Property taxes apply to the assessed value of all taxable property, which includes all real and personal property located within the state, unless specifically exempted. Real property includes land, structures, and certain equipment that is affixed to the structure; personal property includes machinery, supplies, certain utility property, and other items that are movable.

Property tax rates are the annual levy rates applied to the assessed value of taxable property by the various taxing districts, including the state and various types of local jurisdictions that have levy authority under state law. Property tax levy rates are expressed in terms of dollars per one thousand of assessed value. A taxing district's rate must apply uniformly throughout the district.

A TCA is a geographical area in which local entities such as a city, county, school, hospital or fire district may assess taxes to sustain its operations. These combined taxing districts make up a TCA.

Regular property tax levies are generally considered levies subject to the statutory limitations described in RCW 84.52.043. As long as the levy amounts remain within the rate limits the law specifies and does not exceed the limitations imposed on levy growth, the taxing district officials make the budget decisions and determine the size of the property tax levy. Most “regular” property tax levies do not require approval of the voters.

As a district applies the levy limit to its budget over the years, the allowable rate a district can levy on taxpayers tends to drift downward from the maximum statutory levy rate. Occasionally, a district will need to raise the levy limit in order to increase funds. A district may ask its voters to authorize it to levy an amount that exceeds the limit factor or "lift the one percent levy lid." Lid lifts may result in increasing the limit factor for one year or up to six consecutive years. The result of the limit factor increase can temporarily or permanently impact future levy limit calculations.

Excess levies are those that impose property taxes over and above the regular property tax levies. They are in “excess” of the many limits we put on regular levies. Excess levies require not only voter approval; but many also require a 60 percent “super” majority for approval.

Every year the directors or commissioners of all taxing districts meet in open session to determine the amount of taxes to be collected the following year. Public questions or comments are welcomed during this process. Once the budget has been adopted, and a resolution passed by the Taxing District Commissioners, the amount of taxes to be collected is certified to the Assessor. The Assessor computes the levy rate required to raise the certified tax for each district, and insures that none of the constitutional or statutory limitations are violated. After the levy rates have been determined by the Assessor, taxes are extended to all property within the boundaries of the respective districts. The County Treasurer mails tax bills on or around February 14 of the year in which they are collected, and the receipts are distributed back to the various districts.

Not necessarily. Assessed Value is determined the year before property taxes are due and reflect market values in a region. Values may fluctuate due to inflation, when demand exceeds supply, when property characteristics change, or when disaster strikes. The assessor's role is to see that all property within the county is fairly and uniformly valued for tax purposes. This ensures that taxes are distributed among taxpayers impartially. Tax rates are set late in the year after taxing districts submit their annual budgets. The budget for each taxing district is divided by the total value of all parcels served by the district to determine its tax rate. Tax rates for a given tax code area are then added together to achieve a combined tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value.