Are You Eligible for Property Tax Relief?

The Washington State legislature recently passed a Senate Bill 5186 that increased the qualifying income from $35,000 annual gross income to $40,000 for the senior/disability property tax exemption starting in October, 2015. The income change is not retroactive, and will be applied to the 2016 property taxes and subsequent years.

The King County Assessor’s Office of Lloyd Hara administers this exemption program for low-income seniors (61 years or age or older) or property owners with disabilities. Depending on your income, you may be eligible to receive a standard, partial  or full exemption. In addition, the value of your home will be frozen at the valuation of the initial application year. The exemption is a grant provided by the State of Washington and any property tax reduction does not have to be repaid upon transfer of ownership.

To check on your eligibility or for more information, please contact the Assessor’s Office at 206.296.3920 or visit www.kingcounty.gov/assessor.

The Assessor’s Office started mailing out the 2015 valuations to property owners in July and will continue through October. Stay informed by following us on Twitter at twitter.com/KCASSESSOR and on Facebook at King County Assessor Lloyd Hara.

Residents should access LocalScape to view their property value history – a new tool that integrates value trends with a wide range of data streams and illustrates a rich landscape of information, including neighborhood values, sales, permit, Census, and education data.

Erskine, Jason

LocalScape recently received a 2015 Achievement Award from the National Association of Counties ( NACo)  in the category of Civic Education and Public Information.