Property tax in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska
In Ketchikan Gateway Borough, the property tax bill comes from the Ketchikan Gateway Borough Finance Department. Every due date for the 2026 bill has passed, and the county had not posted the next cycle's dates when we checked. You can look up and pay the bill on the county's own payment page. Taken from Ketchikan Gateway Borough's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska is $2,619 a year, which is about 0.67% of the county's median home value of $393,300. That effective rate is lower than the typical Alaska county (0.69%) and lower than the national median (0.81%). These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024); your own bill depends on your home's assessed value and any exemptions.
Who sends the property tax bill in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the Ketchikan Gateway Borough Finance Department. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assessment Department, which is who to ask if the value looks wrong. For how to look up and pay the bill, go to the county's own payment information.
The Assessment Department values property as of January 1; the Finance Department sends the bill in July and takes payment. For property inside the City of Ketchikan, the borough's published tax rates include a separate city levy that the City Council sets, and properties in a service area can also owe service area taxes or fees. Online payments go through Xpress Bill Pay, which does not take debit cards; from July 1, 2026 a 2.5% fee applies to credit card payments, and e-checks carry no fee. Card payments, including debit, can also be made by phone. There is no payment drop box.
When are property taxes due in Ketchikan Gateway Borough?
Every due date for the 2026 (bills mailed July 1, 2026, due September 30, 2026) bill has passed, and Ketchikan Gateway Borough had not posted the next cycle's dates when we checked on September 23, 2026. If that bill is still unpaid, the late-payment rules below apply to it. Counties usually repeat the schedule, but confirm the new dates on your next bill. For the 2026 (bills mailed July 1, 2026, due September 30, 2026) bill, Ketchikan Gateway Borough has one due date: September 30, 2026. Payment is due by 5 p.m. on September 30, which is a Wednesday in 2026. A mailed payment must be postmarked by September 30; dropping it in a mailbox that day does not guarantee a same-day postmark. The borough says that when September 30 falls on a weekend, taxes are due the following Monday. Taxes not paid by the deadline become delinquent on October 1. A penalty is added and interest accrues on the unpaid tax, and borough staff cannot waive penalty or interest except for their own clerical error. Not receiving a bill does not excuse late payment. Unpaid taxes become a lien that can lead to foreclosure; the owner then has one year to redeem the property by paying the tax, penalties, interest and costs, after which the borough can take a tax deed.
From Ketchikan Gateway Borough's published schedule, checked September 23, 2026. If a date falls on a weekend or holiday, the county's own rules on the next business day apply.
Estimate the property tax on a home in Ketchikan Gateway Borough
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Ketchikan Gateway Borough's average effective rate of 0.67% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $2,635 / year
Property tax in Ketchikan Gateway Borough at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $2,619 |
| Median home value | $393,300 |
| Effective tax rate | 0.67% |
| Typical Alaska county rate | 0.69% |
| National median county rate | 0.81% |
Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.
How does Ketchikan Gateway Borough compare in Alaska?
Among Alaska's 28 counties, Ketchikan Gateway Borough has the 15th highest effective property-tax rate: 14 rank higher and 13 rank lower. That is near the middle for Alaska. Nationally, it ranks 1978th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Alaska county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Ketchikan Gateway Borough actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Ketchikan Gateway Borough's 3,933 owner-occupied homes, 36.2% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 61.4% pay at least $2,000, and 10.9% pay under $800. Another 8.4% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 427 | 10.9% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 531 | 13.5% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 231 | 5.9% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 990 | 25.2% |
| $3,000 or more | 1,424 | 36.2% |
| No property tax paid | 330 | 8.4% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $2,737 and owners without one pay $2,347. Owners who have paid off a home have usually held it longer, and in states that cap how fast an existing owner's assessment can rise, long-held homes carry lower assessed values. Census table B25103.
How does the Ketchikan Gateway Borough property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $2,619 is about 2.4% of the median income of Ketchikan Gateway Borough homeowner households, $110,875 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 68.6% of Ketchikan Gateway Borough's occupied homes are lived in by their owners; renters pay property tax too, just folded into rent.
Have property taxes gone up in Ketchikan Gateway Borough?
Yes. The median bill went from $2,272 in 2015-2019 to $2,619 in 2020-2024, a 15.3% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 35.7%, from $289,900 to $393,300. Bills rose more slowly than values, which is what assessment caps and falling millage rates do: the county is taxing a smaller share of each home's worth.
Two Census ACS 5-year periods with no survey years in common, in each period's own dollars. A change counts only if it exceeds the combined 90% margin of error.
Property tax in counties next to Ketchikan Gateway Borough
Ketchikan Gateway Borough borders 2 counties.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ketchikan Gateway Borough, AK (this county) | 0.67% | $2,619 | $393,300 |
| Wrangell City and Borough, AK | 0.56% | $1,673 | $296,400 |
| Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, AK | 0.51% | $1,139 | $225,300 |
How is a home assessed in Ketchikan Gateway Borough?
Alaska assesses homes at 100% of market value in every county, Ketchikan Gateway Borough included. How Alaska assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Ketchikan Gateway Borough?
Not statewide. Alaska lets each municipality adopt, with voter ratification, a residential exemption of up to $75,000 of assessed value. That is the Alaska rule, and it applies in Ketchikan Gateway Borough. Alaska's exemptions and relief programs in full.
Ketchikan Gateway Borough does not add relief programs of its own beyond the Alaska ones (checked September 23, 2026).
How to appeal your Ketchikan Gateway Borough property assessment
In Ketchikan Gateway Borough you appeal to the Ketchikan Gateway Borough Board of Equalization (the Borough Assembly, without the Mayor). The deadline: Within 30 days from the date your assessment notice was mailed. Notices are usually mailed in mid to late January. Ask the Assessment Department for an informal review with an appraiser first; if the value is not adjusted to your satisfaction, file the written appeal form from the Assessment Department within the same 30 days. A Board decision can be appealed to the Alaska Superior Court. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against the official appeal rules.
How Alaska's appeal process works, including the next level if the first one turns you down.
Alaska rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the Alaska page.
Work out your own numbers
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How much house can I afford?
Your income, debts and down payment against the 28/36 rule lenders actually use, with Ketchikan Gateway Borough's tax rate to hand.
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Mortgage calculator
Monthly payment with principal, interest, tax and insurance, plus what an extra payment saves you.
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Alaska income tax
Brackets, standard deduction and what Alaska actually taxes.
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Sales tax in Ketchikan Gateway Borough
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020-2024), tables B25103, B25077, B25102, B25119 and B25003; the five-year comparison uses the 2015-2019 estimates. Neighboring counties: Census county adjacency file.