Rules and Regulations

Washington State Real Estate Excise Tax

On April 27, 2019 the Washington State legislature passed SB 5998 – 2019-20, establishing a graduated real estate excise tax.

New Tax Rates

Effective 1/1/2020, the current 1.28% state real estate excise tax will change to a graduated rate as follows:

  1. For the portion of the selling price less than or equal to $500k, the excise tax will be 1.10%.
  2. For the portion between $500K and $1.5M, the excise tax will be 1.28%.
  3. For the portion between $1.5M and $3.0M, 2.75%,
  4. For the remaining portion above $3M, the excise tax will be 3.00%.

Starting January 1, 2023, and every 4 years thereafter, the selling price thresholds will be adjusted to reflect housing inflation.

This is expected to generate about $598 million over the next four years.

More information here:

https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5998&Year=2019&Initiative=false

Does this change your buying or selling decisions? Let us know. Post your comments below!

Spread the love
Tagged , , , ,

About Chris Lee

Chris comes from a family of real estate investors, and remembers well his childhood of helping to prepare apartments between renters. He now manages his own property, apartment complexes, and condos. He has particular insight into the issues around short-term rentals as he manages those for himself and for other owners.
View all posts by Chris Lee →

2 thoughts on “Washington State Real Estate Excise Tax

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *