Property tax in Cowlitz County, Washington
In Cowlitz County, the property tax bill comes from the Cowlitz County Treasurer. The 2026 bill is paid in 2 installments, and the next one is due October 31, 2026. You can look up and pay the bill on the county's own payment page. Taken from Cowlitz County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Cowlitz County, Washington is $3,245 a year, which is about 0.82% of the county's median home value of $397,500. That effective rate is higher than the typical Washington county (0.73%) and higher 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 Cowlitz County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the Cowlitz County Treasurer. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Cowlitz County Assessor's Office, 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.
Washington collects in the same calendar year it names: the 2026 bill is paid April 30 and October 31, 2026, and 2026 statements were mailed February 17. Notices of value mailed in 2026 set the value used for 2027 taxes. Cowlitz County gives only 30 days after a value notice to appeal, shorter than the 60 days some Washington counties allow. Online and phone payments go through an outside payment processor: e-checks cost $2.00 and cards 2.4% with a $2.00 minimum, and card payments can take up to five days to reach the Treasurer. The Treasurer warns against paying through Doxo. Every relief program the Treasurer and Assessor list is a state program.
When are property taxes due in Cowlitz County?
For the 2026 bill, Cowlitz County splits the bill into 2 payments, the first due April 30, 2026 and the last October 31, 2026. The next one due is the second half, on October 31, 2026. For taxes due in 2023 and later, late taxes on residential property with four or fewer units (including manufactured and mobile homes) are charged 0.75% interest a month on the full amount owing, with no penalty. All other property is charged 1% interest a month on the full amount owing plus penalties of 3% on June 1 and 8% on December 1.
| Payment | Due | Note |
|---|---|---|
| First half (or full amount) | April 30, 2026 (passed) | Already past for the 2026 cycle. A total yearly tax of $49.99 or less must be paid in full by April 30. |
| Second half | October 31, 2026 | October 31, 2026 is a Saturday. State law makes a tax payment made on the next business day timely when the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, so a payment made Monday, November 2, 2026 is on time. The Treasurer's pages do not mention the weekend rule; they say a mailed payment must be postmarked by the due date and an electronic payment made by midnight on the due date is on time. The Treasurer's office is closed on Fridays, so Friday, October 30 is not an in-person option. |
From Cowlitz County'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 Cowlitz County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Cowlitz County's average effective rate of 0.82% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $3,260 / year
Property tax in Cowlitz County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $3,245 |
| Median home value | $397,500 |
| Effective tax rate | 0.82% |
| Typical Washington county rate | 0.73% |
| 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 Cowlitz County compare in Washington?
Among Washington's 39 counties, Cowlitz County has the 8th highest effective property-tax rate: 7 rank higher and 31 rank lower. That is on the higher side for Washington. Nationally, it ranks 1544th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Washington county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Cowlitz County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Cowlitz County's 29,876 owner-occupied homes, 54.1% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 76.3% pay at least $2,000, and 9% pay under $800. Another 2.7% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 2,684 | 9% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 1,980 | 6.6% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 1,629 | 5.5% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 6,625 | 22.2% |
| $3,000 or more | 16,164 | 54.1% |
| No property tax paid | 794 | 2.7% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $3,358 and owners without one pay $3,005. 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 Cowlitz County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $3,245 is about 3.4% of the median income of Cowlitz County homeowner households, $94,095 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 68% of Cowlitz County's occupied homes are lived in by their owners; renters pay property tax too, just folded into rent.
Have property taxes gone up in Cowlitz County?
Yes. The median bill went from $2,160 in 2015-2019 to $3,245 in 2020-2024, a 50.2% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 81.3%, from $219,300 to $397,500. 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 Cowlitz County
Cowlitz County borders 5 counties, 1 of them across the state line.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clark County, WA | 0.82% | $4,290 | $522,900 |
| Cowlitz County, WA (this county) | 0.82% | $3,245 | $397,500 |
| Columbia County, OR | 0.74% | $3,137 | $421,600 |
| Lewis County, WA | 0.67% | $2,581 | $385,800 |
| Skamania County, WA | 0.67% | $3,532 | $529,500 |
| Wahkiakum County, WA | 0.6% | $2,392 | $396,800 |
How is a home assessed in Cowlitz County?
Washington assesses homes at 100% of market value in every county, Cowlitz County included. How Washington assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Cowlitz County?
No. Washington has no general homestead exemption; the broad protection is the 1% limit on how much a taxing district's regular levy can grow each year without voter approval. That is the Washington rule, and it applies in Cowlitz County. Washington's exemptions and relief programs in full.
Cowlitz County does not add relief programs of its own beyond the Washington ones (checked September 23, 2026).
How to appeal your Cowlitz County property assessment
In Cowlitz County you appeal to the Cowlitz County Board of Equalization. The deadline: By July 1 of the assessment year or within 30 days of the date the change of value notice is dated and mailed, whichever is later. A petition filed after the deadline is accepted only if the Board votes to accept it, and that decision cannot be appealed. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against the official appeal rules.
How Washington's appeal process works, including the next level if the first one turns you down.
Washington rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the Washington 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 Cowlitz County'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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Washington income tax
Brackets, standard deduction and what Washington actually taxes.
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Sales tax in Cowlitz County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Cowlitz County, Washington: 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.