Mission Statement
Our mission is to serve the citizens of Skagit County by striving for the highest level in equity of assessment, efficiency of operation, and professionalism of our staff.
NEWS
Mount Vernon property inspections to begin in August, 2020
All properties in the Mount Vernon School District are being revalued for the 2021 assessment year. Appraisers from the Assessor’s Office will inspect all commercial, farm and residential properties in the district. With the exception of properties issued building permits in the six years since, the last inspections for this area occurred in 2015.
In consideration of the COVID 19 environment, the majority of inspections will be limited to what can be observed from the street. Unless appraisers have questions about the property, our policy of announcing our presence by knocking on the front door is suspended. For properties that need verification of characteristics, we will knock then retreat to a safe distance. In those instances there will be a brief exterior walk-around of structures. In all cases new photos are taken. Appraisers will have face coverings, gloves and wear distinctive vests with Skagit County on the back and carry county identification cards. They drive white vehicles with the Skagit County emblem on the side. If you have questions or concerns, please contact the Assessor’s Office at 360 416-1780.
Corona Virus Response Notice
Beginning Tuesday, March 17, the Assessor customer service counter will be closed to the public in consideration of public safety and the risk of exposure to the novel coronavirus. Many of those we serve are participants of the senior citizen and disabled property tax exemption program and we take this action to prevent unnecessary risk to them.
The closure period is indefinite but we will reopen as soon as the threat is diminished.
All senior exemption outreach events are cancelled for 2020. For those wishing to apply for or renew the exemption may call our office for information or instructions. If you have circumstances that require personal interaction we can set an appointment to meet in our conference room. For all other matters, please call our office to arrange a solution for your business needs. We apologize for the inconvenience but believe this is a required step for the safety of our community.
Our local schools have two primary sources of financial support. The State School Levy is assessed to all property owners in the state and those funds fall under the jurisdiction of the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). Local school districts receive funds through an allocation process determined by OSPI. The legislative fix to the McCleary decision to adequately fund schools was to increase the State School Levy. [more]
Local school levies and bonds provide support at the community level for maintaining district operations, funding capital projects and technology. Part of the McCleary fix was to transfer financial support at the local level to the state. This was accomplished by placing a cap on the operations portion of local levies, which limited the revenue school districts receive from their community.
The initial cap occurred in 2019 and placed the local funding for operations at $1.50 per $1,000 of value. This drastically cut local support by more than half for most local school districts. The legislature revised the cap to $2.50 for 2020 and beyond if approved by local voters. When local school district ballot measures to increase local levies are approved by voters, it allows greater local control to meet the educational needs of our community.
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State School Levy Increase for 2020
After a significant reduction in 2019, citize
ns of Skagit County will see a large jump in school taxes overall in 2020. For the State School levy, the amount collected in Skagit County will rise from $47,584,587 in 2019 to $61,338,416 in 2020, an overall increase of 29% in one year. [more]
This is the result of a return to an equalized $2.70 rate from the temporary reduction of $2.40 in 2019. In addition, local E&O (formerly M&O) levies were allowed to increase from $1.50 to $2.50 per thousand subject to voter approval.
The 2017 legislative session passed an additional state school levy to address insufficient state funding as determined in the court case known as the McCleary Decision. The original legislation established the State School Levy Part 2 to increase funding to a rate of $2.70 per $1,000 of value for a four-year period. That rate varies for each county, adjusted through the equalization process the Department of Revenue applies based on the assessment ratio for each county.
After seeing initial revenue above predictions from the new levy, the 2018 legislature passed a one-year reduction to $2.40 per $1,000 of value. The original legislation also limited local school levies for E&O beginning in 2019 to $1.50 per $1,000, which in some districts resulted in less than half their prior year, E&O funding. The changes dramatically reduced state and local school taxes in 2019.
Some local districts passed new E&O levies in 2019 and others have new levies on the ballot this year to recover some of the local support lost in 2019. With assessed values continuing to rise in 2019, the State Levy increase will greatly impact most taxpayers. The individual property amounts will vary depending on the assessed value difference from last year.
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Senior Citizen and Disabled Persons property tax exemption
The Senior Citizen and Disabled Persons property tax exemption helps reduce your property tax liability. The qualifying criteria for the program is based on your age and/or disability, residency and income. [more]
The 2019 state legislature passed ESSB 5160, which changed the income thresholds specific to each county based on percentage of the median household income of the county. The residency requirement has also changed to a minimum of nine months out of the year. As a result, Skagit County’s new income limits are as shown below:
| Levels of Reduction for 2020 Taxes* |
Percentage of Median Household Income |
| A Income=0-$30,000 Exempt from regular property taxes on $60,000 or 60% of the valuation, whichever is greater, plus exemption from 100% of excess levies. |
45%
(based on $65,216*) |
| B Income=$30,001-$35,869 Exempt from regular property taxes on $50,000 or 35% of the valuation, whichever is greater, not to exceed $70,000, plus exemption from 100% of excess levies. |
55%
(based on $65,216*) |
| C Income=$35,870-$42,390 Exempt from 100% of excess levies. |
65%
(based on $65,216*) |
| *Median household income reported by the Office of Financial Management |
These new thresholds apply to 2019 income for tax relief in 2020. The new law provides adjustment to the income limits every five years. The Senior Citizen and Disabled property tax deferral program also has a new qualifying threshold of $48,912 (75% of median household income). For information on these tax relief programs, please see links to DOR publications on this site or call the Assessor’s Office at (360) 416-1780.
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Information On Property Tax Procedures: 2020
About the Assessor's Office
The assessor acts as an agent for the Washington State Department of Revenue and is responsible for administering the property tax system for the county. This process involves establishing real and personal property values for distributing taxes for each tax district, as well as reviewing each tax district’s budget request to assure all legal requirements and limitations are met. The assessor also administers and monitors compliance for recipients of tax benefit programs, such as the Senior Citizen and Disabled Exemption program and the various Current Use programs for properties used for agriculture, timber and open space.
 This
web site has been prepared to answer questions you might have about the property tax system in Skagit
County. There are no unique rules or R.C.W.'s in Skagit County.
The property
tax system is designed to treat all taxpayers equally across the State
of Washington. My office works hard to treat everyone fairly and promptly.
In these pages you will find a group of commonly
asked questions about revaluations, the Board
of Equalization, values, levies, and an assortment of useful information.
I welcome any comments or suggestions you may offer for improving this website to better serve the needs of the users and citizens of Skagit County.
Sincerely,
David M. Thomas
Skagit County Assessor
Assessor Sales Data.
This tool will enable you to search valid sales dating back three
years and is illustrated by a colored legend to associate the year of
the sale. This tool is built into Imap and you can select other layers
or views if you prefer. The details for a selected parcel will appear
in a new window.
You
can view the Sales Data iMap layer here.
Assessor: Dave Thomas
Office Hours: 8:30 to 4:30 Mon - Fri
700 South 2nd Street, Room 204
Mount Vernon, WA 98273
Contact:
Phone: (360) 416-1780
FAX: (360) 416-1790
email: assessor@co.skagit.wa.us
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