The year of the tax: Tacoma residents could see new or extended taxes in 2026
Tacoma public agencies are moving in 2026 to raise taxes or renew existing taxes that are set to expire.
The city of Tacoma, Parks Tacoma and Tacoma Public Schools have moved to increase taxes or seek voter approval to renew existing property taxes. The Tacoma Public Library also has initiated a process to explore the possibility of a new tax measure.
The moves come amid rising costs and some previously failed tax measures. Tacoma voters in April 2025 struck down a proposal to make permanent a streets levy. They also voted against a fire and public safety levy in 2024. Though the city of Tacoma’s proposed criminal justice sales tax is, for now, the only new tax, other agencies propose to extend or renew taxes that are currently in place that will expire soon.
Not every tax measure seeks to increase the property-tax rate that a homeowner pays, but homeowners could still see their bills increase if the county has deemed their property to have a higher assessed value.
Voter turnout, which tends to be highest in general elections, and election costs tend to influence when local governments choose to take measures to the ballot, according to the Municipal Research and Services Center, a nonprofit that provides local governments in Washington with policy guidance. Turnout matters more for ballot measures that require a minimum voter turnout, like bond measures.
Election costs are split between the jurisdictions that have measures on a ballot, so local governments might choose to put a measure on the ballot when other public agencies plan to do so as well to lower their own costs.
“At the same time, some agencies prefer not to submit tax measures at the same election as other overlapping jurisdictions, thinking that voters may be more likely to reject the measure if there are too many taxes on the same ballot,” the MRSC’s website states.
Here’s a roundup of tax hike and tax renewal efforts taking place in Tacoma in 2026:
City of Tacoma
The Tacoma City Council in early January unanimously approved a 0.1% sales tax hike to cover costs related to criminal justice, which, pending approval from state officials, would go into effect in April. The move came as the city contends with a multi-million dollar budget deficit.
After voters rejected a tax hike to raise funds for street improvements and repairs in April 2025, city leaders are considering the possibility of bringing a revised version of the measure to voters in August, they said at a City Council study session on Jan. 27. Though the city has not identified what the measure would look like and the council likely won’t vote on the matter until the spring, Mayor Anders Ibsen has said doing so is among his top priorities.
“If the council decides to move forward with a new street measure, I will work to ensure the measure is accessibly written and the city’s engagement is more proactive and directly incorporates community feedback into decision making,” he wrote in a statement.
Also under the realm of the city of Tacoma is the Tacoma Public Library, whose board in October voted to work with a consulting firm to “investigate prospects for a future library levy.”
Library spokesperson Mariesa Bus said the library’s operations are funded by the city’s general fund, but the library’s offerings are in a “vulnerable position” as the general fund faces a deficit.
Bus said it’s too early to comment on whether such a measure would appear on the ballot in 2026, and it’s too early to say what a potential levy could fund.
But “our recent strategic planning refresh process revealed our community is interested in seeing increased service hours, more collections (digital and physical), and improved facilities,” she wrote in a statement.
That means the city could see three different new tax measures in 2026. Ibsen acknowledged that it could mean higher costs for Tacoma residents.
“But when it comes to protecting our people, I refuse to let the perfect be the enemy of the good,” he said. “The city of Tacoma will always choose action.”
Tacoma Public Schools
Like other school districts in Pierce County, residents in the Tacoma Public Schools district saw two tax measures on the ballot in the Feb. 10 special election. The two measures sought to replace the districts’ expiring educational programs and operations levy, and its technology improvements and upgrades levy.
The educational programs and operations levy, or Prop. 1, proposed a rate of $2.50 per $1,000 of assessed value, or about $1,324 a year for the average house in Pierce County in 2025. The technology improvements and upgrades levy, also known as Prop. 2, proposed a rate starting at $0.84 per $1,000 of assessed value for collection in 2027 that will decrease to $0.74 per $1,000 of assessed value in 2030. That’s about $444 and $392 annually.
The two measures represent an increase to the previous rates. The educational programs and operations levy that voters approved in 2022 proposed a rate of about $1.92 per $1,000 of assessed value, and the technology improvements and upgrades levy proposed a rate that started at $0.62 and ended at $0.72 per $1,000 of assessed value.
Both measures eventually received more than enough support to pass — Prop. 1 received 70.97% of the vote, and Prop. 2 received 69.8%, according to the county.
The ballot measures come as the district has faced budget deficits in recent years. Though the district has been able to approve balanced budgets each year, the deficit has meant cuts to programs and positions that families, teachers and staff have said will affect the district’s most vulnerable students.
Parks Tacoma
Parks Tacoma in January kicked off the process to get a $155 million bond measure on the ballot for a special election on April 28. It proposes a rate of $0.45 per $1,000 of assessed value – about $249 annually for the owner of a house with an assessed value of $533,000, the most recent average for the park district.
The funds would cover costs like land acquisitions to boost the amount of green space in Tacoma and projects like improving trail systems or replacing playground equipment, according to Parks Tacoma.
The bond measure, if approved, would not increase residents’ taxes but would extend the duration of time that homeowners in Tacoma would be paying for Parks Tacoma’s bonds. Voters last approved a bond measure for $198 million in 2014, and Parks Tacoma voters will continue to contribute to repaying that debt until 2043. The new bond comes as the park district pays off debt from a 2005 bond measure. An approval of the new bond in April would mean taxpayers would continue to contribute to repaying debt until 2051.
