Current use land/sale to gov

AN ACT Relating to exempting land classified under current use 1
that is sold or transferred to a governmental entity from additional 2
tax in certain circumstances; amending RCW 84.34.108; and creating a 3
new section. 4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:5
Sec. 1. RCW 84.34.108 and 2025 c 138 s 3 are each amended to 6
read as follows: 7
(1) When land has once been classified under this chapter, a 8
notation of the classification must be made each year upon the 9
assessment and tax rolls and the land must be valued pursuant to RCW 10
84.34.060 or 84.34.065 until removal of all or a portion of the 11
classification by the assessor upon occurrence of any of the 12
following: 13
(a) Receipt of notice from the owner to remove all or a portion 14
of the classification; 15
(b) Sale or transfer to an ownership, except a transfer that 16
resulted from a default in loan payments made to or secured by a 17
governmental agency that intends to or is required by law or 18
regulation to resell the property for the same use as before, making 19
all or a portion of the land exempt from ad valorem taxation;20
S-3655.1
SENATE BILL 5983
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Senators Liias, Goehner, and Nobles
Prefiled 01/06/26. Read first time 01/12/26. Referred to Committee
on Local Government.
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(c) Sale or transfer of all or a portion of the land to a new 1
owner, unless the new owner has signed a notice of classification 2
continuance, except transfer to an owner who is an heir or devisee of 3
a deceased owner or transfer by a transfer on death deed does not, by 4
itself, result in removal of classification. The notice of 5
continuance must be on a form prepared by the department. If the 6
notice of continuance is not signed by the new owner and attached to 7
the real estate excise tax affidavit, all additional taxes, 8
applicable interest, and penalty calculated pursuant to subsection 9
(4) of this section become due and payable by the seller or 10
transferor at time of sale. The auditor may not accept an instrument 11
of conveyance regarding classified land for filing or recording 12
unless the new owner has signed the notice of continuance or the 13
additional tax, applicable interest, and penalty has been paid, as 14
evidenced by the real estate excise tax stamp affixed thereto by the 15
treasurer. The seller, transferor, or new owner may appeal the new 16
assessed valuation calculated under subsection (4) of this section to 17
the county board of equalization in accordance with the provisions of 18
RCW 84.40.038. Jurisdiction is hereby conferred on the county board 19
of equalization to hear these appeals; 20
(d)(i) Determination by the assessor, after giving the owner 21
written notice and an opportunity to be heard, that all or a portion 22
of the land no longer meets the criteria for classification under 23
this chapter. The criteria for classification pursuant to this 24
chapter continue to apply after classification has been granted.25
(ii) The granting authority, upon request of an assessor, must 26
provide reasonable assistance to the assessor in making a 27
determination whether the land continues to meet the qualifications 28
of RCW 84.34.020 (1) or (3). The assistance must be provided within 29
30 days of receipt of the request. 30
(2)(a) Land may not be removed from classification because of:31
(i) The creation, sale, or transfer of forestry riparian 32
easements under RCW 76.13.120; 33
(ii) The creation, sale, or transfer of a fee interest or a 34
conservation easement for the riparian open space program under RCW 35
76.09.040. 36
(b) Land classified as farm and agricultural land under RCW 37
84.34.020 upon which an existing appurtenance is located may not be 38
removed from classification as a result of minor upgrades and 39
alterations to the appurtenance such as the addition of a cement pad, 40
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plumbing, or electrical, or limited compatible uses including 1
educational and recreational farming programs, events such as 2
seasonal farm festivals, and celebratory gatherings such as weddings, 3
unless: 4
(i) Retaining the classification of such land would exceed the 20 5
percent incidental use limitation provided in the definition of 6
incidental use in RCW 84.34.020; or 7
(ii) The structure no longer meets the definition of appurtenance 8
under RCW 84.34.020. 9
(c) For the purpose of this subsection (2), "existing 10
appurtenance" does not include a newly constructed structure, or 11
major redevelopment of an existing structure. 12
(3) Within 30 days after the removal of all or a portion of the 13
land from current use classification under subsection (1) of this 14
section, the assessor must notify the owner in writing, setting forth 15
the reasons for the removal. The seller, transferor, or owner may 16
appeal the removal to the county board of equalization in accordance 17
with the provisions of RCW 84.40.038. The removal notice must explain 18
the steps needed to appeal the removal decision, including when a 19
notice of appeal must be filed, where the forms may be obtained, and 20
how to contact the county board of equalization. 21
(4) Unless the removal is reversed on appeal, the assessor must 22
revalue the affected land with reference to its true and fair value 23
on January 1st of the year of removal from classification. Both the 24
assessed valuation before and after the removal of classification 25
must be listed and taxes must be allocated according to that part of 26
the year to which each assessed valuation applies. Except as provided 27
in subsection (6) of this section, an additional tax, applicable 28
interest, and penalty must be imposed, which are due and payable to 29
the treasurer 30 days after the owner is notified of the amount of 30
the additional tax, applicable interest, and penalty. As soon as 31
possible, the assessor must compute the amount of additional tax, 32
applicable interest, and penalty and the treasurer must mail notice 33
to the owner of the amount thereof and the date on which payment is 34
due. The amount of the additional tax, applicable interest, and 35
penalty must be determined as follows: 36
(a) The amount of additional tax is: 37
(i) Except as provided in (a)(ii) of this subsection, equal to 38
the difference between the property tax paid as "open space land," 39
"farm and agricultural land," or "timberland" and the amount of 40
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property tax otherwise due and payable for the seven years last past 1
had the land not been so classified; 2
(ii) For removals, or withdrawals, of classified farm and 3
agricultural land on or after September 1, 2025, equal to the 4
