San Juan County Adopts Real Estate Excise Tax for Affordable Housing

In the November election, San Juan County voters approved a new 0.5% real estate excise tax (REET) to support the development of affordable housing options within the county. The tax will be assessed on the purchase and sale of real property within the county, with the buyer paying 99% of the tax and the seller paying 1%.

Ordinance 11-2018 calls for the new REET to go into effect thirty days after the election is certified. The election was certified on November 27 by the San Juan County Canvassing Board. That means that all sales on or after December 27, 2018, 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. San Juan County is the only county in the state that has adopted a conservation areas REET (Land Bank), and is therefore the only county eligible to adopt a housing REET.

San Juan County Treasurer Rhonda Pederson is currently working with the Department of Revenue to implement the new tax, including updating the online Real Estate Excise Tax Affidavit (REETA) form. For more information about the collection of the housing excise tax, contact Treasurer Rhonda Pederson at rhondap@sanjuanco.com or (360) 378-2171. For more information on the use of the funds, contact Housing Program Coordinator Ryan Page at ryanp@sanjuanco.com or (360) 370-0590.