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Christopher S. Mulvaney, Esq.

HERE is a link to King County Property Tax information from the County website.

HERE is a link to a further detailed explanation.

The Assessor’s Office has several instructional videos as well as a FAQ Page:

Property Tax eAppeals

Tax Advisor Office

King County @ Your Service – Assessor

How Property Assessments Work?

Inter ACT – Property Taxes

First create an eAppeals account and then click Research Appeal so find and select up to 8 comparables. WARNING: This is a place to start. None may be in range or compare that closely to your home.

Tips for filing an appeal which must be within 60 days of the mailing date printed on your Official Property Value Notice Card. Please email me a PDF of the Card if you want me to assist you.

File online using eAppeals!  This will allow you to check on the current status of your appeal at any time and allow you to instantly view appeal related documents sent to you by the Board of Equalization and the King County Assessor.

Include all evidence with your appeal, or submit it as soon as possible.  An early submission will increase the possibility of receiving a reduction offer from the Assessor without having to attend a hearing.  Examples of useful types of evidence include but are not limited to:

Sales info of similar properties with sales dates close to the valuation date (January 1st)

Professional cost estimates to fix any structural defects or maintenance issues

Recorded documents that reference any easements or other restrictions on the property

Official communications or documentation from city, county, or an environmental agency confirming environmentally critical areas exist on the site, and/ or any development limitations affecting the property

In order to succeed on a valuation appeal you need to have at least two comparables from December to October of the previous year, since the valuation is based on January 1st, that are both at least 10% below the value of your home.  Comparables in December are given the most weight, with decreasing weight given for each month further away from the January 1st valuation date. That is why comparables not in the fourth quarter of the year have little value.

That means a match of:

type of home,

year built,

location,

square footage,

bedrooms,

bathrooms, and

condition

in the correct time period with a low enough value. 

This is very difficult to do because values are often slightly depressed in December. 

When you calculate the multiple used to translate market value into assessed value, even swings of tens of thousands of dollars don’t make that much difference in your tax bill. For example, if your property tax is .007 percent of assessed value then a decrease in assessed value of $20,000 would result in a reduction of tax of $140.

Divide your current tax amount by the assessed value to find your percentage of tax to calculate the amount of reduction in your tax bill resulting from the reduction in assessed value.

I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I have had a lot of clients try and fail to get a meaningful adjustment based on comps. 

UNDERSTAND THAT PROPERTY TAXES ARE BASED ON ASSESSED VALUE, WHICH IS OFTEN SUBSTANTIALLY BELOW MARKET PRICE. STRONG APPRECIATION YEAR AFTER YEAR HAS WIDENED THIS GAP SUCH THAT ASSESSED VALUE IS OFTEN LESS THAN 80% OF MARKET PRICE. THAT MEANS YOU HAVE HAVE TO HAVE TRULY COMPARABLE SALES WITHIN THE TIME FRAME THAT MATTERS THAT ARE MORE THAN 30% LOWER THAN THE ASSESSED VALUE OF YOUR HOME (ABOUT 2O% TO OVERCOME THE FACT THAT ASSESSED VALUE IS LESS THAN MARKET VALUE, AND ANOTHER 1O% TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN TAXES). THIS IS VERY UNLIKELY.

The more likely to succeed approach is something particular to the property such as pictures of structural damage, black mold, or a neighborhood change like a new light rail interfering with your property.

I spoke with the Assessor’s Office by phone and they explained how property taxes are set. It is counterintuitive. The Assessor starts with the budget target for the year. Then the Assessor looks at the Statutory constraints on increases in property tax which set a maximum percentage per year. Then the Assessor apportions tax according to assessed value (which has two parts – land and improvements). Assessed value is typically at least 10% under market value. That is why it is so difficult to find market value comparables less than assessed value.

The fact that about 5,000 people per month move to King County and housing stock cannot accommodate that is why prices continue to rise. This is also why so many multi-family condominiums and apartments are being built.