difference between the property tax paid as farm and agricultural and 5
the amount of property tax otherwise due and payable for the four 6
years last past had the land not been so classified;7
(b) The amount of applicable interest is equal to the interest 8
upon the amounts of the additional tax paid at the same statutory 9
rate charged on delinquent property taxes from the dates on which the 10
additional tax could have been paid without penalty if the land had 11
been assessed at a value without regard to this chapter;12
(c) The amount of the penalty is as provided in RCW 84.34.080. 13
The penalty may not be imposed if the removal satisfies the 14
conditions of RCW 84.34.070. 15
(5) Additional tax, applicable interest, and penalty become a 16
lien on the land. The lien attaches at the time the land is removed 17
from classification under this chapter and has priority to and must 18
be fully paid and satisfied before any recognizance, mortgage, 19
judgment, debt, obligation, or responsibility to or with which the 20
land may become charged or liable. This lien may be foreclosed upon 21
expiration of the same period after delinquency and in the same 22
manner provided by law for foreclosure of liens for delinquent real 23
property taxes as provided in RCW 84.64.050. Any additional tax 24
unpaid on the due date is delinquent as of the due date. From the 25
date of delinquency until paid, interest must be charged at the same 26
rate applied by law to delinquent ad valorem property taxes.27
(6) The additional tax, applicable interest, and penalty 28
specified in subsection (4) of this section may not be imposed if the 29
removal of classification pursuant to subsection (1) of this section 30
resulted solely from: 31
(a) Transfer to a government entity in exchange for other land 32
located within the state of Washington; 33
(b)(i) A taking through the exercise of the power of eminent 34
domain, or (ii) sale or transfer to an entity having the power of 35
eminent domain in anticipation of the exercise of such power, said 36
entity having manifested its intent in writing or by other official 37
action; 38
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(c) A natural disaster such as a flood, windstorm, earthquake, 1
wildfire, or other such calamity rather than by virtue of the act of 2
the landowner changing the use of the property; 3
(d) Official action by an agency of the state of Washington or by 4
the county or city within which the land is located which disallows 5
the present use of the land; 6
(e) Transfer of land to a church when the land would qualify for 7
exemption pursuant to RCW 84.36.020; 8
(f) Acquisition of property interests by state agencies or 9
agencies or organizations qualified under RCW 84.34.210 and 64.04.130 10
for the purposes enumerated in those sections. At such time as these 11
property interests are not used for the purposes enumerated in RCW 12
84.34.210 and 64.04.130 the additional tax specified in subsection 13
(4) of this section must be imposed; 14
(g) Removal of land classified as farm and agricultural land 15
under RCW 84.34.020(2)(f); 16
(h) Removal of land from classification after enactment of a 17
statutory exemption that qualifies the land for exemption and receipt 18
of notice from the owner to remove the land from classification;19
(i) The creation, sale, or transfer of forestry riparian 20
easements under RCW 76.13.120; 21
(j) The creation, sale, or transfer of a conservation easement of 22
private forestlands within unconfined channel migration zones or 23
containing critical habitat for threatened or endangered species 24
under RCW 76.09.040; 25
(k) The sale or transfer of land within two years after the death 26
of the owner of at least a 50 percent interest in the land if the 27
land has been assessed and valued as classified forestland, 28
designated as forestland under chapter 84.33 RCW, or classified under 29
this chapter continuously since 1993. The date of death shown on a 30
death certificate is the date used for the purposes of this 31
subsection (6)(k); 32
(l)(i) The discovery that the land was classified under this 33
chapter in error through no fault of the owner. For purposes of this 34
subsection (6)(l), "fault" means a knowingly false or misleading 35
statement, or other act or omission not in good faith, that 36
contributed to the approval of classification under this chapter or 37
the failure of the assessor to remove the land from classification 38
under this chapter. 39
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(ii) For purposes of this subsection (6), the discovery that land 1
was classified under this chapter in error through no fault of the 2
owner is not the sole reason for removal of classification pursuant 3
to subsection (1) of this section if an independent basis for removal 4
exists. Examples of an independent basis for removal include the 5
owner changing the use of the land or failing to meet any applicable 6
income criteria required for classification under this chapter; 7
((or))8
(m) The sale or transfer to a governmental entity if the 9
governmental entity manages the land in the same manner as designated 10
forestland under chapter 84.33 RCW, or as property classified as 11
timberland under this chapter, and the governmental entity provides 12
the county assessor with a timber management plan or a notice of 13
intent to manage the land as required under this subsection (6)(m). 14
The governmental entity must provide an updated timberland or 15
forestland management plan to the county assessor at least once every 16
revaluation cycle. The county is authorized to collect a fee from the 17
governmental entity for the filing of the forestland or timberland 18
management plan in accordance with the county's fee schedule. When 19
the land is not managed as required under this subsection (6)(m), or 20
when the governmental entity sells or transfers the land at any time, 21
the additional tax specified in subsection (4) of this section is due 22
from the current government owner, unless the change in use of the 23
land, sale or transfer, meets one of the other exceptions in this 24
subsection (6); or25
(n) The sale or transfer of classified land to a governmental 26
entity if:27
(i) The purpose of the sale or transfer is to meet conditions set 28
forth by the governmental entity that enable the landowner to develop 29
classified property; and30
(ii) The combined acreage of both the land removed from 31
classification as a result of development, and the land removed as a 32
result of the sale or transfer to the governmental entity, does not 33
exceed 20 percent of the total acres of classified land immediately 34
before the land removals. 35
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. RCW 82.32.805 and 82.32.808 do not apply 36
to this act.37
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