Property tax in Snohomish County, Washington

Updated

In Snohomish County, the property tax bill comes from the Snohomish County Treasurer's Office. 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 Snohomish County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.

The median property tax bill in Snohomish County, Washington is $5,364 a year, which is about 0.77% of the county's median home value of $696,000. That effective rate is higher than the typical Washington county (0.73%) 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 Snohomish County, and how do you pay it?

The bill comes from the Snohomish County Treasurer's Office. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Snohomish 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. Notices of value mailed in 2026 set the value used for 2027 taxes, so an appeal filed now affects next year's bill. Because of a change in how the Postal Service postmarks mail, the Treasurer asks that mailed payments be sent several days before the deadline, or that you ask at the post office counter for a hand-stamped postmark or use certified mail. Payments received or postmarked after the due date are returned. Online and phone payments go through the county's card processor: e-checks cost $1.50, debit cards $3.50, and credit cards 2.35% with a $2.50 minimum, and web payments take up to five business days to post. Current-year taxes are not eligible for a county payment plan.

When are property taxes due in Snohomish County?

For the 2026 bill, Snohomish 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. Late taxes are charged interest monthly from the month of delinquency until paid, at 9% a year (0.75% a month) on residential parcels with four or fewer units, with no penalties. All other parcels are charged 12% a year plus penalties of 3% on June 1 and 8% on December 1. These rates apply to taxes levied in 2023 and later.

Snohomish County property tax due dates, 2026
PaymentDueNote
First half (or full amount)April 30, 2026 (passed)Already past for the 2026 cycle. A first half paid after April 30 is charged interest (and any penalty) on the full year's tax, not just the first half. A total yearly tax under $50 is due in full by April 30.
Second halfOctober 31, 2026October 31, 2026 is a Saturday. State law and the Treasurer's own guidance say that when a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, a mailed payment postmarked on the next business day is on time, so a payment postmarked Monday, November 2, 2026 counts. The county's page on online payments says only that they must be made on or before the due date, so paying online by Saturday, October 31 is the safe choice.

From Snohomish 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 Snohomish County

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Snohomish County's average effective rate of 0.77% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.


Estimated property tax: $5,359 / year

Property tax in Snohomish County at a glance

Snohomish County, Washington property tax (Census ACS, reviewed September 23, 2026)
MeasureValue
Median annual property tax$5,364
Median home value$696,000
Effective tax rate0.77%
Typical Washington county rate0.73%
National median county rate0.81%

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 Snohomish County compare in Washington?

Among Washington's 39 counties, Snohomish County has the 17th highest effective property-tax rate: 16 rank higher and 22 rank lower. That is near the middle for Washington. Nationally, it ranks 1689th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Washington county ranked.

How much do homeowners in Snohomish County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across Snohomish County's 215,602 owner-occupied homes, 80.4% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 88.2% pay at least $2,000, and 4.6% pay under $800. Another 2.6% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Annual property tax paid by Snohomish County homeowners (Census ACS 2020-2024)
Annual billHomesShare
Under $8009,9824.6%
$800 to $1,4995,9422.8%
$1,500 to $1,9994,0171.9%
$2,000 to $2,99916,7147.8%
$3,000 or more173,24180.4%
No property tax paid5,7062.6%

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $5,449 and owners without one pay $5,128. That is within 10% either way, so in Snohomish County paying off the house does not go with a noticeably different bill. Census table B25103.

How does the Snohomish County property tax bill compare with local incomes?

The median property tax bill of $5,364 is about 3.9% of the median income of Snohomish County homeowner households, $136,044 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 68.2% of Snohomish 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 Snohomish County?

Yes. The median bill went from $3,848 in 2015-2019 to $5,364 in 2020-2024, a 39.4% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 72.7%, from $403,000 to $696,000. 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 Snohomish County

Snohomish County borders 5 counties.

Snohomish County and its neighbors, highest effective rate first (Census ACS 2020-2024)
CountyEffective rateMedian billMedian home value
King County, WA0.83%$7,114$859,900
Skagit County, WA0.79%$4,308$545,100
Kitsap County, WA0.77%$4,279$555,100
Snohomish County, WA (this county)0.77%$5,364$696,000
Chelan County, WA0.71%$3,503$490,100
Island County, WA0.67%$3,999$593,300

How is a home assessed in Snohomish County?

Washington assesses homes at 100% of market value in every county, Snohomish County included. How Washington assesses and reappraises homes.

Is there a homestead exemption in Snohomish 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 Snohomish County. Washington's exemptions and relief programs in full.

Snohomish County does not add relief programs of its own beyond the Washington ones (checked September 23, 2026).

How to appeal your Snohomish County property assessment

In Snohomish County you appeal to the Snohomish County Board of Equalization. The deadline: By July 1 of the assessment year or within 60 calendar days of the date on the notice of value, whichever is later, by 4 p.m. on the deadline day. The 2026 notices, which set values for taxes payable in 2027, were mailed June 26, 2026, and that window has closed; a late filing is accepted only in limited circumstances. 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

Sources