Nature of Business

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Nature of Business

NATURE OF BUSINESS

Washington Real Estate Investment Trust (“Washington REIT”), a Maryland real estate investment trust, is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust, successor to a trust organized in 1960. Our business consists of the ownership and operation of income-producing real estate properties in the greater Washington metro region. We own a diversified portfolio of office buildings, multifamily buildings and retail centers.

Federal Income Taxes

We believe that we qualify as a Real Estate Investment Trust (“REIT”) under Sections 856-860 of the Internal Revenue Code and intend to continue to qualify as such. To maintain our status as a REIT, we are, among other things, required to distribute 90% of our REIT taxable income (which is, generally, our ordinary taxable income, with certain modifications), excluding any net capital gains and any deductions for dividends paid to our shareholders on an annual basis. When selling a property, we generally have the option of (a) reinvesting the sales proceeds of property sold, in a way that allows us to defer recognition of some or all taxable gain realized on the sale, (b) distributing gains to the shareholders with no tax to us or (c) treating net long-term capital gains as having been distributed to our shareholders, paying the tax on the gain deemed distributed and allocating the tax paid as a credit to our shareholders.

Generally, and subject to our ongoing qualification as a REIT, no provisions for income taxes are necessary except for taxes on undistributed taxable income and taxes on the income generated by our taxable REIT subsidiaries (“TRSs”). Our TRSs are subject to corporate federal and state income tax on their taxable income at regular statutory rates, or as calculated under the alternative minimum tax, as appropriate. As of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, our TRSs had deferred tax assets of $0.5 million, net of valuation allowances of $2.9 million. As of both March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, our TRSs had net deferred tax liabilities of $0.4 million. These deferred tax liabilities are primarily related to temporary differences in the timing of the recognition of revenue, amortization and depreciation.