Concerned about your property assessment? Here’s how to appeal before the Oct. 28 deadline
Property owners who are dissatisfied with their property assessments have until Oct. 28 to file an appeal, according to Thurston County.
Thurston County Assessor Steven J. Drew mailed out property assessment notices on Aug. 29 that show the value change between Jan. 1 in 2023 and 2024.
The median price for a residential, single-family home in Thurston County was just above $500,000 on Jan. 1, according to the Thurston County Assessor’s website. In a message to residents, Drew said the county-wide median change in residential values, excluding new construction, rose by about 5%.
These changes are important because they are the basis for property owners’ tax bills. However, Drew downplayed their significance in his message.
“As you review your value change notice, it is important to note that excluding new construction, fluctuation in your property value has only a minor effect on your next tax bill,” Drew said.
How are property taxes calculated?
Property taxes are based on government and school district budgets, Drew said, meaning each taxing district has the power to decide how much money to collect or budget each year through their regular levies, voter approved levies or both.
Taxing districts include schools, cities, fire departments, the county and more. State law limits regular levy increases to 1% each year without voter approval.
To get the levy rate, the county divides the tax to be collected for each district by the total assessed value within the district and multiplies that by 1,000, Drew said.
That levy rate is then multiplied by the assessed value of a given property and divided by 1,000 to determine the tax bill for the owner of a given property, Drew said.
Most of the changes in individual tax bills usually stem from the budgets approved by taxing districts and from voter approved bonds and levies, Drew said.
However, there are exceptions to that generalization, such as when a property owner adds or improves buildings or develops a building site.
What can be done if you disagree with your assessment?
Drew recommends property owners start by reviewing their property’s characteristics on the county’s A+ Parcel Search website.
Property owners can contact the Assessor’s Office if they believe those characteristics do not accurately describe their property. If there’s a problem, Assessor’s Office staff can update the characteristics, Drew said.
Drew also advises residents to review the cost valuation report for their property as well as the sales used to determine the property’s market value. Any concerns should be raised with the Assessor’s Office “well before” the appeal deadline, Drew said.
The Assessor’s Office is located at 3000 Pacific Ave. Southeast in Olympia. They also can be contacted at 360-867-2200 or valueinquiry @co.thurston.wa.us.
If that doesn’t resolve the issue, then property owners can file a petition with the Board of Equalization, a quasi-judicial board with three citizen members. The Board of County Commissioners appoints BOE members as well as alternates to three-year terms.
The petition form can be found on the Thurston County BOE website. Petitions must include a hand-written signature and can only be submitted by either mail, hand delivery or electronically via the New Petition Submission link on the BOE homepage.
The BOE advises property owners not to email or fax their petition. As this is an annual process, the BOE says property owners must file an appeal by the deadline every year they disagree with their assessment.
That means a new appeal must be filed even if a property owner has an unresolved appeal from a previous year.
The Assessor’s valuation is presumed correct by law, so it’s up to the petitioner to prove their case each year they disagree with their property assessment, according to the BOE.
Property owners have until 5 p.m. Oct. 28 to file a petition, according to the BOE website.
The BOE office can be found at 3000 Pacific Ave. SE in Olympia as well.
BOE staff can assist the public from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Mondays and 9 a.m. to noon on Fridays. The BOE office also will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 23-25 and Oct. 28.
Anyone with questions can contact Ruth Elder, Clerk of the BOE, at ruth.elder@co.thurston.wa.us or 360-786-5135.
This story was originally published October 12, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
