Note X – Property Tax

Note X – Property Tax

The county treasurer acts as an agent to collect property tax levied in the county for all taxing authorities.

Property Tax Calendar

Property tax is recorded as a receivable and revenue when levied. [1] Property tax collected in advance of the fiscal year to which it applies is recorded as a deferred inflow and recognized as revenue of the period to which it applies. [2] No allowance for uncollectible tax is established because delinquent taxes are considered fully collectible. Prior year tax levies were recorded using the same principal, and delinquent taxes are evaluated annually.

The (city/county/district) may levy up to $__________ per $1,000 of assessed valuation for general governmental services.

The (city/county/district’s) regular levy for (year) was $__________ per $1,000 on an assessed valuation of $__________ (million) for a total regular levy of $__________. [3] [4] [5]

Washington State Constitution and Washington State law, RCW 84.55.010, limit the rate.

Instructions to preparer:

[1] Cities must recognize property taxes already in the hands of the county treasurer. If December taxes have been distributed by December 31, and you do not accrue estimated collections for January and February, use the following sentence.

Property tax revenues are recognized when cash is collected. The amount of taxes receivable at year-end that would be collected soon enough to be available to pay liabilities of the current period is immaterial.
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[2] Counties should add the following sentence in front of the sentence that begins:
No allowance for _______________

The balance of taxes receivable includes related interest and penalties.

If the city/county/district estimates uncollectible taxes, use the following paragraph instead:

Property tax receivables are reduced by an allowance for uncollectible taxes which is estimated at __ percent of (total/personal) property taxes receivable at year-end.

Cities with firemen's pension funds should add the following paragraph, if the levy is restricted to the firemen's pension fund.

The city is also authorized to levy $.45 per $1,000 of assessed valuation for the firemen's pension fund. See (Pension Note No.__). This levy is subject to the same limitations as the levy for general government services. The city's firemen's pension levy for (year) was $______ per $1,000 for a total levy of $______.
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[3] Property tax road levy shifts – road diversion

Counties should add the following paragraph to supplement the note with disclosure of any diverted road levy. The note should specifically identify amounts diverted for non-road purposes.

The county is also authorized to levy $2.25 per $1,000 of assessed valuation in unincorporated areas for road construction and maintenance. This levy is subject to the same limitations as the levy for general government services. The county's road levy for (year) was $______ per $1,000 on an assessed valuation of $______ (million) for a total road levy of $______. The diverted county road levy for (year) was $______ per $1,000 on an assessed valuation of $______ (million) for a total diverted road levy of $______.
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[4] If the government has any special levies, they should be disclosed separately.

Special levies approved by the voters are not subject to the limitations listed above. In (year), the (city/county/district) levied an additional $______ per $1,000 for (give purpose) for a total additional levy of $______.
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[5] If the city/county/district has several special levies or wishes to disclose the distribution of its tax levies, the following note format may be used instead of the last paragraph of the sample text:

For (year), the (city/county/district) levied the following property taxes on an assessed value of $______ (million). (The special levies identified in the table were approved by the voters and are not subject to the limitations listed above.)

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