By Sydney Goitia-Doran, The Seattle Medium
After decades of existence, King County’s tax relief program for senior or disabled individuals has expanded its eligibility and become more accessible in the last few years. According to King County Chief Deputy Assessor Al Dams, the program allows property tax exemptions and deferrals for eligible citizens, which is especially beneficial for senior citizens who wish to age in their own home.
Under the current criteria, applicants must be at least 62 years of age and have owned their residence for at least a year before applying. In addition, they must also have an annual income below $84,000, including Social Security and other sources—which is a significant increase over previous years.
“We and others advocated for raising the income level for it. Going back to 2017, which may seem like a long time ago, but it’s really eight years ago, the criteria was $36,000,” Dams said. “In 2017, we could not live on $36,000 in King County, and we certainly can’t do it now.”
Dams says the goal of the changes was to make more people eligible for the program, and since then, the Assessor’s Office has seen an increase in applications—increasing from about 3,000 in 2017 to nearly 13,000 in 2024.
To keep up with the high volume of applications, the Assessor’s Office had to adjust its processes, which included making the application available online. This made the process more efficient for both the homeowners and the Assessor’s Office.
While the online application is easier to process, navigating it may be difficult for some seniors. Through the H.O.M.E.S.—Homeowner’s Outreach, Mentoring, and Education Services—project, King County collaborates with the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle (UL) to assist people with submitting their property tax application online.
“A lot of seniors don’t have computers or are not that computer savvy,” said Linda Taylor, vice president of housing and financial empowerment at the Urban League. “So, we have days that you can come to our resource center at 901 [Rainier Avenue South]. We have a computer bank and people there to help you do all these things.”
Taylor emphasized the importance of the program as a way for seniors to stay in their homes. She said educating people that it’s even an option is another priority for the UL.
“Another thing we do is we have panels where we go into churches talking about down payment assistance, and we give a little 30-second spiel about the senior tax exemption, because every single one of the people that attend have a mother or grandmother or somebody that could possibly qualify,” Taylor said.
Dams agrees that one of the biggest challenges is spreading awareness about the program. King County does outreach at senior centers and other places in the community, aiming to expand the number of people the program helps, but they still struggle to make sure that everyone who is eligible is aware of the program.
While there are many factors that determine how much people can save using the exemption, Taylor claims in general some people can reduce their tax bill by as much as 50 percent.
“It depends on the value of their home and your income levels and all that kind of stuff, but we see people save thousands of dollars on the property tax bill for a single year,” Dams said. “So, it’s a pretty big deal if you’re struggling to pay your property taxes. Just seeing the reduction come in, that’s the difference between some people being able to stay in your house and not being able to stay in the house.”
