Property Tax Exemption for Senior Citizens and People with Disabilities
Washington State Department of Revenue
A property tax relief program run by county assessors and overseen by the Washington Department of Revenue. The program does two things. It lowers the property taxes you pay on your main home, both the regular and the excess levies, and it freezes your home's taxable value at its level in your first qualifying year, so future taxes are figured on the frozen value instead of the rising market value. It runs on a rolling two-year cycle. You must meet all the requirements by December 31 of the assessment year to get relief in the following tax year. Starting with tax year 2025, the home can include one accessory dwelling unit (a second small home on the property, sometimes called a mother-in-law unit). Only the home and up to one acre of land qualify, or more if local zoning requires it.
Who qualifies
What it covers
Cost
How to apply
How to apply
Find your county assessor
You apply to your county assessor, not to the state. Before you gather medical receipts, check whether the $7,500 standard deduction beats itemizing for you, because most people it does.
- County assessor portal, where offered Open
- Form REV 64 0002, the exemption application Open
- Form REV 63 0036, the Combined Disposable Income Worksheet Open
- County assessor exemptions line 206-296-3920
- Your county assessor's office
Documents to gather
- Proof that you are 61 or older by December 31 of the year you file
- Proof of disability, or Form REV 64 0095 Proof of Disability Affidavit
- Deed or proof you own and live in the home, plus trust documents if it is held in trust
- Combined Disposable Income Worksheet, Form REV 63 0036
- Last year's federal tax return and income statements
- Records of out-of-pocket medical and care costs
- Property tax records for each prior year you are claiming
Keep this up after you are approved
These are not one-time steps. Letting one slip can cost you the benefit.
- Do not ignore a renewal notice. If you do not return the renewal application, your exemption is discontinued until you apply all over again. You get written notice at least three weeks before it is due, and the renewal is due by December 31 of the year your assessor sends it.When a renewal notice arrives, put its due date in your calendar. It is due by December 31 of the year it is sent.
- The income rules changed for 2026 filings, and there is no automatic re-leveling. Your assessor may ask you to refile so your exemption level can be recalculated, and whether they do is a county-by-county decision. If you already have the exemption, call your assessor and ask whether you need to refile rather than assuming either answer.Call your county assessor and ask whether you need to refile so your exemption level can be recalculated. Whether they require it is a county decision, so there is no statewide answer.
- Report changes within 30 days on the Change in Status form: selling the home, moving out, a change in ownership, or income rising above your county's threshold.
Worth knowing
The income worksheet posted on the state website is out of date. It is still the April 2025 revision and has no line for the standard deduction, no $7,500 amount, and no rental deduction. If you fill it in exactly as printed you will itemize by default and never see the standard deduction you are entitled to. Go by the statute, not the printed form.
You can now take a standard deduction of $7,500, plus another $7,500 for a spouse or partner, instead of itemizing your medical costs. It needs no receipts and no documentation. This is new and most applicants do not know it exists. Itemizing is only worth the paperwork if your out-of-pocket medical and care costs exceed that, which they usually do only if you are paying for in-home care or a facility.
Renting a room in your home no longer counts fully against you. Up to $6,000 a year of rent from living space in your principal residence is deducted from your countable income. Short-term rentals are excluded from this and must still be reported as income.
If you qualified in past years but never applied, you can claim a refund for up to three prior years of property tax you already paid. This is the single most-missed piece of value in the program.
Once you qualify, your home's taxable value is frozen at the first qualifying year. Future tax is figured on that frozen value even as the market value rises, so the benefit grows over time.
The qualifying income limit is set per county, as a share of that county's median household income, so the same income can qualify in one county and not the next one over. Those shares rose for 2026 filings, so a limit that ruled you out before may not now.
You qualify at age 61, not 62, measured on December 31 of the year you file. Some county pages print 62, which is a county page error.
Disabled veterans qualify at a combined service-connected rating of 40 percent or higher, or a total disability rating. The Department of Revenue's own overview page still prints the old 80 percent figure and is out of date.
Combat-related special compensation no longer counts as income for this exemption.
The deferral program is a different thing. It postpones your tax as a lien with 5 percent interest rather than reducing it. Do not confuse the two.
The law is inconsistent about when income thresholds get readjusted. One subsection says August 1, 2026 and a cross-referenced one still says every third year from August 1, 2023. Neither date is settled, so check with your assessor rather than relying on a schedule.
See your next step, the documents you will need, and how to apply. Save it to your account to track your progress.
Where to go from here
VA Aid and Attendance and Housebound benefits
$2,424 to $2,874/moVA Aid and Attendance (A&A) and Housebound benefits are monthly payments added to a qualifying veteran's or survivor's VA pension. You cannot get both at the same time. Aid and Attendance is for those who need another person's help with daily activities, are bedridden, are in a nursing home because of a disability, or have severely limited eyesight. Housebound is for those who spend most of their time at home because of a permanent disability.
Last checked Jun 1, 2026
VA Survivors Pension
$975 to $1,558/moVA Survivors Pension offers monthly tax-free payments to qualified unmarried surviving spouses and unmarried dependent children of wartime veterans, subject to income and net worth limits set by Congress. May be supplemented by Aid and Attendance or Housebound benefits if the survivor needs help with daily activities or is housebound.
Last checked Jun 1, 2026
Elderly Simplified Application Project (ESAP)
$50 to $546/moESAP is a simpler way to get Basic Food for households where every member is 60 or older or an adult with a disability and no one has earned income. It is not a separate benefit. Your Basic Food amount is the same, but two things change. First, you are approved for 36 months instead of 12. Second, you do not have to do a renewal interview or the usual mid-period check-ins during that time. ESAP is decided only when you first apply and when you renew. A household already on Basic Food cannot switch into ESAP in the middle of a certification period. Reporting is lighter too: you only have to report if your household income goes over 130% of the federal poverty level or if you have large gambling or lottery winnings. If your household stops qualifying for ESAP during the period, for example a member who is not elderly or disabled moves in, or someone starts earning wages, you keep Basic Food for the rest of the 36 months but go back to the regular check-ins. The state's benefit system sets the ESAP status automatically.
Last checked Jun 17, 2026
Medicare Part D Extra Help (Low-Income Subsidy)
$5,700/yrExtra Help, also called the Part D Low-Income Subsidy, lowers what a Medicare beneficiary pays for prescription drug coverage. It can cover the Part D premium, the deductible, and the per-prescription copays, and it removes the Part D late-enrollment penalty and opens a special enrollment window to change plans. Recent federal changes folded the old partial subsidy into the full subsidy, so most people who qualify now receive the full benefit. People already enrolled in Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, or a Medicare Savings Program are deemed automatically eligible and do not need to file a separate Extra Help application.
Last checked Jun 1, 2026
Not sure this one fits your situation? Your local Area Agency on Aging can check what you qualify for and point you to the right programs, for free. No one will sell your information, and no one will cold-call you.
Source dor.wa.gov/taxes-rates/property-tax/property-tax-exemption-seniors-people-retire
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