What is the Home Fund? 

The Thurston County Home Fund is a sales and use tax of one-tenth of one percent.  This tax applies throughout all of Thurston County, except in the City of  Olympia and the City of Tenino, as these jurisdictions have passed their own Home Fund sales tax legislation.  The intent of the funds is to create affordable housing for County residents whose income is 60 percent or below of Area Median Income (AMI).  

How much revenue will a county-wide Home Fund generate? 

The amount of revenue generated is based on sales and use tax collections and is expected to vary from year to year. Based on 2020 revenue collection, the County anticipates collecting approximately $4.5 to 5.0 million per year for the Home Fund. This projection does NOT include taxes collected in the City of Olympia or Tenino.

How can the funds be used? 

The intent of the funds is to create affordable housing for County residents whose income is 60  percent or below of Area Median Income (AMI).  The legislation requires that a minimum of 60 percent of the fund collected be used to:

• Construct or acquire affordable housing;
• Construct or acquire mental and behavioral health-related facilities; 
• Acquire land for these purposes; or
• Fund the operations and maintenance costs of new units of affordable housing and facilities where housing-related programs are provided.

The housing and facilities supported with Home Funds may only be provided to the following population groups whose income is at or below 60 percent of the county median income:

• People with disabilities or behavioral health disabilities;
• Veterans;
• Senior citizens;
• People who are homeless or at-risk of being homeless, including families with children;
• Unaccompanied homeless youth or young adults; or
• Domestic violence survivors.

Any remaining funds, but no more than 40 percent of the funds, must be used for the operation, delivery, or evaluation of behavioral health treatment programs and services or housing-related services.