Kitsap County Assessor's Newsletter December 2025

Thank you for subscribing to the Assessor’s Office newsletter.  I hope that you are finding it informative and useful.

As 2025 draws to a close, the Assessor's Office would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a prosperous New Year in 2026.

Phil Cook
Kitsap County Assessor

Has your property been damaged or destroyed? 

Whether its flooding, falling trees or fires, the chances of your home being damaged seem higher in the winter months.  If your property has been damaged, Washington State law allows the Assessor to reduce the assessed value of the damaged property as of the date of destruction. 

To see if you qualify, you must apply to the office within three years from the date of the involuntary destruction and provide supporting documentation. Fire investigation and insurance claim reports are great examples of supporting documents.  You may also want to include quotes or costs-to-repair estimates and photos are always very helpful.

Applications and additional information on the Destroyed Property Exemption can be found on our website.

Have you ever wondered how property taxes are determined in Washington State? 

The elected board of each tax district (there are 40 in Kitsap County) holds a public meeting every fall to discuss and approve their next year’s budget.  Regular taxing districts, such as the county, cities, fire districts, ports, and libraries, must approve by resolution or ordinance their budgets, and whether to increase them by 1% without voter approval. Each tax district is required to submit their approved budget documents to the county by November 30^th each year.  In December, the Assessor’s Office uses their approved budget to validate that the district does not exceed any legal limits in place that may restrict the amounts that a district can collect. 

For regular taxing districts, there are four calculations to check for each district.  The lowest of the four calculations is the amount that will be levied on the district’s behalf.  The allowable budget amount is divided by the total assessed value of the tax district area which determines the levy rate needed to collect the requested fund amount.  The Assessor’s Office completes the calculation process in January by extending the levy rate to the properties within the boundaries of each tax district.  The various tax district rates are applied to the assessed value of each taxable property (rate x value /1000).  This determines the property tax amount for an individual property.  The tax statements based on these calculations are sent out by the Treasurer’s Office in mid-February.

   Local elections that impact               property taxes

Bainbridge Island Fire District requested the voters approve a 6-year lid lift on their regular fire levy to $0.72 in 2026, and then collection for the remaining 5 years will be based on the CPI. This proposition was approved by voters.

Bainbridge Island School District asked the voters to approve a supplemental enrichment levy of $1,103,828 for 2026, to be added to their current $12,250,000 levy that voters previously approved on 2/13/2024. This proposition was approved by voters.

North Mason School District requested the voters approve an enrichment levy for collection of $5,577,446 in 2026. This proposition was not approved by voters.  

For additional information, see the Kitsap County Auditor's Resolution webpage.