Submitted by SJ County

In the Nov. 6 general election, San Juan County voters approved a new 0.5 percent real estate excise tax, or REET, to support the development of affordable housing in the county. The tax will be assessed on the purchase and sale of real property within the county, with the buyer paying 99 percent of the tax and the seller paying 1 percent.

All sales on or after Dec. 27 will be subject to the new tax. The ability for a county to adopt the housing REET is conditional on the county’s having already adopted a conservation areas REET, which supports the county land bank. San Juan County is the only county in the state that has adopted a conservation areas REET, and is, therefore, the only county eligible to adopt a housing REET.

County Treasurer Rhonda Pederson is working with the Department of Revenue to implement the new tax, including updating the online REET affidavit form. For info about the collection of the housing excise tax, contact Pederson at rhondap@sanjuanco.com or 360-378-2171. For info on the use of the funds, contact County Housing Program Coordinator Ryan Page at ryanp@sanjuanco.com or 360-370-0590.