Annual tax bills go out to property owners

Property owners in Washington County should have received their 2019 tax bills in the mail.
 The county treasurer’s office mailed 9,039 tax bills on Nov. 8. By law, the property tax bills must be mailed by the end of November.
 Property owners can pay tax bills in full or in two installments, with the first payment due by Dec. 20, 2019, to avoid late charges and interest. If the taxes are paid in two installments the last day to pay the second half is June 22, 2020.
 The county treasurer also accepts monthly payments. Any portion of property tax due can be paid at any time prior to the due dates. The total tax bill must be paid in full by the due dates to avoid penalties.
 The treasurer collects property taxes for taxing districts in the county but does not set the tax levy rates. The amount of property tax is based on the budgets of the multiple taxing districts in the county, such as city and county government, fire district, library district, school district and others.
 Officials for each taxing district develop and approve an annual budget needed to provide services. The part of the approved budget to be funded by property taxes is divided by the total taxable value of all properties within the taxing district.
 The same calculation is made for each taxing district where a property is located and the resulting tax rate for each district is added together. The total property tax rate is multiplied by 100 percent of the market value of the property minus allowed exemptions to calculate the taxes owed.
 Under state law there is no legal limit to how much any property’s tax bill can increase or decrease. Taxing districts can raise the property tax portion of their budget by no more than 3 percent, plus a growth factor for new construction and annexation.
 The county’s tax levy rate went down slightly in 2019 compared to 2018. The levy rate was set at $507.83 per $100,000 of assessed property, a decrease from $508.52 per $100,000 of assessed value in 2018. In 2017, the county tax rate was $541.63 per $100,000 of assessed value.
 The county tax rate does not include the property taxes collected by other taxing districts, like fire district, school district, etc., which will appear on a property owner’s tax bill as itemized levies.
 Property owners outside of the Weiser Valley Highway District also pay a county special bridge and road tax levy. Property owners living within the Weiser Valley Highway District pay the district’s tax levy rate.