The bill makes multiple tax and program changes to Washington law. It amends the state real estate excise tax (REET) statute (RCW 82.45.060) to a tiered REET schedule (rates applied to portions of selling price, with timberland and agricultural land taxed at a lower rate), requires the department to adjust and publish selling-price thresholds beginning July 1, 2022 and every four years thereafter, and adds a new state real estate transfer tax effective January 1, 2027 on high-value residential sales with marginal rates of 1%, 2%, and 3%. It creates new state accounts for receipts of this transfer tax: a developmental disabilities housing and services account, a housing stability account, and directs specified percentages of revenue to those accounts, to the affordable housing for all account, and to the Washington housing trust fund for farmworker housing; moneys must be spent only after appropriation. The bill also adds and amends local excise tax authority and related procedures. It amends RCW 82.46.035 and adds a new section to chapter 82.46 to allow counties (and, in limited circumstances, cities) to impose a graduated local real estate excise tax beginning July 1, 2025, with a uniform lower rate for timberland/agricultural land. Revenues from the local tiered tax are limited to financing capital projects, housing relocation assistance, and operation/maintenance/service support for existing capital projects; local legislative authorities must identify in their adopted budgets the capital projects funded with excise tax proceeds and show the tax is additional to other funds. County treasurers are explicitly not responsible for verifying seller property classification on REET affidavits; verification is assigned to the department through its audit authority. The bill creates program and procedural rules for administering new accounts: the Department of Commerce must use a separate application form and criteria for the developmental disabilities housing account, coordinate with the Department of Social and Health Services on supportive services, and may make grants or forgivable loans (subject to long-term service requirements and other limits, including allowing up to 15% of a qualifying project's cost for certain nonresidential spaces). The act is titled the "affordable homes act" and takes effect January 1, 2026. Important text is missing from the provided excerpts: portions of Sec. 4(2) are incomplete, the full amendments to RCW 82.46.010 are not shown, the specific department named for threshold adjustments is not identified in all excerpts, and some referenced statutory cross‑texts are not included here.

If enacted, the bill raises the tax on real estate transactions so that sellers of higher‑priced residential properties will pay substantially more: beginning January 1, 2027 an additional transfer tax will apply to sales where the top state real estate excise tax bracket is triggered, at 1% for the portion between about $3.05M and $5.03M, 2% for the portion between $5.03M and $10.03M, and 3% above $10.03M. That new revenue is directed mostly to housing programs—40% to a new developmental disabilities housing and services account, 40% to an account for permanent supportive housing operations and services, 10% to a housing stability account for operating and service costs for low‑income households, and 10% to the Washington housing trust fund restricted to farmworker housing—subject to legislative appropriation and grant/forgivable loan rules (including a 25‑year service requirement for recipients). Local governments also gain a new option to levy a tiered county real estate excise tax beginning July 1, 2025 (replacing older options), with timberland and agricultural land taxed at a lower, uniform 0.25%; counties and cities that adopt excise taxes must identify funded capital projects in their adopted budgets and may use revenues only for capital projects, specified housing relocation assistance, and ongoing operation, maintenance, and service support. Practically, counties could raise more progressive local revenue for housing and infrastructure while sellers of expensive properties bear higher costs; the state department named in the bill will set and periodically adjust price thresholds and handle verification duties (county treasurers are explicitly relieved of seller classification checks). The text is incomplete on some implementation details—most notably the full list of permitted uses of the developmental disabilities housing and services account and the specific department name—so there is some uncertainty about final administrative rules and exact program operations.