WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
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someone else during your stay in one
of these facilities if the rental income is
used to pay the facility costs.
Property used as a vacation home
is not eligible for the exemption
program.
Household Income
Your annual household disposable
income may not exceed $40,000. If your
household income is between $40,000
and $45,000, you may qualify for the
deferral program. See the Property Tax
Deferral for Senior Citizens and
Disabled Persons fact sheet for more
information.
Household income includes the
combined disposable income of you,
your spouse or domestic partner, and
any co-tenants. A co-tenant is a person
who lives in your home and has an
ownership interest in your home.
Household income does not include
income of a person who:
Does not have ownership interest
and lives in your home, except for
a spouse or domestic partner.
However, you must include any
income that person contributes
to the household.
Has ownership interest in your home
but does not live in the home. If
someone living elsewhere has any
ownership interest, the amount of
your exemption will be based on the
percentage of your ownership
interest in the property.
Property Tax and Levies
Eligible for Exemption
The value of your residence is “frozen” as
of January 1, 1995, or January 1 of the
initial application year, whichever is later.
Example: If you meet the qualications
in the 2014 application year, the taxable
assessed value for your residence will
remain “frozen” at the 2014 level, unless
there is a change in your status or new
construction.
The assessor will continue to establish
the property market value, but you will
only be billed for taxes on the lower of
the market value or the frozen value.
If your annual income for the
application year is $40,000 or less, your
home will be exempt from all excess
and special levies. Excess and special
levies are in addition to regular levies.
They require voter approval and
provide money for a specic purpose,
for example, school bonds and
maintenance and operation levies.
In addition, if your income is $35,000
or less, a portion of the regular levy
amount may be exempt.
If your household income is between
$30,001 and $35,000, you are exempt
from regular levies on $50,000 or 35
percent of the assessed value,
whichever is greater (but not more
than $70,000 of the assessed value).
For example:
Household income $31,000
Assessed home value $150,000
Taxable property value $97,500
(35 percent of $150,000 = $52,500)
($150,000 - $52,500 = $97,500)
If your household income is $30,000
or less, you are exempt from regular
levies on the rst $60,000 or 60
percent of your home’s assessed
value, whichever is greater. For
example:
Household income $12,000
Assessed home value $150,000
Taxable property value $60,000
(60 percent of $150,000 = $90,000)
($150,000 - $90,000 = $60,000))
Computing Disposable Income
The maximum amount of annual
income you may receive and qualify
for the exemption is $40,000. The
disposable income you receive during
the application year determines your
eligibility.
Example: You are ling a 2015
application requesting an exemption
on your 2016 taxes. You must use your
2015 income to qualify.
Disposable income includes income
from all sources, regardless of whether
the income is taxable for federal income
tax purposes. Some of the most
common sources of income include:
Social Security and Railroad
Retirement benets.
Military pay and benets other than
attendant-care and medical-aid
payments.
Veterans benets other than
attendant-care payments,
medical-aid payments, veteran’s
disability compensation and
dependency and indemnity
compensation.
Pension receipts. Include distributions
from retirement bonds and Keogh
plans. Include only the taxable
portion of Individual Retirement
Accounts (IRA’s).
Business or rental income.
Depreciation cannot be deducted
and you may not deduct business or
rental losses or use those losses to
oset other income.
Annuity receipts. For purposes
of this program, “annuity” is dened
as a series of payments, xed or
variable, under a contract or
agreement. A “series of payments”
means at least one payment per
period over more than one period.