Seniors and disabled people in Spokane County will get a tax break

Senior citizens and disabled people are getting a tax break next year.

The Washington Legislature this spring updated the state’s property tax exemption law, increasing the number of people who qualify for tax reductions.

Starting in 2024, qualified Spokane County homeowners making less than $50,000 a year per household can receive a tax cut. The previous cut-off was $40,000.

Spokane County Assessor Tom Konis said he and other assessors lobbied for the change.

“It’s a great thing,” he said. “I actually wanted it to be a little higher.”

Washington’s property tax exemption law saves some seniors and disabled people more than a thousand dollars a year. Those savings have become increasingly important for many homeowners as real estate prices have risen to historic highs.

Retirees and disabled people often live on fixed incomes. They rely on Social Security checks, retirement accounts and other funding streams that don’t necessarily grow at the same rate as housing values.

A 20% increase in a home’s value doesn’t always equate to a 20% property tax increase, but a hot real estate market tends to coincide with higher taxes.

In Spokane County, the average homeowner’s tax bill has gone up by a few hundred dollars a year in each of the last few years. That doesn’t cause enormous financial stress for everyone, but it can be a hardship for retired and disabled people.

Washington’s property tax exemption law helps lower-income seniors and disabled people in two ways.

First, it freezes the value of a home.

“That’s the biggest thing,” Konis said.

Say a 65-year-old woman received the exemption in 2000 for her $100,000 South Hill house.

In 2023, her house could be worth $400,000. But as long as the woman keeps meeting the state’s income requirements, the taxable value of the property remains frozen at $100,000.

The property tax exemption law also excuses seniors and disabled people from voter-approved taxes. That means qualified homeowners can avoid paying a portion of the taxes that go toward local school districts, for example, which make up a significant percentage of a typical tax bill.

About 10,000 Spokane County homeowners take advantage of the property tax exemption, Konis said. He isn’t sure how many more people might apply for the exemption now that households making up to $50,000 a year can qualify, though.

Konis, who has more than three decades of experience in the assessor’s office, said the bipartisan support the property tax exemption received in the state Legislature shows how needed the update was.

“This thing passed both houses unanimously,” he said. “There’s not a heck of a lot of that going on.”

Homeowners can apply for the exemption starting in mid-February. They can also get on the wait list by calling the assessor’s office at 509-477-3698 or emailing assessorseniorexemptions@spokanecounty.org.

Colin Tiernan can be reached at (509) 459-5039 or at colint@spokesman.com.