• What does the County Assessor do?

• What is personal property?

• How often does the Snohomish County Assessor value personal property?

• What is real property?

• When was my property last appraised by the Assessor's office?

• When did the Assessor's office change to an annual reval?

• Why is the Assessor's office changing to an annual reval?

What does the County Assessor do? 

What is Personal Property?  Generally, personal property is business equipment and portable property used in conducting a business. Business inventories are exempt from the property tax, as are household goods and personal effects.

Taxable personal property includes (but is not limited to): office machinery and equipment as well as supplies and materials which are not held for sale or do not become an ingredient or component of an article being produced for sale. Also assessable as personal property are: furniture, fixtures and equipment in commercial use; leased equipment, certain leasehold improvements, manufacturing machinery and equipment; agricultural machinery and equipment, contractor's, sawmill and logging machinery and equipment.

How often does the Snohomish County Assessor value personal property?  Annually. Personal property listings, which list taxable property by category, cost and the acquisition dates, are filed with the Assessor's office each year by the taxpayer and are due by April 30. The affidavits are used by the Assessor to value property for taxes due in the following year. Visit Personal Property Forms to find out more about personal property and to download forms.

What is real property?  Real property includes all land and any improvements, such as buildings attached to the land. Manufactured homes and mobile homes and park model trailers are also assessed as real property.

When was my property last appraised by the Assessor's Office?  Every parcel in the county is physically inspected once every six years.  The map below shows the physical inspection areas in the county.  To find out when your property was last inspected please contact our office.

The Assessor also adds value annually for new construction, remodeling, additions, subdivisions, etc.

When did the Assessor's office change to an annual reval?  The change to an annual reval began with the 2004 assessment for taxes payable in 2005. All property will be appraised annually and updated to reflect the current market value. This will result in smaller increases in assessed value than Snohomish County property owners have experienced in the past with the 4-year reval cycle. It will also allow us to adjust property values downward if there is a change in the market, instead of the value being "fixed" for a 4-year period.

Why is the Assessor's office changing to an annual reval? To improve level of assessment, uniformity and predictability: The level of assessment improves when the tax burden is distributed more equitably. This is particularly important for countywide levies such as the state school levy and county levies. Predictability improves because increases in values that result from a 4-year cycle are: difficult for taxpayers to understand and accept and results in the area that has just been revalued carrying a larger share of some taxes than the other 3 areas. Uniformity improves because all property is assessed every year at market value, which is particularly important if market values begin to decline. Assessed values are no longer "fixed" for 4 years.