Valuation Basics
State Law requires our office to value all taxable property at 100% of its true and fair market value as of January 1st of the assessment year. In Washington State, all property is subject to taxation unless specifically exempted by law. This means we must value property for what it could sell for in an open market. This can lead to situations where a property increases in value by a large percentage because we were low in our previous valuations. A large increase in value does not correspond to a 1:1 increase in taxes. In other words, a property going up by 50% will not have a 50% tax increase. You can use
our page here to compare taxes year by year and values year by year to see the change percentages in each.
Appraising Property
Real property is land and any improvements such as buildings or crops on land. Real property is valued using 1 or more of the 3 appraisal methods:
- The market or sales comparison approach uses sales to estimate value for similar properties.
- The cost approach considers what it would cost to replace an existing structure with a similar one that serves the same purpose and applies depreciation.
- The income approach is used primarily to value business property where the property tends to be worth its income-producing potential.
Our Real Property Appraisal Handbook can be viewed at any time.
Assessed Value Appeals
If you disagree with your valuation you should file an
appeal petition (PDF) with the Yakima County
Board of Equalization by July one of the assessment year or within 60 days of when the change of value notice was mailed, whichever date is later. Appeal forms are available from the clerk of the Board or the Assessor's Office.
Property Tax Calendar
2023 Property Tax Calendar