Local News

Property tax relief programs expanded for senior and disabled citizens

Aug 08, 2019

Seniors and disabled citizens will have an easier time qualifying for property tax relief starting with their 2020 tax bill. This comes as the result of recent legislation (ESSB 5160) that changes the qualifying income thresholds for the property tax exemption and deferral programs.

Property tax exemption

Previously at $40,000, the new income limit changes to the greater of $40,000 or 65% of the county’s median household income. The new income thresholds for each county are listed on Revenue’s website,dor.wa.gov/incomethresholds.

The exemption applies to a person’s primary residence and depends on the combined disposable income of the applicant, spouse, partner and/or co-tenants occupying the same home.

In addition to income and residency, a homeowner must meet one of the criteria below:

61 years or older
Unable to work because of a disability
A disabled veteran*
A surviving spouse or partner who is 57 years or older

*Disabled veterans can now qualify for exemption if they have a combined service-connected evaluation of 80% or higher, or they are compensated at 100% regardless of the combined service-connected evaluation.

Property tax deferral

Previously at $45,000, the new income limit changes to the greater of $45,000 or 75% of the county’s median household income. You can find the new income thresholds for each county at dor.wa.gov/incomethresholds.

This deferral applies to a person’s primary residence and depends on the combined disposable income of the applicant, spouse, partner and/or co-tenants occupying the same home.

In addition to income and residency, a homeowner must meet one of the criteria below:

60 years or older
Unable to work because of a disability
Be at least 57 years old and related to someone who was receiving a deferral at the time of death in one of the following ways:

the surviving spouse
partner
heir
devisee (a person to whom real estate is left by the terms of a will)

Counties administer property taxes on behalf of the state. Interested homeowners should contact their local county assessor’s office to apply.

The Department of Revenue is Washington State’s primary tax agency, nationally recognized for innovation and quality customer service. Revenue administers nearly 60 categories of taxes that help fund education, social services, health care, corrections, public safety, natural resource conservation and other important services counted on by Washington residents.