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Sticker shock at new property tax bills

Kevin Beach found out Thursday the property tax on his house near Lynnwood is rising from about $3,400 per year to about $4,400.

Was he expecting that big of a jump?

"No!" he answered. "A thousand dollars on this?"

His 1,300-square-foot home, with the original kitchen, was built in 1961.

"I can't afford to live in Washington State, I can't afford to eat, I can't afford to put gas in my vehicle," Beach said.

So, after living in the region since the 1980s, he might just move to Minnesota, where he imagines being able to afford a better house.

"You can get five bedrooms, 3,000-3,500 square foot home on five acres, maybe on a lake," Beach said.

Beach commented on a KIRO 7 Facebook Live explaining how to figure out your new property tax bill.

If you have a mortgage, you'll want to check online to calculate how much your house payment will go up.

The mailed notices sent by the King County Assessor's Office will go to property owners without mortgages.

Property taxes in King County are rising 17 percent on average.

In Snohomish County, they're going up an average of 16 percent.

In Pierce County, the average jump is 11.5 percent.

The property tax increase is being driven by both rising assessed values and the legislature directly connecting taxes for schools to those values, making people in property rich areas pay more.

King County Assessor John Wilson says property owners can appeal their assessed value.

"I sort of suspect that we will see a lot more appeals this year," Wilson said.

People 61 and older making less than $40,000 can apply for some property tax relief.

But the assessor says there is no current system to allow people who have paid off their homes to pay their property taxes in monthly installments.

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