Washington State Enacts Graduated Real Estate Excise Tax

The Washington State legislature voted to enact a change in the real estate excise tax law on April 25th. As of May 16th, the bill is awaiting the governor’s signature but is expected to be signed shortly.

A legal summary of that change is on the following page. It indicates that the law enacts a new graduated rate scale for real estate. The flat tax of 1.28% will be replaced January 1, 2020, by the following rates:

• 1.1% – Portion of selling price less than or equal to $500,000
• 1.28% – Portion of selling price greater than $500,000 and equal to or less than $1.5 million
• 2.75% – Portion of selling price greater than $1.5 million and equal to or less than $3 million
• 3.0% – Portion of selling price greater than $3 million