Councilmember Dembowski: Important senior property tax exemption news

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

From King County Councilmember Rod Dembowski

Too many senior homeowners struggle to pay their property taxes.

That’s why for years I’ve advocated for a change in the state’s senior property tax exemption law to allow more seniors to qualify for relief.

Beginning this year, folks 61 years or older, who own their home, and have an annual income of $58,423 or less in King County, are now eligible for property tax relief. In previous years, the threshold was fixed at an annual household income of $40,000.

The obvious good news here is thousands more King County seniors are eligible for property tax relief.

Unfortunately, thousands of senior homeowners who applied for the program have waited months for a decision from the Assessor’s office. I have been hearing from these seniors, who fear that as we approach November 2, when the second half of property taxes are due, they will be forced to overpay their taxes this year, and wait for a possible reimbursement next year.

In response to these understandable concerns, I authored legislation, that passed the County Council on September 29, to allow individuals with pending applications to extend their property tax payments until January 31, 2021, without penalty or interest. Taxpayers seeking relief should not have to pay a bill that may well not be owed.

If you have applied for the program, but your application is still pending, and you do not pay property taxes through escrow, you are eligible for an extension. To obtain the extension, opt in here: https://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/assessor/TaxReliefExtension.aspx

This is a “clean extension,” meaning you will not have to pay any fees or interest, while the Assessor’s office continues to process your application and you receive a final tax bill. More information can be found here: https://kingcounty.gov/depts/assessor/news-room/NewsReleases/2020/Sept-29-2020.aspx

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or my staff member, Elizabeth Evans at any time. Elizabeth can be reached at 206-477-0911 or Elizabeth.Evans@kingcounty.gov



1 comments:

Anonymous,  October 20, 2020 at 7:40 AM  

Well if Democrats stopped raising taxes on everything all the time. This wouldnt be an issue would it...

Post a Comment

We encourage the thoughtful sharing of information and ideas. We expect comments to be civil and respectful, with no personal attacks or offensive language. We reserve the right to delete any comment.

ShorelineAreaNews.com
Facebook: Shoreline Area News
Twitter: @ShorelineArea
Daily Email edition (don't forget to respond to the Follow.it email)

  © Blogger template The Professional Template II by Ourblogtemplates.com 2009

Back to TOP