Kitsap County Assessor's Newsletter May 2025

Thank you for subscribing to the Assessor’s Office newsletter.  I hope you find the information educational and useful.  If you have suggestions on how we can make this publication more beneficial to you, please do not hesitate to contact the office at assessor@kitsap.gov or call 360.337.7160.

Phil Cook
Kitsap County Assessor

New construction inspections are starting soon

During spring and summer, appraisers from the office are tasked with inspecting any new construction that is currently taking place or has been completed since July 31st of the previous year (RCW 36.21.070 & RCW 36.21.080).  What exactly is new construction you may ask?  Any construction of a building on bare land that may impact value.  If you have been remodeling or significantly improving an existing structure on your property, this value could also be considered new construction.

Why must new construction be inspected?  Improvements to your property impact the value of the property and the Assessor must take this into consideration when determining values.  This data helps ensure that future property taxes are distributed equitably amongst the taxpayers.

Property tax distribution in Parcel Details

Are you curious how property tax dollars are distributed between tax districts?  You can find this information in Parcel Details.

Enter your parcel number (tax account) or your site address to locate your account.  Once the account is displayed, select the drop-down arrow by Tax Bill then select Tax Distribution.  This will display the tax distribution for the entire county.  For an individual property, you may enter your tax account number or site address in the search box.  The account or address will be displayed below the search box and when you select it, the tax distribution for that specific property will be displayed.  Once the information is available for the specific property you are looking at, you may customize the data by clicking on the graphs.  If you want to look at a specific year, you may select a year to the right of the pie chart and the data will adjust to that year.

Renewal applications have been mailed

Renewal applications for the Senior Citizen and Disabled Persons Exemption Program were recently mailed.  Renewal applications must be submitted every four years.

When a property tax exemption is approved, it does not mean that the tax districts receive less money.  The taxes are shifted to the other taxpayers in the area who are not exempt by increasing their tax rate.  Therefore, it is important the Assessor’s Office verify that those receiving the exemption continue to meet the qualifications.  There are three levels of exemption based on income.  The renewal application also ensures that the property owner is receiving the correct level of exemption.

An online Renewal Application is available for those required to file this year.

Those who are already receiving this exemption may have changes to report before their renewal is due.  In that case, our office offers an online Change of Status form to report any changes.  The Change of Status form can be submitted anytime there is a change that may affect the exemption.  For example, a change in income ONLY if it affects the exemption currently being received.  This includes an annual income increase or decrease that may put someone in a different exemption category OR increases that put someone over the maximum income allowed for the program.  Other examples include the death of a spouse, change in marital status, temporarily or permanently moving to another home, nursing facility or assisted living facility, sale or transfer of the home or no longer occupying the home for 6 months out of the year.

Public outreach

We have two presentations about the Senior Citizen and Disabled Persons Property Tax Exemption Program this month; both are open to the public.

Staff will be attending a seminar hosted by Fairway Mortgage located at 9307 Bay Shore Drive Northwest, Suite 200, Silverdale on Wednesday, May 21st at 10:00 am and will be available to answer your questions.

If you are interested in attending, you may register using the link below:

Financial Relief for Seniors: Senior Property Tax Exemption Program Seminar | NW Senior Mortgages

The second presentation will be held at St Antony of Egypt Episcopal Church, located at 11885 Old Frontier Road Northwest, Silverdale, on Wednesday, May 28th at 1:00 pm

If you or your organization would like to have representatives from the Assessor’s Office, come and speak, please reach out to the office at:  assessor@kitsap.gov or call 360.337.7160.