MODIFIED PROPERTY TAX LAWS 
Deferred Payment 
WASHINGTON 
Deferred Timber Tax. 
Optional. Enacted 1941. Amended 1948. Re- 
enacted 1961. 
Revised Code 1961. Secs. 84.32.010 to .120. 
Classification 
Qualification. Forest land is eligible for classifi- 
cation if held chiefly for forest crop production 
and if not classified, or eligible for classification, 
as ‘Reforestation Land’. Farm woodlots of 40 
acres or less may not be included. 
Procedure. The owner petitions the county 
assessor giving a legal description of the land, 
the approximate stand of timber and such other 
information as may be relevant. The assessor 
determines whether classification shall be granted. 
A list of lands classified is filed with the county 
treasurer and with the State Department of 
Revenue. The petitioner or anyone having a lien 
on, or contract for the purchase of, the property 
may appeal to the Department for a final ruling 
if dissatisfied with the determination of the as- 
sessor. 
Declassification 
This may be effected if the owner fails to pay 
within 5 years from date of delinquency either the 
“current tax” or the “deferred tax’’ (see below) 
plus interest and also the taxes on the forest land 
plus interest. Cumulative deferred taxes become 
due in event of declassification. 
Tax treatment 
Land. Assessed as is other real property at 50 
percent of true and fair value, the land being 
valued as if the forest crop were entirely harvested. 
Timber. Merchantable timber is deemed to be 
personal property and is assessed at 50 percent of 
its true and fair value. The total yearly tax, 
calculated at local millage rates, consists of two 
parts: the current tax and the deferred tax. For 
the first year following classification the current 
tax is the total tax less 714 percent and the de- 
ferred tax is the amount by which the total tax 
is thus diminished. For each succeeding year up 
to and including the tenth, the total tax is dimin- 
ished an additional 714 percent in order to find 
the current tax and the deferred tax respectively. 
canoe optional yield tax known as ‘Reforestation Act of 
30 
After the tenth year the current tax remains 25 
percent, and the deferred tax 75 percent, respec- 
tively, of the total tax for each year. Total de- 
ferred taxes against any description may not 
exceed 25 percent of the assessed value of the 
merchantable timber thereon. 
The principal of the accumulated deferred taxes 
draws simple interest at three percent. The interest 
charge is added to, and becomes part of, the tax- 
payer’s current tax, and is subject to the same 
collection procedures. 
Tax administration 
Reports. The owner must obtain a permit from 
the county treasurer before merchantable timber 
may be harvested. Each year the permittee must 
report the total acreage cut and any cutting in 
excess of that covered by permit is subject to 
penalty. 
Collection. The tax on forest land is collected in 
accordance with provisions applying to taxation 
of real property. 
The current tax on merchantable timber, in- 
cluding accrued interest on deferred taxes, is 
collected in accordance with provisions applying 
to personal property taxes. Accumulated deferred 
taxes are payable to the county treasurer at time 
of application for cutting permit. An owner may, 
however, pay deferred taxes at time of paying the 
current tax. . 
Use of revenue 
Land taxes and current timber taxes are distri- 
buted in accordance with the general revenue laws. 
Deferred taxes are distributed to the various funds 
existing at the date the taxes would have been 
paid in the absence of the deferment provision. If 
any fund has in the meantime been abolished, its 
proportion of the tax is credited to the county 
current expense fund. 
Deferred taxes are considered assets against 
which a taxing district may borrow to the extent 
of 50 percent and such borrowing shall not be 
construed as increasing the net indebtedness of 
the district. 
