***VR SAM® HOME SELLER ALERT***
Effective January 1, 2008, the grantor’s tax charged at settlement to Home Seller’s in specific areas has gone up by as much as five fold to $5 tax per $1000 sales price! For instance, the seller of a $500,000 home (sales price) will now pay a $2500 grantors tax as opposed to $500!
The tax applies to the following NOVA areas: Cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Manassas and Manassas Park. Counties of Fairfax, Arlington, Loudoun, and Prince William.
The tax is essentially to improve infrastructure due to “congestion.” Clearly, the timing couldn’t be worse for Home Sellers already facing very difficult circumstances, but VR SAM® believes you should be aware of this increase for you planning purposes. Settlement companies typically send Seller’s their HUD 1 charges several days (if not weeks) prior to settlement. We recommend you check this document carefully and challenge any charge you don’t understand.