Washington Administrative Code › Title 458 - Revenue, Department of › Chapter 458-16A - Property tax-Exemptions-Homes for the aging, senior citizens and disabled persons › Section 458-16A-020 - Nonprofit homes for the aging - Initial application and annual renewal

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
Introduction.
This section
			 explains the initial application process that must be followed when a home for
			 the aging wishes to obtain a property tax exemption under
			 RCW
			 84.36.041. This section also describes the
			 annual renewal requirements that a home must follow to retain its tax exempt
			 status, as well as the role of the assessor's office and the department of
			 revenue in administering this exemption. Throughout this section, all
			 requirements will pertain to all types of homes for the aging including, but
			 not limited to, adult care homes, assisted living facilities, continuing care
			 retirement communities (CCRC), and independent housing.
(2)
Definitions.
For purposes of
			 this section, the following definitions apply:
(a)"Assessor" means the county assessor or
			 any agency or person who is duly authorized to act on behalf of the
			 assessor.
(b)"Combined disposable
			 income" means the disposable income of the person submitting the income
			 verification form, plus the disposable income of the person's spouse or
			 domestic partner, and the disposable income of each cotenant occupying the
			 dwelling unit for the preceding calendar year, less amounts paid by the person
			 submitting the income verification form, the person's spouse or domestic
			 partner, or any cotenant during the previous year for the treatment or care of
			 any of them received in the dwelling unit or in a nursing home.
(i) If the person submitting the income
			 verification form was retired for two months or more of the preceding calendar
			 year, the combined disposable income of the person will be calculated by
			 multiplying the average monthly combined disposable income of the person during
			 the months the person was retired by twelve.
(ii) If the income of the person submitting
			 the income verification form is reduced for two or more months of the preceding
			 calendar year by reason of the death of the person's spouse or domestic
			 partner, the combined disposable income of the person will be calculated by
			 multiplying the average monthly combined disposable income of the person after
			 the death of the spouse or domestic partner by twelve.
(c)"Continuing care retirement community" or
			 "CCRC" means an entity that provides shelter and services under continuing care
			 contracts with its residents or includes a health care facility or health
			 service.
(d)"Continuing care
			 contract" means a contract to provide a person, for the duration of that
			 person's life or for a term in excess of one year, shelter along with nursing,
			 medical, health-related or personal care services, that is conditioned upon the
			 transfer of property, the payment of an entrance fee to the provider of the
			 services, and/or the payment of periodic charges in consideration for the care
			 and services provided. A continuing care contract is not excluded from this
			 definition because the contract is mutually terminable or because shelter and
			 services are not provided at the same location.
(e)"Cotenant" means a person who resides with
			 an eligible resident and who shares personal financial resources with the
			 eligible resident.
(f)"Department"
			 means the department of revenue.
(g)"Domestic partner" means a partner
			 registered under
			 chapter
			 26.60 RCW or a partner in
			 a legal union of two persons of the same sex, other than a marriage, that was
			 validly formed in another jurisdiction, and that is substantially equivalent to
			 a domestic partnership under
			 chapter
			 26.60 RCW.
(h) "Domestic partnership" means a
			 partnership registered under
			 chapter
			 26.60 RCW or a legal union
			 of two persons of the same sex, other than a marriage, that was validly formed
			 in another jurisdiction, and that is substantially equivalent to a domestic
			 partnership under
			 chapter
			 26.60 RCW.
(i) "Eligible resident" means a person who:
(i) Occupied the dwelling unit as their
			 principal place of residence as of December 31st of the assessment year the
			 home first became operational or in each subsequent year, occupied the dwelling
			 unit as their principal place of residence as of January 1st of the assessment
			 year. If an eligible resident is confined to a hospital or nursing home and the
			 dwelling unit is temporarily unoccupied or occupied by a spouse or domestic
			 partner, a person financially dependent on the claimant for support, or both,
			 the dwelling will still be considered occupied by the eligible
			 resident;
(ii) Is sixty-one years
			 of age or older on December 31st of the year in which the claim for exemption
			 is filed, or is, at the time of filing, retired from regular gainful employment
			 by reason of disability. A surviving spouse or domestic partner of a person who
			 was receiving an exemption at the time of the person's death will qualify for
			 this exemption if the surviving spouse or domestic partner is fifty-seven years
			 of age or older and otherwise meets the requirements of this subsection;
			 and
(iii) Has a combined disposable
			 income that is no more than the greater of twenty-two thousand dollars or
			 eighty percent of the median income adjusted for family size as determined by
			 federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the county in
			 which the person resides.
(j) "First assessment year the home becomes
			 operational" or "the assessment year the home first became operational" means
			 the first year the home becomes occupied by and provides services to eligible
			 residents. Depending upon the facts, this year will be the year during which
			 construction of the home is completed or the year during which a nonprofit
			 organization purchases or acquires an existing home and begins to operate it as
			 a nonprofit home for the aging.
(k)
			 "Homes for the aging" or "home(s)" means a residential housing facility that:
(i) Provides a housing arrangement chosen
			 voluntarily by the resident, the resident's guardian or conservator, or another
			 responsible person;
(ii) Has only
			 residents who are at least sixty-one years of age or who have needs for care
			 generally compatible with persons who are at least sixty-one years of age;
			 and
(iii) Provides varying levels
			 of care and supervision, as agreed to at the time of admission or as determined
			 necessary at subsequent times of reappraisal.
(l) "HUD" means the federal Department of
			 Housing and Urban Development.
(m)
			 "Occupied dwelling unit" means a living unit that is occupied either on January
			 1st of the year in which the claim for exemption is filed or on December 31st
			 of the first assessment year the home becomes operational and in which the
			 claim for exemption is filed.
(n)
			 "Property that is reasonably necessary" means all property that is:
(i) Operated and used by a home;
			 and
(ii) The use of which is
			 restricted to residents, guests, or employees of a home.