Levy

The Levy Division is responsible for calculating the property tax rate, maintaining the tax code areas (TCAs), preparing the Assessor 's Annual Report, and certifying the direct petition method (60% of value) for petitioned annexations as well as allocating the property to the appropriate district after any annexation is approved by the Boundary Review Board.

Understanding Taxing Districts & Levies

View a presentation (PDF) the Snohomish County Assessor's Office offers to representatives of taxing districts each year to help them learn about the levy process. The information provided can be useful to anyone wanting to learn more about this process. The slides give basic information with some notes explaining how the simple levy process works and the limitations involved. Participants in the class are also given sample problems and worksheets to complete.

Assessor Annual Reports for Taxes

The Annual Report is a good resource for property tax information such as the amount of taxes the districts will collect, the total assessed value for each district, the tax rate for each levy or TCA as well as other statistics about Snohomish County that you may find helpful. The Annual Report is completed every year after tax rolls have been certified to the Treasurer 's Office in January. View the Annual Reports that are available.

Changes to the State and Local School Enrichment Levies and How It Affects Your Property Tax Levies

In 2017, the Legislature passed EHB 2242 partly in response to the Supreme Court’s McCleary decision. The Court found that the State was not meeting its constitutional requirement to fully fund basic education. EHB 2242 has several components pertaining to basic education funding. At least two of the components will impact your tax bill now and in the future.

First, EHB 2242 created a second portion to the state school levy with collection beginning in 2018.  The new second portion increased the combined rate by $0.82 in 2018. Legislature passed SSB6614 that will reduce the state school levy rate in 2019. The combined rate decreased $0.28 from last year’s rate of $2.85 to this year rate of $2.57. The average Snohomish County residential property owner with an assessed value of $377,600 would have paid $1,076 to the state school levy in 2018; in 2019 that owner with an average assessed value of $424,300 will pay $1,090.  The State Department of Revenue calculates the portion Snohomish County property owners will be responsible for.  The Assessor’s Office calculates the rate.

Second, beginning in 2019, EHB 2242 imposes limitations on how much can be collected in local school (Enrichment) levies by restricting the levy to the lesser of $1.50 levy rate or $2,500 per pupil. This change affects both existing and new local school levies. Below are charts that show the levy rates for tax years 2018 and 2019 for the state school levy and local schools enrichment levies. Overall, the owner of an average Snohomish County residential property will see a reduction in local schools enrichment and a slight increase in state school taxes in 2019.

Third, the Legislature passed SSB6614 that will reduce the state school levy rate in 2019. In Snohomish County the 2019 state school levy rate is $2.57 per thousand in assessed value. The following chart shows the average 2018 residence value in Snohomish County and the effect of taxes if the value stays the same or increases in 2019 using the state school levy rate $2.57 per thousand of assessed value: