Taxes & Insurance in Burien
Burien residents pay no state income tax but face a genuinely high combined sales tax rate; property tax follows King County's countywide rate, and Sea-Tac proximity is a real factor in some insurance and noise-mitigation considerations.
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Learn moreNo state income tax, with a real, narrow-base exception
Washington levies no state individual income tax. Its real capital gains excise tax applies to long-term gains above an annual threshold at 7%, rising to 9.9% above $1 million in gains as of the 2025 expansion -- a genuinely narrow-base tax reaching only a small share of high-earning taxpayers.
A genuinely high combined sales tax rate
Burien's combined 2026 sales tax rate is 10.4% -- Washington's 6.5% state base plus local, transit, and city components -- among the higher rates documented across this build's Washington Tier B markets.
Property tax at King County's highest-in-state countywide rate
Burien's effective property tax rate runs at approximately 0.83% -- the same King County countywide average established in this project's companion bellevue-wa.js record, and the highest countywide rate of Washington's 39 counties.
A real, disclosed airport-proximity factor worth understanding
Burien's proximity to Sea-Tac Airport (about 2 miles west) is a real, practical consideration alongside taxes and insurance: some buyers specifically seek out or avoid homes under the documented turboprop flight path (35-40 overflights under 3,000 feet during north-wind conditions, roughly 35% of the time) -- confirm a specific address's exposure directly before purchasing.
Key takeaways
- No state income tax, though Washington's real capital gains excise tax (7%-9.9%) applies to high earners statewide.
- Burien's combined 10.4% sales tax rate runs on the higher end of this build's Washington Tier B markets.
- Property tax (approximately 0.83% effective) follows King County's countywide rate.
- Confirm a specific address's Sea-Tac flight-path exposure directly -- it varies meaningfully within Burien.
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