Georgetown property taxes track Seattle’s 0.99 percent effective rate, but the King County mass-appraisal model misfires on Georgetown homes in distinctive ways. Here is how to spot it.
Georgetown is a small industrial-residential pocket south of downtown, hemmed in by Boeing Field, the Duwamish, and the I-5 corridor, with a tight community of artists, small business owners, and old craftsman bungalows. The 2026 King County Assessor median assessed value across Seattle is $833,000 at an effective rate near 0.99 percent, producing a citywide median bill around $8,000 — but the bill that lands on a Georgetown home depends on the model’s neighborhood-level math, which is where the gaps appear.
How are Georgetown property taxes calculated?
King County reassesses every Seattle property every year, including every parcel in Georgetown. The Assessor’s mass-appraisal model weights square footage, year built, lot size, and recent neighborhood sales, then applies the combined Seattle levy rate (around 0.99 percent for 2026) to the result. Voter-approved levies for schools, transit, parks, and city services layer on top of the state and county base.
What the model rarely picks up are the property-specific and Georgetown-specific factors that buyers actually price into offers — and that is where most appeals are won. Anchored by Airport Way South, Boeing Field, and the Georgetown Steam Plant, Georgetown’s housing stock has its own quirks the citywide model does not always capture.
Where does the Assessor get Georgetown wrong?
Georgetown's overassessment pattern is industrial-and-airport adjacency. Boeing Field operations, the Duwamish industrial corridor, and the 1st Avenue South arterial all create real value drags the mass-appraisal model rarely captures fully.
Pull the FAA's flight-path maps for Boeing Field and the airport-noise contour for SeaTac (which clips Georgetown's southern edge). Industrial-frontage photos add concrete evidence. The discount these factors produce is well-documented and BOE-accepted.
Georgetown comps to South Park (south), the western edge of Beacon Hill, and the SoDo industrial residential pockets. A tight comp set drawn from genuinely similar homes — same submarket, similar size and age, similar condition — is what moves a Georgetown appeal at the King County Board of Equalization.
What does a Georgetown appeal actually look like?
Georgetown homeowners appeal through the King County Board of Equalization, the same independent panel that hears every Seattle and King County appeal. The 2026 filing window runs through July 1, or 60 days after your Official Property Value Notice mails, whichever is later. The hearing is short, usually 15 to 30 minutes by phone, and the Board wants concrete evidence: comparable sales, documented condition issues, or an outright error in the property record.
For the broader Seattle context, see the Seattle property taxes guide or the 2026 King County property tax appeal guide.
Is a Georgetown appeal worth filing?
At Seattle’s 0.99 percent effective rate, every $10,000 of assessed-value reduction is roughly $100 off the annual bill. A 10 percent reduction on a typical Georgetown home (recent sale prices around $675,000, assessed values somewhat lower) pulls roughly $600 a year off the bill, and reductions tied to documented evidence often land larger. Most Georgetown homes have at least one angle worth pursuing — the question is which one.
FairAppeal handles the full process from review through hearing, and only charges a percentage of first-year tax savings if the appeal actually reduces your taxes. Enter your address on the homepage for a free review — the 2026 window is still open.