What does the County
Assessor do? The Assessor sets the assessed value
of all real and personal property within Snohomish County for tax
purposes and sets the levy rates based on taxing district budget
requests, statutory limits and property values. The Assessor's
Office analyzes trends in sales prices, construction costs and rents
in order to estimate the value of property. The Assessor's Office
also keeps track of ownership changes, adjusts boundary descriptions
according to recorded documentation and keeps descriptions of
building and property characteristics up to date. The tax exemption
and special use programs are administered in the Assessor's Office
as well.
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.
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