Treasurer's Office

Real Estate Excise Tax

Excise Processing Cut-off Time is 4:00 P.M. Daily

DISCLOSURE:  It is our goal to process excise transfers the day in which they are received. We do not guarantee same day processing due to some unforeseen circumstances which occur occasionally.  Excise transfers held over will be completed in a timely matter in the order they are received.

Any transfer of ownership record requires an excise tax affidavit per Washington State Law. Supporting documents supplied with the excise tax affidavit must be recorded with the Recording and/or Licensing Divisions of the Skagit County Auditor.

Excise tax on the sale of real or personal property goes to support common schools. The payment of excise tax on a sale must be paid at the time of processing and within 30 days of the date of the supporting document or penalty and interest accrues. A minimum fee of $10.00 is due with each excise affidavit.

On claims for exempt transactions requiring a Washington Administrative Code, please consult an attorney or the Washington State Department of Revenue for assistance.

• Washington State Department of Revenue Excise Tax Affidavit Forms
• Processed Excise Tax Affidavit Search
• Watch Video: How to Complete a Real Estate Excise Tax Affidavit

eReet: Electronic Submissions for Title Companies and Law Offices

Title companies and law offices may submit packages through Simplifile for electronic real estate excise tax processing. Whereas most REET transactions can take 3-7 days by mail to process, Simplifile allows the Treasurer's Office to process excise transactions within 15 minutes (as long as all transaction requirements are met). Please visit https://simplifile.com/  for more information on submitting your transactions electronically.