property that exceeds the exemption amount (RCW 6.13.090), meaning the protected equity itself never becomes subject to the judgment lien in the first place, not just the eventual forced sale.
Debts that can still reach your home
RCW 6.13.080 lists seven categories where the exemption doesn't apply: mechanic's, laborer's, construction, maritime, auto-repair, material-supplier's, or vendor's liens tied to work on the specific property; debts secured by a security agreement, mortgage, or deed of trust on the home itself (when properly executed by both spouses or domestic partners, or by an unmarried owner); certain debts that existed when spouses filed separate (not joint) bankruptcies within six months of each other; child support or spousal maintenance obligations; state Medicaid recovery debts; condo, homeowners', or common-interest-community association liens; and unremitted retail sales or use tax the debtor collected but never turned over to the state.
Protection for sale proceeds
If you sell your home voluntarily and in good faith to buy a new one, or receive insurance money after the home is destroyed, those proceeds stay exempt (up to the exemption amount) for one year from when you receive them, and so does a new home bought with that money (RCW 6.13.070(3)). One important limit: this reinvestment window does NOT cover proceeds from a "forced sale," and Washington law specifically defines any sale of homestead property in a bankruptcy proceeding as a forced sale (RCW 6.13.010(2)(c)), so a bankruptcy-triggered sale's proceeds are handled differently than an ordinary voluntary sale.
What trips people up
The exemption amount is not one number for the whole state, it changes by county and by year, tracking the prior year's median home sale price. Don't assume $125,000 is the real figure if you live in a county with higher home values; check the current county median before relying on a specific dollar amount, since the applicable figure for any given judgment depends on the calendar year and county involved. Also don't confuse Washington's structure with states where a judgment lien attaches to the whole property regardless of the exemption: here, the lien itself only reaches the excess value above the exemption (RCW 6.13.090), which matters if you're trying to understand what a title search will show.
Common questions
Do I need to record anything to protect my Washington home? No, as long as you're living there. The exemption is automatic. You only need to record a declaration if you own the property but haven't moved in yet.
How much of my home equity is actually protected? The greater of $125,000 or your county's median single-family home sale price from the prior year. Check the Washington Center for Real Estate Research's published county data (or ask a local attorney) for the current figure where your home is located.
If I sell my house, does the money stay protected? Yes, for one year, if the sale was voluntary and made in good faith to buy a new home, or if it's insurance proceeds after the home was destroyed. That one-year reinvestment window doesn't apply to proceeds from a forced sale in a bankruptcy case, which Washington law treats differently.
Statutes and sources
- RCW 6.13.030, https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=6.13.030 (accessed 2026-07-09)
- RCW 6.13.010, https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=6.13.010 (accessed 2026-07-09)
- RCW 6.13.040, https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=6.13.040 (accessed 2026-07-09)
- RCW 6.13.070, https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=6.13.070 (accessed 2026-07-09)
- RCW 6.13.080, https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=6.13.080 (accessed 2026-07-09)
- RCW 6.13.090, https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=6.13.090 (accessed 2026-07-09)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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