Was assigning a mortgage-foreclosure purchaser’s certificate of sale subject to real-estate excise tax?
Apply this to your situation
This page answers the general question as of 1958. Ask about yours and see what current Washington law means for your facts, with citations you can check.
Plain-English summary
The Washington AG concluded that a buyer at a sheriff’s mortgage-foreclosure sale owed real-estate excise tax upon voluntarily assigning the certificate of sale and directing the deed to the assignee. The statutory exclusion for transfers made under a court’s foreclosure order applied to the original foreclosure sale, not the buyer’s later voluntary assignment.
The official opinion states: “The real estate excise tax applies to the assignment of a vendee's interest of property purchased by him at a sale pursuant to a mortgage foreclosure.” (source).
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 1958. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.
Common questions
Q: Was the original foreclosure sale taxable under the opinion?
A: The AG described it as excluded from the sale definition under the amendment then in force.
Q: Why was the later assignment different?
A: The purchaser voluntarily transferred the interest acquired at the sale; that was not the court-ordered transfer.
Q: When did the earlier opinion say tax became due?
A: It described tax on the assignor when the sheriff executed the deed.
Background and statutory framework
The Whatcom County prosecutor asked about a sheriff-sale buyer assigning the certificate and requesting a deed to the assignee. The AG applied RCW 28.45.010 and distinguished the foreclosure exemption from a subsequent private assignment.
Source
Original opinion text
Attorney General John J. O'Connell
TAXATION ‑- REAL ESTATE EXCISE TAX
The real estate excise tax applies to the assignment of a vendee's interest of property purchased by him at a sale pursuant to a mortgage foreclosure.
January 7, 1958
Honorable Tom A. Durham
Prosecuting Attorney
Whatcom County Court House
Bellingham, Washington
Cite as: AGO 57-58 No. 146
Dear Sir:
You have requested an opinion from this office on the application of the real estate excise tax to a particular transaction. We paraphrase your question as follows:
Does the real estate excise tax apply to a transaction wherein the purchaser at a sheriff's sale pursuant to a mortgage foreclosure assigns the certificate of sale and requests that the deed be issued to the assignee?
We answer your question in the affirmative.
ANALYSIS
In an opinion of this office to the Prosecuting Attorney of Cowlitz County dated April 14, 1953 (No. 53-55-6a) [[AGO 53-55 No. 6]]which we enclose for your convenience, we held that the assignment of a certificate of sale by the purchaser of real estate at an execution sale is subject to the real estate excise tax. The tax is payable by the assignor and becomes due if and when a deed is executed by the sheriff.
The theory upon which the above opinion is based is that the assignment is within the definition of sale set out in RCW 28.45.010, which reads in pertinent [[Orig. Op. Page 2]] part as follows:
"As used in this chapter, the term 'sale' shall have its ordinary meaning and shall includeany conveyance, grant, assignment, quitclaim, or transfer of the ownership of or title to real property, . . . or any estate or interest therein for a valuable consideration, . . ." (Emphasis supplied.)
The statutory definition of sale is, in our opinion, equally applicable to a transaction wherein the purchaser at a sheriff's sale pursuant to a mortgage foreclosure assigns the certificate of sale and requests that the deed be issued to the assignee.
Admittedly, since the issuance of the above mentioned opinion, RCW 28.45.010 has been amended to expressly exclude from the definition of "sale" any
"transfer or conveyance made pursuant to an order of sale by the court in any mortgage or lien foreclosure proceeding or upon execution of a judgment, . . ."
However, the language of the amendment cannot be interpreted more liberally than the plain import of the language used. Consequently, while the original sale in a mortgage foreclosure proceeding is not taxable under the statute, an assignment by the vendee of his interest in the real property purchased at such a sale is taxable under the statute. The assignment by the vendee of his interest in the real property purchased at a mortgage foreclosure sale is not a transfer or conveyance made pursuant to an order of sale by the court in a mortgage foreclosure proceeding but is rather a voluntary sale by the vendee of the interest acquired by him at the sale.
We trust this information will be of assistance to you.
Very truly yours,
JOHN J. O'CONNELL
Attorney General
HENRY W. WAGER
Assistant Attorney General
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