San Juan County Gift Deed Form (Washington)

All San Juan County specific forms and documents listed below are included in your immediate download package:

Gift Deed Form

San Juan County Gift Deed Form

Fill in the blank form formatted to comply with all recording and content requirements.
Included San Juan County compliant document last validated/updated 6/16/2025

Gift Deed Guide

San Juan County Gift Deed Guide

Line by line guide explaining every blank on the form.
Included San Juan County compliant document last validated/updated 2/26/2025

Completed Example of the Gift Deed Document

San Juan County Completed Example of the Gift Deed Document

Example of a properly completed form for reference.
Included San Juan County compliant document last validated/updated 6/30/2025

When using these Gift Deed forms, the subject real estate must be physically located in San Juan County. The executed documents should then be recorded in the following office:

San Juan County Auditor: Recording

Courthouse - 350 Court St, 1st floor / PO Box 638, Friday Harbor, Washington 98250

Hours: 10:00 a.m until 4:00 p.m. Monday-Friday

Phone: (360) 378-2161

Local jurisdictions located in San Juan County include:

  • Blakely Island
  • Deer Harbor
  • Eastsound
  • Friday Harbor
  • Lopez Island
  • Olga
  • Orcas
  • Shaw Island
  • Waldron

How long does it take to get my forms?

Forms are available immediately after submitting payment.

How do I get my forms, are they emailed?

Immediately after you submit payment, the San Juan County forms you order will be available for download directly from your account. You can then download the forms to your computer. If you do not already have an account, one will be created for you as part of the order process, and your login details will be provided to you. If you encounter any issues accessing your forms, please reach out to our support team for assistance. Forms are NOT emailed to you.

What does "validated/updated" mean?

This indicates the most recent date when at least one of the following occurred:

  • Updated: The document was updated or changed to remain compliant.
  • Validated: The document was examined by an attorney or staff, or it was successfully recorded in San Juan County using our eRecording service.
Are these forms guaranteed to be recordable in San Juan County?

Yes. Our form blanks are guaranteed to meet or exceed all formatting requirements set forth by San Juan County including margin requirements, content requirements, font and font size requirements.

Can the Gift Deed forms be re-used?

Yes. You can re-use the forms for your personal use. For example, if you have more than one property in San Juan County that you need to transfer you would only need to order our forms once for all of your properties in San Juan County.

What are supplemental forms?

Often when a deed is recorded, additional documents are required by Washington or San Juan County. These could be tax related, informational, or even as simple as a coversheet. Supplemental forms are provided for free with your order where available.

What type of files are the forms?

All of our San Juan County Gift Deed forms are PDFs. You will need to have or get Adobe Reader to use our forms. Adobe Reader is free software that most computers already have installed.

Do I need any special software to use these forms?

You will need to have Adobe Reader installed on your computer to use our forms. Adobe Reader is free software that most computers already have installed.

Do I have to enter all of my property information online?

No. The blank forms are downloaded to your computer and you fill them out there, at your convenience.

Can I save the completed form, email it to someone?

Yes, you can save your deed form at any point with your information in it. The forms can also be emailed, blank or complete, as attachments.

Are there any recurring fees involved?

No. Nothing to cancel, no memberships, no recurring fees.

Gifts of Real Estate (Real Property) in Washington

A gift deed, or deed of gift, is a legal document voluntarily transferring title to real property from one party (the grantor or donor) to another (the grantee or donee). A gift deed typically transfers real property between family or close friends. Gift deeds are also used to donate to a non-profit organization or charity. The deed serves as proof that the transfer is indeed a gift and without consideration (any conditions or form of compensation).

In order for a gift deed to be valid they must meet the following requirements: The grantor must intend to make a present gift of the property, the grantor must deliver the property to the grantee, and the grantee must accept the gift. A gift deed must contain language that explicitly states no consideration is expected or required, because any ambiguity or reference to consideration can make the deed contestable in court. A promise to transfer ownership in the future is not a gift, and any deed that does not immediately transfer the interest in the property, or meet any of the aforementioned requirements, can be revoked [1].

A lawful gift deed includes the grantor's full name and marital status, as well as the grantee's full name, marital status, mailing address, and vesting. Vesting describes how the grantee holds title to the property. For Washington residential property, the following types of joint ownership are recognized: tenancy in common, joint tenancy and community property. A grant of ownership of real estate to two or more persons is presumed to create a tenancy in common, unless a joint tenancy with right of survivorship is expressly created in the conveyance. In the case of husband and wife, real estate automatically vests as community property (Wash. Rev. Code 26.16; 11.04.071; 64.28).

