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Mission About
Washington Parish Biz
Start 1-Stop Contact
Us
In Louisiana,
all real and personal property is assessed by the Parish Assessor, which
is an elected public official accountable to the voters. The following
items are totally exempt from property taxes in Washington Parish:
|
| Assessment
and Reassessment Washington Parish utilizes the "use cost" approach versus the "book value" approach to determine the Fair Market Value of property. Commercial property is allowed to reach a base value of 20% of orignial value while the floor for industrial property is 30%. The Parish is required by Louisiana law to undertake reassessment every four (4) years. |
| Rollback
Taxes There are no Rollback Taxes in Washington Parish. Rollback Taxes are often employed by other areas to collect a higher rate of taxes for a defined "lookback period" of several years when a change in land use occurs in which the new use results in a higher assessment rate. For example, some communities utilize rollbacks when a piece of property converts from an agricultural to a commercial or industrial use. |
| Homestead
Exemption Washington Parish discounts the first $75,000 in Fair Market Value for residential property. |
| Property Tax Calculation Formula |
Annual property taxes on a given asset are calculated utilizing the following formula:
|
Fair
Market Value of Asset:
|
$_____________
|
|
Times
Assessment Rate:
|
X_____________%
|
|
=Assessed
Valuation:
|
$_____________
|
|
X
Millage Rate in the Tax District
in which the asset is located |
X_____________
|
|
=
Property Tax Amount:
|
$_____________
|
Millage
Rates
Applicable millage rates vary from one physical location in the Parish to
another. This is due to the fact that in addition to certain Parish-wide millages
for schools and other services, additional millages are applied against taxable
assets located within a municipality and-or in certain special service districts
which provide fire protection, drainage, flood control, water, street lighting
and-or other services.
The current average Parish-wide millage rate is 106.6. The range is 97.4 mills
to 115.6 mills. See below for Sample Property Tax Calculations in Ascension
Parish.
| Sample Property Tax Calculations for Washington Parish | |||||||||
|
Property
Type
|
Fair
Market Value
|
X
|
Assessment
Rate
|
=
|
Assessed
Value
|
X
|
Millage
Rate*
|
=
|
Property
Tax*
|
| Residential** |
$ 100,000
|
10%
|
$ 2,500**
|
.10606
|
$ 265.15
|
||||
| Residential** |
$ 250,000
|
10%
|
$ 17,500**
|
.10606
|
$ 1,856.05
|
||||
| Residential** |
$ 500,000
|
10%
|
$ 42,500**
|
.10606
|
$ 4,507.55
|
||||
| Agriculture |
$1,500,000
|
10%
|
$150,000
|
.10606
|
$15,909.00
|
||||
| Commercial/ Industrial*** |
$5,000,000
|
15%
|
$750,000
|
.10606
|
$79,545.00
|
||||
*Calculation based on the
Parish-wide average millage rate.
**For residential property, the first $75,000 in Fair Market Value is discounted
under Washington Parish's Homestead Exemption program.
***See Industrial Property Tax Exemption incentive program under Local Taxes
and Fees in Washington Parish section below. This exemption is not factored
into the above calculation.
| Sample Property Tax Rates in Washington Parish as a Percent of Fair Market Value | |||
|
Property
Type/Fair Market Value
|
Low
Case*
|
Average
Case**
|
High
Case***
|
| Residential $100,000**** |
.2435
|
.2652
|
.2890
|
| Residential $250,000**** |
.6828
|
.7424
|
.8092
|
| Residential $500,000**** |
.8279
|
.9015
|
.9826
|
| Agricultural |
.9740
|
1.0606
|
1.1560
|
| Commercial/Industrial Land: |
.9740
|
1.0606
|
1.1560
|
| Commercial/Industrial Buildings, Machinery, Equipment & Fixtures*****: |
1.4610
|
1.591
|
1.7340
|
| *Assumes
the property is located in that portion of the Parish that has the lowest
combined millage rate for the various taxing authorities. **Assumes that the property is located in a hypothetical portion of the Parish in which the Parish-wide average total millage would apply. *** Assumes the property is located in the portion of the Parish that has the highest combined millage rates for the various taxing authorities. ****Fair Market Valuation prior to the reduction of $75,000 for the Homestead Exemption. *****Click here to see Industrial Property Tax Exemption incentive program under Local Taxes and Fees. This exemption is not factored into the above calculation. |
|||
Payment-In-Lieu-of-Taxes
Program
Within certain limitations, Louisiana allows for its political subdivisions
to enter into Payment-in-Lieu-of-Taxes (PILOT) programs with new and expanding
enterprises. PILOTs require that the effected property be titled to a political
subdivision such as the Ascension Parish Industrial
Development Bond Board via a taxable or tax exempt bond program. Owing
that the Ascension Parish Industrial Development Bond
Board is a tax exempt entity, there would be no ad valorem taxes due
on the subject property. This frees up the Industrial
Development Bond Board to negotiate a PILOT with the effected company.
A key restriction is that the negotiated annual PILOT cannot exceed that of
normal ad valorem taxation. One key benefit of the PILOT program is that the
payments can be equalized over a negotiated period, front-loaded or back-loaded
depending upon the needs of a particular company just as long as the annual
PILOT does not exceed normal ad valorem tax levels. Another key feature is
that PILOTS can be structured around a single element of a project. For example,
it may be beneficial for a company to do a PILOT for just the pollution control
components of the facility. In addition, the PILOT agreement can be structured
to anticipate future expansions in order to minimize any time delays in getting
approval by not having to re-start the process down the road.
Washington
Economic Development
Foundation
526 Georgia Ave.
P. O. Box 668 Bogalusa, LA
70429-0668
(985) 735-7565
email: info@wedf.com
Copyright
2002-2010
Washington Parish Economic Development Foundation
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