Washington Association of County Officials celebrates the passage of HB 1283
The legislation eliminates the collection of anticipated taxes and assessments

OLYMPIA – The Washington Association of County Officials released a statement celebrating the passage of HB 1283, which eliminates the administrative burden of charging the anticipated taxes and assessments due to dividing properties.

In current practice county treasurers collect a pre-payment of estimated (or advance) tax required under RCW 58.08.040. The estimated tax on property divisions is held until the actual tax is determined and the taxpayer is either billed or refunded. HB 1283 eliminates the pre-payment of an estimated tax, allowing for significant administrative efficiencies and eliminates an unpopular and confusing tax provision.

The bill passed unanimously in both the Washington State Senate and House of Representatives with bi-partisan sponsorship from Representatives Chapman (D – 24^th Legislative District, prime sponsor), Orcutt (R – 20^th Legislative District), Nealey (R – 16^th Legislative District), and Lytton (D – 40^th Legislative District).

“This legislation simplifies the collection of actual taxes,” said Washington Association of County Officials Executive Director Scott Blonien, “It eliminates the administrative burden of estimating taxes from a county perspective, but also makes for a more fair and streamlined tax system for Washington residents. We thank the bill sponsors and the hard work of the legislators and staff that went into seeing this bill passed. If it hadn’t been for the hard work of legislators on both sides of the aisle, in both houses, we would never have seen this come to light. Senator Takko in particular helped champion this cause for multiple years.”

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