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In Washington state, individuals who meet certain eligibility requirements may receive a reduction of property taxes. New this year, the income thresholds have increased allowing more Washingtonians to qualify for the exemption.
To be eligible for the property tax exemption, you must own and occupy a primary residence in Washington and have a qualifying income.
Check your income eligibility with your local county assessor.
You must also meet at least one of the following by Dec. 31 of the assessment year:
- At least 61 years of age.
- At least 57 years of age and the surviving spouse or domestic partner of a person who was an exemption participant at the time of their death.
- Unable to work because of a disability (any age).
- A disabled veteran with a service-connected evaluation of at least 80% or receiving compensation from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs at the 100% rate for a service-connected disability.
You can apply for the exemption through your local county assessor. Each county has unique income requirements based on your county’s median household income.
You can find information for Snohomish County here.
I know a woman with a disability who lost the house that she inherited from her parents after her caretaker father died because she was unable to pay the property tax. I’m not a tax professional, but I wish that there was more compassion and outreach in our system towards people with disabilities to help them maintain their rights and dignity.
The income threshold can really only be met by people living at poverty level or have already paid off their home mortgage and are only paying property taxes.
There really should be some practical efforts to help people, who meet the other criteria but still have a mortgage and can’t afford the tax increases, which push them out of their homes. In my opinion there shouldn’t even be an income threshold once you meet the other criteria.
$52,000 annual income for two people is ridiculous by todays standards.
The title of this article is about the new max. Income level, but the author never stated what that amount is. They just included a link to the assessor’s website. For Snohomish County , the 2023 gross income minus medical, dental, vision costs is $75,000. It is almost a $20,000 increase from the prior year’s threshold.
Some other resources shared by a reader: The City of Edmonds recently raised the qualification level for utility bill relief. You can learn more and apply here: https://cdnsm5-hosted.civiclive.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_16494932/File/Government/Departments/Community%20Services/Senior%20Services/updated_Utility_Billing_Reduction_App_2024.pdf
And, Snohomish County PUD also has a rate relief program: https://www.snopud.com/account/financial-assistance/bill-assistance/
The comment I tried to submit on the 16th didn’t work. I’ll try again.
Re: the outreach in the system. I do not work for any public entity. I have started giving talks at the Edmonds senior center about this program, and answer home owners’ questions. The session on Mar 11th was advertised in the EWC newsletter and was well attended. Watch both the Mountlake Terrace senior center and Edmonds Waterfront Center newsletters for the dates of future talks. I have also stood up a small group of volunteers that assist the home owner in completing their application. The documentation can be quite long for some individuals. Those application help sessions are by appointment and are also advertised and scheduled by the senior centers. Other Counties have volunteer groups like mine, but Snohomish County volunteers stopped working during the pandemic, for understandable reasons.