Governor signs bill requested by County Assessor streamlining process to correct property tax errors

Property tax statement

On April 17, 2019 Governor Jay Inslee signed House Bill 1852, a bill initially drafted by King County Assessor John Wilson, and sponsored by Representative Bill Ramos (D-45th LD).

The bill streamlines and simplifies the process to correct “manifest errors” made by county assessors and issue refunds for overpayment of taxes.

Manifest errors are errors in description of the property that can be corrected by the Assessor without exercising appraisal judgement. 

Examples of a manifest error would be incorrect square footage of a residence, or an error in the legal description.

“We work hard to get right,” said Wilson “But when we make a mistake we want to fix it. I want to thank Rep. Ramos for his leadership in getting this common sense bill passed.”

Under state law, county assessors can correct manifest errors made up to six years in the past. HB 1852 will dramatically reduce the amount of paperwork and process required of taxpayers during that process.

The bill was co-sponsored by Rep. Gerry Pollet, D-46 (Kenmore, Lake Forest Park, NE Seattle).

The bill report and a copy of the bill can be found here.