Overview
A 2% tax is imposed on all transfers of interests or possessor rights in and to real estate located in the Town by deed, lease, assignment of lease, or agreement for sale of stock or contract.

Exemptions for Real Estate Transfer Tax are given based upon certain criteria. These exemptions are listed in the Town of Avon Municipal Code Chapter 3.12.

To receive a full exemption, the Application for Exemption from Real Property Transfer Tax must be filed with appropriate documentation and approved by the Town of Avon.

Most Common Exemption
The most common exemption is the Exemption for Primary Residence, exemption, paragraph “15” in the Municipal Code. This exemption requires that the applicant has not previously received this exemption and that the applicant is purchasing this property as their primary residence and not for investment or resale.

There is a $22.00 fee to file this Primary Resident Application for Exemption from Real Property Transfer Tax. The affidavit must be notarized and the Town will provide a notary at no charge, a driver’s license is required.

Questions may be directed to (970) 748-4445 or emailed.


Real Property Transfer Tax on Leases in Excess of 25 years
The Town's real property transfer tax applies to leases with terms in excess of 25 years.  For the purpose of clarifying the application and administration of the Town's real property transfer tax on long term leases, Ordinance No. 12-11 was adopted.  Ordinance No. 12-11 adds to the definition of consideration to allow for the payment of the applicable real property transfer tax when lease payments are paid.  The definition of consideration based on lease payments acknowledges that taxes, insurance and common area maintenance fees are not included in the lease payment amount so that the consideration amount upon which the tax is calculated is comparable to the purchase price for other real estate transactions.  There is no retroactive application to leases entered into before January 10, 2012.

Attention was given to structure these amendments so as not to create any increase in taxes or other tax policy change, primarily be retaining the existing language regarding the definition of the consideration and allowing tax payers to elect to pay based on the amount of the lease payment as an option.