House Bill 1179 amends RCW 84.36.381 and creates a new section to provide property tax relief for qualifying senior citizens, certain disabled retirees, surviving spouses or domestic partners, and certain disabled veterans. The bill establishes income-based exemptions from excess and regular real property taxes and creates a valuation freeze for a claimant’s residence based on the assessed value as of the later of January 1, 1995, or the January 1 of the assessment year the person first qualifies. It also specifies ownership forms that qualify (fee simple, life estate, contract purchase, cooperative shares, marital or registered domestic partnership or cotenant ownership treated as owned by each spouse/partner/cotenant), allows transfer of exemption status to a replacement residence (but not more than one residence per year), and excludes subsequent improvements from the freeze in the year they are made. The bill sets eligibility criteria: claimants must be 61 or older on December 31 of the filing year, retired from regular gainful employment due to disability at filing, or a veteran with a VA combined service‑connected rating of 80 percent or higher or a total disability rating for a service‑connected disability; surviving spouses or surviving registered domestic partners qualify at age 57 if other requirements are met. It defines tiers of income‑based exemptions tied to three income thresholds (income threshold 1, 2, and 3) with different levels of tax exemption, and references RCW 84.36.383 for the definition of “combined disposable income.” The numeric values for the three income thresholds and the full text of the combined disposable income definition are not included in the provided facts. Procedurally, county assessors may require documentation to confirm estimated income prior to May 31 of the year following application, and the bill references interaction with other tax provisions (RCW 84.52.065(2) and RCW 84.55.050). A continued‑eligibility rule for certain cost‑of‑living increases applied to property taxes levied for collection in 2024. The act is prefiled January 7, 2025, and Sec. 2 makes the act apply to taxes levied for collection in 2026 and thereafter. The change is a substantive tax‑relief and procedural change (new exemptions and a valuation freeze plus documentation procedures); no criminal penalties or enforcement changes are included in the provided facts.

If enacted, many older homeowners, qualifying disabled retirees, and veterans with high service‑connected disability ratings (and certain surviving spouses or registered domestic partners) could pay much lower property taxes because their home’s taxable value would be frozen to an earlier assessment year and, depending on their income level, parts or all of regular and excess taxes could be waived. The freeze can move with a claimant to a replacement residence, improvements are taxed at current value, confinement to long‑term care does not automatically end the benefit, and the rules apply to taxes levied for collection in 2026 and later; the VA’s disability ratings are used to establish veteran eligibility and assessors may require income documentation (by May 31 of the year after application). The people most affected are senior and disabled homeowners and surviving spouses/partners who may see lower bills, while county assessors and local governments will need to verify eligibility, apply the freeze and transfer rules, and possibly list the exemption on ballot ordinances to enable certain tax relief. Local taxing districts and counties will likely face reduced property tax revenue growth and will need to adjust budgets and forecasting, and assessors will incur administrative work to track requalification and transfers. Key details that determine how many people qualify and the fiscal impact—specific numeric income thresholds and the full definition of “combined disposable income”—are not included here, so the scope of relief and revenue effects remain uncertain.