Real Estate Excise Tax Affidavit
A Real Estate Excise Tax Affidavit must be completed and signed by all parties involved in a real property conveyance. You can download the applicable form below and submit the completed form to our office. If you would like help completing the form, please contact the Washington State Department of Revenue. Please note, you need the latest version of Adobe Acrobat to print these forms and you must use at least size 8 font.
Affidavit & Document Submission
Our staff is not able to walk you through the often complicated legalities involved in transferring property. Our responsibility is to compare the information on the excise affidavit with the information on the deed or real estate contract you present to ensure it matches. The law library in the courthouse has examples of different types of deeds and documents, their information is available here Affidavit & Document Submission.
The Treasurer’s Office does not provide any legal documents or real estate excise affidavits. We are restricted from giving legal advice or assisting with preparing your documents.
Real Estate Excise Taxes
Real Estate Excise Tax is the tax charged on the sale of real property. The Clark County Treasurer’s Office serves as an agent of the State of Washington and all REET transactions are sent to and reviewed by the Washington Department of Revenue.
REET Processing
Excise is due 30 days from the date of the sale and is collected by the County Treasurer’s Office. The excise tax due is calculated on a graduated REET structure based on the property sale price, plus a $5.00 transaction processing fee.
The graduated rates vary from 1.10% to 3.00% and are calculated on the sale price of the property, not the value of the property. Anytime real property changes hands or consideration of more than $10.00 is given, excise tax is assessed. When you submit your Real Estate Excise Tax Affidavit you will be assessed an excise tax amount due. Local REET rates have not changed and still apply to the transaction. The excise tax and processing fee must be paid in full before the deed or vesting information will be recorded by the Auditor’s Office recording department. A sale may be exempt from excise taxes, please refer to the Washington Administrative Codes .
Recommended Reading: What Is The Tax Filing Deadline
Probate Missing Affidavit Of Execution Of Will
Whenever you create a Will, you must ensure that you execute it in front of two witnesses for the Will to be valid. Additional requirements include:
To prove that happened, Courts will routinely require at least one witness to sign an affidavit in front of a commissioner . The easiest way to complete this, is for a qualified law firm to draft and witness your Will one of the witnesses can then easily sign the affidavit at the same time as Will signing in front of a lawyer.
During Probate with a Will, it is very difficult if the witness did not sign the affidavit especially if the witness can no longer be located or is unwilling to co-operate.
In one of our probate cases, we spent a very long time locating a witness to execute the affidavit all the spent time and money could be avoided if the Will was properly drafted and witnessed in the first place. Nevertheless, we were able to complete probate for our clients, and they learned a valuable lesson for the future.
Real Estate Excise Tax
Washington State, under Chapter 82.45 of the Revised Code of Washington , imposes an excise tax on the sale of real property. Unless otherwise specifically exempt from tax under Washington Administrative Code 458-61A, all sales of real property are subject to the Real Estate Excise Tax . The County Treasurer acts as agent on behalf of the Washington State Department of Revenue to collect the excise tax.
A Real Estate Excise Tax Affidavit, along with a legal document , must be presented to the County Treasurer’s office for processing and collection of tax or fees due. Sale transactions must be presented within 30 days from the date of sale to avoid assessment of interest and penalties per WAC458-61A-306. The tax is the responsibility of the seller per WAC458-61A-301.
This process must be completed prior to presenting the conveyance document to the County Auditor’s office for recording .
Also Check: Are 529 Contributions Tax Deductible
Changes To Real Estate Excise Tax Effective January 1 2020
The real estate excise tax is a tax on the sale of real estate and is typically paid by the seller of the property. Excise taxes assessed on a conveyance must be paid prior to the recording of the conveyance documents, such as the warranty deed or real estate contract. All documents submitted to the Recorder’s Office must be prepared ahead of time. While we do not provide templates and cannot assist with preparation, please do review our formatting tips.
Tax Payable At Time Of Saleinterest Penalties And Refunds
Interest, penalties and refunds will be processed in accordance with RCW 82.45.100 as presently enacted or subsequently amended except the term County Treasurer shall be substituted for the term department when these actions pertain to the one-quarter of one percent real estate excise tax. , 1990)
Recommended Reading: How To Request Tax Extension
Affidavits And Notary Services
A sworn declaration is a document with a set of statements that you declare and affirm to be true. You need to do this in front of Commissioner of Oaths. A Commissioner is someone authorized by the Province of Ontario to witness certain kinds of sworn declarations. You could be asked to affirm a declaration when you apply to the government for something or by a company when they need information from you. It may be a form given to you or you may be expected to write it yourself.
Sometimes government forms ask you to sign them in front of a notary public. A notary public is a person authorized by the Province of Ontario to witness the swearing of oaths and to certify documents. Declarations that will be sent outside of Ontario need to be notarized. You may also need the services of a notary if you require certified copies of documents. We can make photocopies and then certify them as copies of the original by having the notary public sign the copies. Lawyers are usually notaries.
In certain situations, our clinic can help you if you need to have a document commissioned or if you need a notary to witness a document or make certified true copies of documents. You must be financially eligible for this service.
The situations in which our office assists with affidavits and notarizing documents are:
Unfortunately, we do not offer services for the following:
- Corporate or business declarations
- Land transfer tax affidavits or any real estate documents
- Family law proceedings
What Are The Funds Used For
Beginning Jan. 1, 2020 through June 30, 2023, 1.3% of the state tax collected by counties is retained to cover administration costs.
Of the net proceeds to the state:
- 1.7% goes to the public works assistance account.
- 1.4% goes to the city-county assistance account.
- 79.4% goes to the general fund.
- Remaining amount goes into the educational legacy trust account.
Questions?
Read Also: What Is The Sales Tax
What Is The Real Estate Excise Tax
Real estate excise tax is a tax on the sale of real property. All sales of real property in the state are subject to REET unless a specific exemption is claimed. The seller of the property typically pays the real estate excise tax, although the buyer is liable for the tax if it is not paid. Unpaid tax can become a lien on the transferred property.
REET also applies to transfers of controlling interest in entities that own real property in the state.
Changes To Reet Effective Jan 1 :
Effective Jan. 1, 2020, ESSB 5998 made changes to the real estate excise tax program. Some of these changes include:
A graduated state REET rate structure for sales of real property exception: agricultural land/timberland is excluded from the new rate structure and will continue to have a state REET rate of 1.28%
Updates for controlling interest transfers
expands the transfer period from 12 months to 36 months
changes the reporting requirements during the annual corporate renewal cycle to disclose any transfers of 16% of more
Read Also: What Is The Estate Tax Exemption
Real Estate Excise Tax Forms
Review the below options carefully to select the correct form for the date of sale. Using the wrong form may cause the tax to be calculated incorrectly and be rejected by the county.
- Real Estate Excise Tax Affidavit for sales/transfers – January 2023 and after
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- Single location Affidavit
- Real Estate Excise Tax Affidavit for sales/transfers – November 1, 2022 – December 31, 2022
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- Single location Affidavit
- Real Estate Excise Tax Affidavit for sales/transfers – July 1, 2022 – October 31, 2022
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- Single location Affidavit
- Real Estate Excise Tax Affidavit for sales/transfers – April 1, 2022 – June 30, 2022
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- Single location Affidavit
- Real Estate Excise Tax Affidavit for sales/transfers – Jan. 1, 2020 – March 31, 2022
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- Single location Affidavit
- Real Estate Excise Tax Affidavit for sales/transfers – prior to Jan. 1, 2020
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- Real Estate Excise Tax Affidavit