As with any conveyance of real estate, a gift deed requires a complete legal description of the parcel. If the entire legal description does not fit on the first page, use an abbreviated description, and enter the location in the document where the full description is located. It is not acceptable to "See attached" or "refer to Exhibit A" in place of abbreviating the legal description (Wash. Rev. Code 65.04.045). In Washington, any deed of real estate described by lot and block and addition or plat will not be filed or recorded until the plat of such addition has been filed for record (Wash. Rev. Code 65.04.030).

Recite the source of title to establish a clear chain of title, and detail any restrictions associated with the property. Record the completed deed, along with a completed Washington real estate excise tax affidavit, which is required for transfers by gift. A supplemental statement approved by the department must be completed and attached to the affidavit. (Wash. Rev. Code 458-61A-201)

The fee for recording a real estate deed in Washington is $73 to record the first page and $1 for each additional page. For recording plats, there is a minimum fee of $25 per plat. Each lot is $0.50 and each acknowledgment, dedication, and description is $1. (Wash. Rev. Code 36.18.010).
The grantor is responsible for paying the Federal Gift Tax. The IRS implements a Federal Gift Tax on any transfer of property from one individual to another with no consideration, or consideration that is less than the full market value. In accordance with federal law, individuals are permitted an annual exclusion of $15,000 on gifts. This means that if a gift is valued below $15,000, a federal gift tax return (Form 709) does not need to be filed. However, if the gift is something that could possibly be disputed by the IRS -- such as real property -- a grantor may benefit from filing a Form 709 [2].

In Washington, there is no state gift tax. For questions regarding state taxation laws, consult a tax specialist. Gifts of real property in Washington are, however, subject to the federal gift tax. The grantor is responsible for paying the federal gift tax; however, if the grantor does not pay the gift tax, the gratnee will be held liable [1].

With gifts of real property, the recipient of the gift (grantee) is not required to declare the amount of the gift as income, but if the property accrues income after the transaction, the recipient is responsible for paying the requisite state and federal income taxes [3].

This article is provided for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Contact a lawyer with any questions about gift deeds or other issues related to the transfer of real property. For questions regarding federal and state taxation laws, consult a tax specialist.

[1] https://nationalparalegal.edu/public_documents/courseware_asp_files/realProperty/PersonalProperty/InterVivosGifts.asp
[2] http://msuextension.org/publications/FamilyFinancialManagement/MT199105HR.pdf
[3] https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/frequently-asked-questions-on-gift-taxes

Our Promise

The documents you receive here will meet, or exceed, the San Juan County recording requirements for formatting. If there's an issue caused by our formatting, we'll make it right and refund your payment.

Save Time and Money

Get your San Juan County Gift Deed form done right the first time with Deeds.com Uniform Conveyancing Blanks. At Deeds.com, we understand that your time and money are valuable resources, and we don't want you to face a penalty fee or rejection imposed by a county recorder for submitting nonstandard documents. We constantly review and update our forms to meet rapidly changing state and county recording requirements for roughly 3,500 counties and local jurisdictions.

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June 30th, 2025

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June 30th, 2025

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June 29th, 2025

Everything that was stated to be included in my order was complete. Very satisfied

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April 6th, 2019

Already gave a review Great site and help

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March 18th, 2025

It was easy to download, but you need to open an account before doing so. That was not clear.

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Kathryn C.

April 20th, 2022

descriptions for some areas were longer than what would print out on document - it showed and was visible on the form but would not print out - for example in the legal description. would be nice in fill in areas could be extended as needed

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June 27th, 2023

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June 18th, 2020

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April 27th, 2021

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Mary D.

January 21st, 2022

Gift Deed is exactly what was required. Thank you!

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Gary G.

June 26th, 2019

Ordered the forms I needed for my state and county and everything worked out perfectly. All the forms came with examples (filled in) and very detailed instructions for each block that required an entry. I was able to fill everything out on my computer and save the files for future use, if required. Deeds provides an excellent product. I highly recommend their products and will use their services again.

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Glenella J.

February 21st, 2019

I wish you had the older deeds online to look at. Other than that, I was very satisfied with my experience.

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June 20th, 2022

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August 4th, 2020

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May 22nd, 2025

Everything was professionally, handled and the process was simple and easy. I appreciated the responsiveness and recommendations from the reviewer of my package and look forward to getting my other submissions done. Wish I knew about this process sooner, thanks

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