Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6162 makes broad changes to Washington property tax law. It expands and restructures the senior citizen and certain disabled veteran property tax relief program by amending RCW 84.36.381 and related sections, revises definitions and eligibility rules (age, disability, veteran status, ownership and residency requirements), sets how "combined disposable income" is calculated (including a standard deduction and itemizable health and care costs), and creates three income thresholds that determine graduated exemption levels. The bill also amends several existing statutes governing property tax deferral, tax billing and collection, and exemptions for farmer machinery and equipment, and it creates at least one new reporting requirement for the Department of Revenue. The legal changes are substantive and procedural: they expand tax-exemption criteria and amounts (a new, tiered exemption structure tied to three income thresholds), modify definitions (for residence, real property, disposable income, and related terms), change tax administration procedures (county treasurers must complete the tax roll before accepting payments, tax statements must be mailed by March 15 if conditions are met, and due dates remain April 30 and October 31), permit electronic billing as optional, authorize payment agreements and partial payments, revise interest and penalty rules for delinquent taxes (including a reduced interest rate for small residential parcels and specified penalty timing), require assessors may verify income documentation by May 31, define and allow collection of tax foreclosure avoidance costs, and authorize a preforeclosure waiver of interest and penalties for verified, income-qualified owner-occupants. Fiscal and levy changes are included: RCW 84.52.065 is amended so the state levy is generally described as $3.60 per $1,000 of assessed value but is set specifically at $2.075355 per $1,000 for taxes levied for collection in 2027, and chapter 84.55 RCW limitations apply beginning with taxes levied for collection in 2028. The bill requires the Department of Revenue to report by March 1, 2027 on what a consolidated state property tax levy would have been under certain assumptions; that reporting requirement expires December 31, 2027. Important portions of the act are not provided in the extracted text: some numeric details and definitions (for example the full definition of "disability" and the contents of certain amended sections and the act’s header amendments) are incomplete or truncated in these extracts.

If enacted, more older homeowners, certain disabled people, and qualifying veterans will likely pay much less in property taxes because the bill broadens and clarifies a tiered exemption based on combined disposable income, allows temporary absences and transfers of the exemption, caps how much rental income can be deducted for eligibility, and sets clear age and ownership rules. County assessors and treasurers will face more administrative work: assessors will verify incomes (with a May 31 deadline to require documentation) and determine qualification and valuation rules, treasurers must wait until the tax roll is complete before accepting payments or issuing receipts, distribute tax statements by March 15 when conditions are met, apply new delinquency interest and penalty rules, offer payment agreements, and may waive interest and penalties for income-qualified homeowners facing foreclosure. Farmers who use machinery and equipment exclusively in producing agricultural products can avoid state-purpose property tax on that equipment if they file the required claim with the county assessor. The state levy for schools is set lower for 2027 ($2.075355 per $1,000) and then subject to chapter 84.55 limits from 2028 onward, and the Department of Revenue must report by March 1, 2027 on what a consolidated state levy would have been to help lawmakers consider changes in 2027; this signals likely shifts in school funding and local tax burdens but the extracted text does not show full dollar thresholds for every exemption tier, the complete definition of disability, or all related amendments, so the overall revenue impacts and exact distribution of costs between state and local governments remain uncertain.