SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane County has launched a new tool that will provide taxpayers with an estimate of how much regional real estate values will impact their property taxes.
According to the Spokane County press release, the property tax tool will give residents an estimate of the ad valorem, which is the tax that is based on only the assessed value of a property, for a parcel’s next year's taxes based on the most current value.
The estimate is based on the highest lawful limit a taxing district can change its budget, according to the press release.
Due to how Washington State property taxes are calculated, the information provided by the tool is only an estimate based on state statute, prior ballot measures and taxing district levy history, according to the Spokane County Tax Estimator search tool website.
The website says the property tax estimate is only for the Ad Valorem portion of people's taxes. Any special levies for people's property, such as stormwater, aquifer, weed control, etc., are not included in the estimate tool.
A link to the tax estimator tool can be found on Spokane County’s website on the Assessor’s webpage here. To calculate your property tax, you need to enter your address or parcel number, and you will be taken to the estimate of next year's ad valorem taxes.
The property tax tool is only an estimator and doesn't reflect the final tax bill people need to pay. Any actual tax owing will be contained on people's official property tax statements, according to the tool's website.
There are several proposed levies on the August and November ballots. The Spokane County Assessor’s Office will update the information when the outcome of these elections is complete.
Most districts are limited to a 1% increase in their budget without a vote of the people. Assessed values and tax increases do not move at the same rate. The current statistics show the overall average assessed value in the County increased about 30% and the anticipated tax increase in taxes collected is around 10 %, according to the press release.
"To my knowledge, Spokane County is the only county in Washington to make this information available to the public," Tom Konis, Spokane County Assessor said in a written statement. "My staff members and the crew from Spokane Counties IT department put in many hours in developing this estimator."
Konis said he hopes that Spokane County citizens can use this tool to budget for any increase in their next year’s property taxes long before the actual tax bills are sent in early 2023.
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