If you decide to improve your home, you may be eligible for a three-year property tax exemption on that improvement. Washington State law provides that the Assessor may grant an improvement exemption up to 30% of the current assessed value of your home.
How does it work?
Submit an application to our office prior to construction completion. (Click HERE for the application)
Provide the following information:
*Description of the improvement
*Construction timeline
*Contractor
*Building permit information
Duty of the County Assessor
The Assessor will send a letter acknowledging receipt of your application. If approved, the taxable value of your home will not reflect the improvement value for three years. At the end of the three year period, the value of your improvement will be added to the value of your home and the exemption will end. Please keep in mind that the exemption applies only to the improvement. The assessed value of your home may fluctuate, just as other parcels in the county do during that three year period. The exemption cannot be granted on the same dwelling more than once in a five-year period, calculated from the date that the exemption first affected the assessment roll.
Other Important Information: Swimming pools, golf greens, fences, outbuildings, and improvements that would not be common to or normally recognized as components of a dwelling unit, are NOT eligible for exemption under this program.
The intent of this law is to give you tax relief after spending money to improve your home, your neighborhood, and your community. We hope that you will take advantage of the tax savings available to you.
