
A developer seeking to operate as a speculative builder must be aware of the “tax avoidance” statute, RCW 82.32.655.
With land prices increasing, developers are looking for opportunities to save on development costs, including cost saving tax strategies. Thus, we have seen increasing interest in development strategies that offer tax savings. One strategy is speculative building: Owners of property who self-perform construction avoid sales tax and B&O tax on the self-performed scope. See Blog Article Posted April 9, 2013, titled What Is A Speculative Builder? In addition, the Department of Revenue has provided an explanation of speculative building.
Mr. Sleight may be contacted at scott.sleight@acslawyers.com