Clark County WA Property Tax Appeal: 2026 Deadline and How to File

If you own property in Clark County, Washington, and think your 2026 assessed value is too high, you can appeal to the Clark County Board of Equalization. The petition must be filed or postmarked by July 1, 2026, or within 60 calendar days of the mailing date on your Notice of Value, whichever is later — for most owners whose notices go out in spring, that makes July 1, 2026 the operative deadline. Filing is free, and appeals are decided by an independent board separate from the Assessor's Office.

One quick note before you keep reading: this guide is about Clark County, Washington — the county anchored by Vancouver, just across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon. If you searched for Clark County property taxes because you own something near Las Vegas, you actually want Clark County, Nevada, a completely different assessing system with its own assessor's office, no state income tax, and no Board of Equalization process like Washington uses. That's a separate guide on this site — double check which county you're dealing with before you file anything here.

How assessments work in Clark County

The Clark County Assessor's Office, currently led by Assessor Peter Van Nortwick, values real property annually as of the January 1 assessment date, aiming to keep assessed value in line with market value. Rather than physically inspecting every parcel every year, the office statistically updates values countywide each year and sends appraisers into the field to physically re-inspect roughly one-sixth of all properties annually, a six-year rotation. When your assessed value changes, the Assessor mails a Notice of Value — that mailing date is what starts your appeal clock.

If you think the number on your notice is wrong, the process has two stages. First, call or email the Assessor's Office and ask an appraiser to review the property record; a data error (wrong square footage, a nonexistent outbuilding, etc.) sometimes gets fixed without a formal appeal. If you still disagree, the formal route is a petition to the county Board of Equalization — a separate quasi-judicial body, not part of the Assessor's Office.

Whether you should appeal

An appeal is worth filing when you have genuine, evidence-backed reason to think your assessed value exceeds what your property would actually sell for as of the January 1 valuation date — recent comparable sales nearby, an independent appraisal, or documented condition issues the Assessor's data doesn't reflect. Clark County's Board of Equalization states that historically over half of appeals result in a favorable outcome for the property owner, whether that comes from an informal conversation with the Assessor's Office or a formal BOE hearing — a meaningful reason to at least start the conversation if your numbers look off.

Keep in mind you can only appeal the assessed value itself, not your total tax bill or a specific levy rate. Those are set separately by the taxing districts — cities, schools, fire districts, the port, and others — that serve your property, and rates vary depending on which districts your parcel sits in.

Step-by-step how to file

1. Start with the Assessor's Office. Call 564.397.2391 or email assessor@clark.wa.gov and ask an appraiser to walk through your property record before filing a formal petition — this resolves plenty of disputes on its own.
2. Get the appeal petition form. Forms are posted in the Documents section of the Board of Equalization's page on the county website, or available on request by phone or email from the BOE.
3. Complete the petition and attach your Notice of Value. The Board requires a complete petition with a copy of your Notice of Value included; incomplete petitions can be rejected.
4. File by the deadline — the later of July 1, 2026, or 60 calendar days after your notice was mailed. File through the county's online Property Valuation Appeal Portal, by mail (postmark counts), or in person. There is no filing fee.
5. Submit your evidence early. The Board asks that supporting evidence — comparable sales, photos, an independent appraisal — be submitted at least 21 business days before your scheduled hearing, not saved for hearing day.

What happens after

Once your petition is filed, the Board schedules your case for a hearing (some petitions may be resolved on the written record without an in-person hearing, depending on circumstances). At the hearing, you present your evidence and the Assessor's Office presents its basis for the value; the Board then issues a written decision. If the Board changes your assessed value, that revised figure carries into the tax calculation for the following year's bill. If you disagree with the Board's decision, Washington law allows a further appeal to the State Board of Tax Appeals.

Local tips

Pull your own comparable sales before you file, not after — the Assessor's Property Information Center on the county website lets you look up recent sales and property characteristics in your neighborhood, exactly what a BOE panel wants to see. Note Clark County has two different addresses on file: the Assessor's physical office is at 1300 Franklin Street, 2nd Floor, in downtown Vancouver, while general mail goes to P.O. Box 5000, Vancouver, WA 98666-5000 — use whichever matches how you're filing. If you're 61 or older, or have a qualifying disability, ask the Assessor's Office about the Seniors and Persons with Disabilities property tax exemption and deferral programs; income thresholds are adjusted periodically, so confirm current figures directly with the office rather than relying on an old number. Finally, don't assume your neighbor's levy rate is your levy rate — Clark County covers dozens of overlapping taxing districts, so check your own tax statement or the Property Information Center for the rate that actually applies to your parcel before estimating any savings from a successful appeal.