[WSBARP] REET Roulette?

[JOHN J SULLIVAN]

Listmates:

Please indulge this vent.

I received a call from a client this morning. A quitclaim/REET package I had mailed to the King County Recorder in mid-January was returned directly to the client, not me, including the check for the recording/processing fee drawn on my firm account. I haven't seen the bounce form yet, but the client told me the reason was I had used a REET form that was outdated. 

So before returning the call I check out the situation. This was a standard conveyance of a home in Seattle into a revocable trust by a married couple, exempt under WAC 458-61A-211(2)(g). I emailed the deed and REET form to the clients in early October 2022 using the form effective at the time, issued for transactions after July 1, 2022. For reasons I do not recall, the client did not execute them until January 3, 2023. I mailed in the package with the proper fee on January 12th and a cover letter requesting the original deed be returned to me. (Are we able to walk deeds in yet, to the new offices, or is it still April 2020 at King County?) It bounced recently and was forwarded from my clients' home in Seattle to their winter place in Palm Desert, CA. 

So, when I go out to the DOR webpage with REET forms, I find this:

Real estate excise tax forms | Washington Department of Revenue https://dor.wa.gov/forms-publications/forms-subject/real-estate-excise-tax-forms

Can anyone explain to me why the DOR has issued four REET forms since the July 1, 2022 edition? I compared the five forms, including the one I used issued for transactions after July 1, 2022. They are identical. I compared the local rates for Seattle. They are unchanged. Why is the DOR doing this, and why does it even matter on a conveyance that is exempt? Further, why for the first time does the King County Recorder bypass me and bounce it directly to my clients? If this was a conveyance with consideration on which tax was owing maybe, just maybe, they were hoping that the clients (or their asleep at the wheel attorney) would re-submit the January deed with a January REET form now, in March, creating a pretext for imposing interest and penalties. But this is an exempt transaction.

Venting completed. Thank you. 

Best regards,

John J. Sullivan
Attorney

Lyons | Sullivan
10655 NE 4th Street, Suite 704
Bellevue, WA  98004
425·451·2400 tel 425-451-7385 faxhttp://www.dljslaw.com/

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