S T 3 and your Property Taxes
Will Sound Transit affect your property taxes? The short answer is YES! If you live within the Regional Transit district boundaries. You will see an increase in your property taxes. The long answer: What you will see is $0.25 annually per $1,000 of assessed valuation ($100 annually on a $400,000 house). It is always a good idea to check your assessed value of your primary and income properties to make sure you are not being overtaxed. Then Car tabs have gone up 1.1% ($110 annually for each $10,000 of vehicle valuation). Sales Tax is going up as well, 1.4% ($0.14 on a $10 taxable purchase). Plus rental car sales are affected 0.8 percent ($0.80 on a $100 car rental). Any approved regional school levies will also add to your tax burden. If you happen to have rentals within these boundaries your taxes will go up on your rental properties as well as your primary residence. The good news is “rental properties” are not subject to the 10k limit to deduction of property taxes in the newest Federal tax bill. Like it or not, your taxes are going up!
According to the Seattle Times on average median household, at $77,000 income, already pays $303 a year for earlier phases of Sound Transit, approved by voters. With ST3 added, the total would be $629.
ST3 costs would run higher in relatively affluent Seattle and the Eastside, since the medians are lowered by cheaper Pierce County, where home values lag more than $100,000, or $25 in ST3 tax.