Property Tax Deadline Nears For Pierce County Homeowners

PIERCE COUNTY, WA — The first property tax bills of 2022 will be due in less than two weeks, and Pierce County property owners will want to pay their bills on time to avoid added fees. Thanks to the due date falling on a Saturday, taxpayers have two extra days to pay the first half of their property tax bills this year, which will be due on Monday, May 2.

This year's tax increases vary widely by city and are the result of both voter-approved levies and rapidly rising property values across Puget Sound. In Pierce County the increase is generally mild, thanks to statutory limits on property tax rates which offset surging real estate costs.

"In recent years, tax bills fluctuated due to the State Legislature and local school districts responding to the McCleary court decision on school funding," Assessor-Treasurer Mike Lonergan said. "Last year taxes settled down in most areas, and this year we see moderate increases in most parts of Pierce County, even a decrease in one area."

Related: Home Value Growth Surpassed Most Salaries In 2021

All together, the 180,000 owners of residential or commercial land across Pierce County will be paying a total of $1.76 billion in property taxes this year. That's a 5.3 percent increase over 2020, according to the Pierce County Assessor - Treasurer's Office.

The greatest increases were seen in the Bethel and Franklin Pierce school districts, where the average homeowner saw taxes rise more than $450, or about 11 percent. The smallest increases were in Steilacoom, Milton, and Buckley, where property taxes increase about $100. Tacoma, Puyallup, Edgewood and Eatonville saw their tax bills go up an average of $300, Lakewood and Sumner saw theirs climb around $250, and Gig Harbor, Fife and DuPont increased about $200 a home, the treasurer's office said.

Orting was the only community that saw taxes decline, dropping by an average of $575 thanks to decreases in the local school construction bond and fire district levy.

Those increases may not seem "moderate" or "modest" to some homeowners, but keep in mind they pale in comparison to some tax hikes in neighboring King County, where several cities saw property taxes climb over 15 percent this year.

One reason for the comparably smaller tax hike this year is that county voters didn't approve many new levies. In fact, no new local school levies or bonds were approved by the voters last year, though voters did approve levy lid lifts or renewed EMS levies in East Pierce County, Steilacoom, Key Peninsula, Ashford and Crystal Mountain. Any school levies that were approved in the recent election will not take effect until next year.

Up to 60.2 percent of Pierce County's property taxes go to local schools. 20.5 go to cities and the county, and 10.9 percent more go to fire districts and EMS services.

Here are the three ways to pay in Pierce County:

• Online, using the Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer Information Portal. All visitors have to do is enter their parcel number and follow the instructions for credit card or E-Check payments. (A 2.35% service fee, charged by the payment processor, applies to this option. Pierce County does not receive any part of this fee.)
• By mail, if postmarked no later than May 2, 2022. The address is: Pierce County Finance P.O. Box 11621 Tacoma, WA 98411-6621. Taxpayers should write their property tax parcel number on their check or money order. Cash should not be sent through the mail. Taxpayers do not need to include a tax statement with the payment as long as the property tax account number is on the check or money order and payment is for the exact amount due.
  • Payments for delinquent accounts must be via the mail or in person. Foreclosure avoidance payments can be sent by mailing Attention: Foreclosure Avoidance 2401 South 35th Street, Rm 142 Tacoma WA 98409-1498.

Homeowners who miss the upcoming deadline will be charged interest at 1% per month, plus a 3% penalty if they lag through June 1, and another 8% penalty starting in December.

The due date for the second half of this year's tax bill arrives on Oct. 31.

Learn more about property taxes through Pierce County's website.