Washington ballot measure · November 3, 2026

Washington Initiative Measure No. IP26-645, explained

Repeal tax on income over $1 million and ban income taxes. A ballot measure is a yes-or-no question put directly to voters — no candidate is involved, and the wording on the ballot is the wording that becomes law. This page shows that wording first, then what it actually changes.

The official wording

Initiative Measure No. IP26-645 concerns state and local taxes. This measure would repeal a 9.9% tax on annual individual income over $1,000,000; prohibit taxes measured by individual income and taxes on individual income or the receipt of individual income; and define "income." This measure would decrease funding for public K-12 education, higher education (including universities and community colleges), and human services (primarily healthcare). Should this measure be enacted into law? Yes [ ] No [ ]

This is what appears on the ballot. Everything below explains it.

What it actually means

In 2026 the Legislature passed a 9.9% tax on household income above $1 million, starting in 2028. This measure repeals that tax before it begins and bars state and local governments from taxing individual income in the future. The tax cuts passed alongside it, such as sales tax exemptions on diapers and hygiene products, would stay.

If you vote YES

The 9.9% tax on income over $1 million (per household, with up to $100,000 in charitable deductions) would be repealed before taking effect in 2028.
State and local governments would be prohibited from imposing taxes on individual income, on the receipt of income, or measured by income, with income defined as "any gain or benefit measured in money derived from an individual's capital, labor, property, or other source."
The state would lose an estimated $11.4 billion over fiscal years 2027–2031, including $377 million that would have gone to childcare and early learning; the Department of Revenue would save about $150 million in administration costs.
Tax credits and exemptions enacted in the same 2026 law, including an expanded low-income sales tax credit, sales tax exemptions for diapers, over-the-counter drugs and hygiene products, and small-business tax relief, would remain in place, according to the Attorney General.

If you vote NO

The 9.9% tax on individual income over $1 million would take effect in calendar year 2028, with first payments in April 2029; about 30,000 taxpayers are expected to be affected.
95% of revenue would go to the general fund, which pays for K-12 education, higher education, health care and human services, and 5% to childcare and early learning.
The Legislature could still consider other taxes; the state's existing capital gains tax would continue.

The numbers that matter

State revenue loss, FY 2027–2031: $11.4 billion
Lost childcare and early learning transfers: $377 million (FY 2030–2031)
Administrative savings: About $150 million over five years
Taxpayers affected by the tax: About 30,000

Why supporters say YES

Washingtonians have rejected an income tax ten times in 90 years, and the Legislature enacted one anyway; lawmakers rejected chances to permanently limit it, so it could be expanded to everyone.
— Official voters' pamphlet argument for, written by Sen. Chris Gildon, entrepreneur Jesse Proudman, retired firefighter Patti Mann, and small business owners Viet Nguyen, Semmelle Abraham and Julie H. Olds (campaign led by Let's Go Washington)
The Legislature has moved money from dedicated accounts to the general fund 80 times in five years and delayed promised early learning funding from the capital gains tax, so new revenue promises cannot be trusted; the state has record revenues.
— Official voters' pamphlet argument for and rebuttal

Why opponents say NO

The measure would cut about $13 billion over four years from schools, health care and childcare, meaning larger classes, higher health and childcare costs and loss of free school lunches for many children.
— Official voters' pamphlet argument against, written by Washington Education Association President Janie White, Washington State Labor Council President April Sims, brewery owner Matt Hipp, nurse Rosa Potts, Thom Garrard and Lindsay Johnson (No on 645)
Washington's tax system already asks working and middle-class families to pay a higher share than the wealthiest; the measure gives a break to the top 1% and could raise taxes for 460,000 families and many small businesses by jeopardizing the tax cuts paid for by the millionaires tax.
— Official voters' pamphlet argument against and rebuttal

What’s genuinely uncertain

Opponents say the measure would raise taxes on 460,000 families and small businesses; the Attorney General's explanatory statement says the non-income-tax credits, exemptions and deductions in the 2026 law would not be repealed. Whether the Legislature could afford to keep them without the revenue is a separate question the fiscal statement does not address.
The Office of Financial Management's $11.4 billion estimate covers five fiscal years and excludes effects that depend on future legislative action; opponents' $13 billion figure is their own.
The ban on income taxes would be a statute, not a constitutional amendment, so how durable it is against future legislative change is not addressed in the official statements.
The 2026 income tax's constitutionality under Washington precedent is contested; supporters call it unconstitutional, and it has not yet taken effect.

The bottom line

Keeping Washington free of income taxes and holding the Legislature to past voter decisions, against giving up about $11 billion that would fund schools, health care and childcare.

One neutral sentence describing the tradeoff — not a recommendation.

Sources:sos.wa.gov sos.wa.gov sos.wa.gov sos.wa.gov sos.wa.gov ballotpedia.org

Checking it against the official text

The Washington Secretary of State publishes the certified measures and, in most states, an official voter guide with fiscal notes. That is the authoritative version. Everything here is an explanation of it, not a substitute for it.

Confirm this with the official source

Your ballot is determined by your election authority, not by us. Verify your registration, precinct, and sample ballot at Washington Secretary of State.

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