Property Tax Increase from the Whatcom County Tax Assessor

Many Whatcom County citizens received letters in the mail from the Whatcom County Tax Assessor at the end of this November. The Whatcom County Assessors Office reevaluates the assessed value of all properties within the county every 4 years. Due to the recent jump in real estate prices over the last 4 years, many property owners are being hit with some pretty heavy property tax increases.

I was contacted 2 days ago by some clients that own a property that had an assessed value increased of 300%. With our local real estate market flattening over the last year, they did not understand the reason for such a sharp tax increase. I am sure that my clients are not alone in feeling an unjust tax increase. My clients asked me what they can do about the increasing assessed value of their property.

If you feel that the assessed value of your property increased too much, you need to do something about it right away. The Whatcom County Assessor’s Office has an appeal process, but the timeline is very short. You only have 30 days within receiving your “Official Valuation Change Notice” to appeal the assessed value of your property. If you have immediate questions about the process call the Whatcom County Assessor’s Office at 360-676-6790 or 360-398-1310.

If you would like to petition for a hearing before the Whatcom County Board of Equalization, you must use the Department of Revenue approved forms. Below is a link to download the Taxpayer Petition Form.

Whatcom County Tax Payer Petition Form

Posted by Ryan Martin