Finance Department > Taxes

Property Taxes

The Kitsap County Treasurer collects the property tax levied by the City of Poulsbo and remits it to the City on a monthly basis. The majority of these taxes are received in May and November for taxes payable to Kitsap County twice a year. The property tax is recorded in the City’s General Fund.

2023 – Property Taxes Paid On Home With An Assessed Value of $400,000
Taxing Jurisdiction	Tax Rate	Tax Paid
Schools (State & Local)	4.799354	$1,919.74
County	0.651583	$260.63
Port	0.182934	$73.17
City	1.031093	$412.44
PUD	0.044723	$17.89
Library (Regional)	0.276157	$110.46
Fire District #18 & EMS Levy	1.874247	$749.70
TOTAL	8.860091	$3,544.04

Sales Tax

Effective April 1st, 2023 – sales and use tax within the City of Poulsbo will increase one-tenth of one percent (.001), bringing the total sales tax rate to 9.3%. The tax will be used for transportation services.

The State of Washington collects the 9.3% sales tax paid to vendors doing business within Poulsbo city limits and will distribute the City’s portion (1.2%) back to the City on a monthly basis. 1% of the received sales tax is recorded in the City’s General Fund, the newly approved .1% will be recorded in the Transportation Benefit District fund, with the remaining .1% recorded in the Affordable Housing Fund.

Sales tax is the City’s largest revenue source and, although it is a healthy source of income for the City, the City has historically been very conservative in its estimation.

*The County keeps 10% of this revenue; the remaining 90% is distributed back to the cities located within the county, based on population.

Utility Tax

Utility Taxes are taxes applied to utilities providing services in the City of Poulsbo. These include city-owned and privately-owned utilities. These tax rates are reviewed annually.

Effective Utility Tax Rates:

Water (12%)
Sewer (12%)
Solid Waste (6%)
Storm Drain (12%)
Electric (6%)
Natural Gas (6%)
Telephone (6%) – exclusive of Internet based services
Cable Services (6%) – exclusive of Internet based services

Other Taxes

The remaining taxes are composed of miscellaneous taxes that include:

Admissions Tax

The largest of the miscellaneous taxes, the Admissions Tax is a 5% tax on qualifying admission charges. The City began collecting this tax in 1999. A 10-plex movie theater in the City provides the majority of this tax revenue.

Leasehold Tax

Leasehold Taxes are paid to Washington State on government owned land that is being leased or rented. A portion of the tax on these type of properties is disbursed to the City.

Hotel/Motel (Lodging) Tax

Click here to find out more about Hotel/Motel (Lodging) Tax in the City of Poulsbo.

Excise Tax

Excise Tax revenue is a tax on the City’s solid waste activities. The tax is charged and regulated by the Washington State Department of Revenue.

Gambling Tax

Gambling Taxes are irregular in a community the size of Poulsbo. This tax revenue tends to be an unstable source and their receipts are, therefore, forecast conservatively.

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