2026 Assessment Change of Value Notices

The Change of Value Notice is not a tax bill

||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS |||

The Assessor’s Office mailed the 2026 Change of Value Notices on September 8, 2026. Changes reflect market sales between January 1, 2025 and April 30, 2026 with an assessment date of January 1, 2026. Properties with new construction are valued for improvements made to the property up to July 31, 2026. If your value did not change from last year, you will not receive a notice.

The total value of San Juan County increased slightly from $14.82 billion to $14.86 billion, with $114 million in new construction. The 2026 inspection cycle included 2,670 properties on the west side of Orcas not including Eastsound, Waldron, Crane and other small islands near Orcas, with 860 additional inspections for new construction across the rest of the county.

The Change of Value Notice is not a tax bill

Tax bills are mailed in February by the Treasurer’s Office after the Assessor’s Office approves the taxing district budgets and calculates the levy rates.

Budget-based property tax system

Washington uses a budget-based system. Most taxing districts (state, county, fire, port, library, for example) increase their budgets every year because the cost of services increases. If budgets stayed the same from one year to the next, the amount of tax collected would not change – even if assessed values doubled, or dropped in half.

Assessed values follow market value in Washington. As sale prices increase, assessed values go up. As sale prices decrease, assessed values go down. Under our budget-based system, the levy rate changes so the tax collected equals the approved budget amount. Higher assessed values mean lower levy rates, and lower assessed values mean higher levy rates.

Limits on tax increases

Taxing districts are limited to a 1% annual increase in their budgets plus an allowance for new construction in the district, usually another 1%-2% increase, unless voters approve a lid lift. Lid lifts allow a district to increase their levy more than the normal limit up to the limit stated in the ballot.

If you have questions about your assessment, please email the Assessor’s Office at assessor@sanjuancountywa.gov or call (360) 378-2172 between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM Monday – Thursday.