Non-Disclosure States in Red
Alaska is a non-disclosure state. That means that the price you pay for a home is not public knowledge. Under the sales price on the recorded deed of trust it will say, “for ten dollars and other valuable consideration”. Therefore you can’t go to the recording data to find the sales price.
Most states require you to report your sales price. The taxing authority in a full disclosure state knows exactly how much is paid for a house and can tax accordingly. Their appraisals on property are also much more accurate than in non-disclosure states. The map shows in red the states that are non-disclosure. All the other states require a home buyer to disclose the sales price.
Alaskan’s have historically been a people who want to mind their own business. They also want the borough to mind it’s own business. However, that could change soon.
The Mat-Su Borough, along with other local Alaska governments have chafed for years about the non-disclosure issue. They feel that they could collect more taxes if they knew the actual sales price of every sold property. They will consider a resolution in the January 10, 2017 meeting to encourage the legislature to force Alaskan’s to disclose the purchase price of a property.
There are some pros and cons to this issue:
Advantage of sales disclosure:
Disadvantages of sales disclosure:
If this is an important issue to you, I encourage you to attend the Mat-Su Assembly meeting on January 10 in the borough building in Palmer. I believe the meeting starts at 7 but if you want to testify you might want to get their early.
If you have any questions about this feel free to call.