County assessor clears up questions about property taxes

Each January, the Clark County assessor’s office updates property values for taxes due next year. For property owners, the relationship between property values and property taxes, how taxes are calculated and how tax increases are applied can be “super confusing,” Assessor Peter Van Nortwick said. In Washington, all real and personal property is subject to taxation unless specifically exempted. Taxes for personal property are typically collected through sales taxes imposed by the state, county and cities. Property taxes are levied — often by voter approval — by the state, counties, cities, and various tax districts such as school, fire, library, cemetery and port districts. Special districts, like mosquito-control districts or diking and drainage districts, also take a portion of property taxes. Van Nortwick said property owners have a lot of misconceptions about property taxes. Assessed value vs. taxes “The biggest misunderstanding that I think people have is that somehow the assessed values have to do with how much (the districts) are passing in their budgets,” Van Nortwick said. “Property assessments are more about equitable distribution of taxes.” Tax districts start with the dollar amount they are allowed to collect by law, which for all levies is the dollar amount approved by voters. “The highest lawful levy is the amount that tax districts can collect in property taxes every year. For something like a school levy, (voters) are setting what the highest lawful levy is, so they can’t collect more than what voters approved,” Van Nortwick said. That dollar amount is then divided by the total assessed value of all properties to determine the millage or mill rate, the amount to be paid per $1,000 of assessed value. Van Nortwick also said that tax increases — like the 1 percent annual increase allowed by the state — are often already built in when the measure is placed on the ballot. The exception to this is when a tax district asks voters to approve a levy lid lift or an increase greater than the standard 1 percent, which is calculated at a mill rate. “If they want to get more than that highest lawful levy, they have to go out to the voters to get that,” Van Nortwick said. In November, the city of Vancouver put Proposition 5 on the ballot, asking voters for a levy increase of 15 cents per $1,000 of assessed value to go toward police and public safety services, which voters approved. Construction, values Van Nortwick said another common misconception is how and when new construction adds new revenue for tax districts. “On taxes for something like a school district, the additional people moving in don’t increase the amount that they can collect, because the taxpayers have set the highest lawful levy amount,” Van Nortwick said. Initially, individual property taxes can decrease because the total dollar amount is now spread across a larger number of properties. Eventually, new construction does increase tax revenue when the value of that new construction is multiplied by the applicable levy rates and added to the highest lawful levy amount for each tax district. Additionally, for businesses, the county’s value may not align with what the property owner or public thinks that business is worth. “Let’s say a senior living home sells for $100 million. People look on our tax roll and … we have it assessed at $30 million. Here’s the issue. We’re assessing the building, but they didn’t just buy the building. They bought the building, all the people working in it, the whole kit and caboodle. They bought an operating business,” Van Nortwick said, adding that’s a very different thing from just the value of the land or building. Banked capacity Another source of confusion, Van Nortwick said, is about banked capacity. “Banked capacity is the difference between what a tax district collects and the highest lawful levy amount,” he said. When a tax district chooses not to take the 1 percent annual increase allowed, the dollar amount of that 1 percent is calculated and then “banked.” The total banked capacity continues to grow as long as the district continues not to take the annual increase. At any time, the tax district can choose to take some or all of its banked capacity from prior years. The Clark County Council did just that in early December when it voted to take the 1 percent increase, as well as the banked capacity for the general fund, road fund, conservation futures and metro parks levies to offset its budget shortfall. “They’re not banking 1 percent; they’re banking a dollar amount. … Maybe it was 1 percent of their budget to begin with, but because they haven’t used it for a few years now, it’s maybe 0.8 percent of their budget now,” Van Nortwick said. Distribution of taxes Yet another misconception is how much of the tax revenue collected goes to the county. Clark County collects about $979.5 million annually in property taxes but keeps roughly 20 percent of that amount. In 2025, the county’s property tax revenues were estimated at $198.1 million. The remaining tax revenues are passed on to the various taxing districts. While the county assessor’s office determines the value of all properties, the treasurer’s office collects property tax payments. The majority of property valuation notices are mailed in June, with the remainder going out in September. Tax bills are mailed prior to March 15, with payments due in two installments on April 30 and Oct. 31. Information on how to apply for a deferral or exemption, how to appeal valuations or other questions is available at clark.wa.gov/assessor.

Assessed value vs. taxes

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