Sound Transit car-tab valuation: the schedule in use vs. the 2006 schedule

What this dataset measures

Both schedules are fixed in statute or in nonpartisan legislative staff analyses, so they can be compared exactly year by year. The comparison shows how much higher the schedule in use values a car of each age than the schedule the Legislature adopted in 2006 to track market depreciation.

Geography

Washington, Sound Transit district (urban King, Pierce and Snohomish counties)

Unit of observation

Vehicle year of service (passenger cars and light trucks)

Update cadence

Static; update only if the Legislature changes either schedule

Curator

FactHub Research Team

Curated data tables

These related tables form this versioned dataset release. Each table has its own downloadable file and field definitions.

Taxable value by year of service under each schedule

One row per year of service. Taxable value is expressed as a percentage of the vehicle's base manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP).

Unit of observation: Year of service

View this table

mvet-schedules.csv text/csv · 335 bytes

4 field definitions

Field	Type	Meaning	Units	Value type
year_of_service	integer	Year of service; the model year counts as year 1. Row 16 covers 16 or older.	years	observed
old_schedule_pct_of_msrp	number	Taxable value under the schedule Sound Transit uses now (Schedule 1: 100% of base MSRP times the percentage). Years 13 and older are 10%.	percent of base MSRP	observed
schedule_2006_pct_of_msrp	number	Taxable value under the 2006 schedule: 85% of base MSRP times the RCW 82.44.035(3)(b) percentage.	percent of base MSRP	derived
ratio_old_to_2006	number	How many times higher the schedule in use values the car than the 2006 schedule.	ratio	derived

Saved analyses

Sources

1. Washington State Legislature 2006 valuation schedule (85% of base MSRP times Schedule B percentages)

   Retrieved October 18, 2026. Public record (Washington statute). Statutory text is public and may be reproduced.

   Reliability: Government. Official Revised Code of Washington text maintained by the Code Reviser. Enacted by SSB 6247 (2006) after a Joint Transportation Committee study.

2. Washington State Senate Committee on Transportation Schedule 1 percentages in use by DOL and Sound Transit

   Retrieved October 18, 2026. Public record (legislative staff analysis). Public legislative document.

   Reliability: Government. Prepared by nonpartisan Senate committee staff in 2017 for a bill to switch Sound Transit to Kelley Blue Book values. It reproduces both schedules side by side.

3. Washington State House Office of Program Research Cross-check of both schedules

   Retrieved October 18, 2026. Public record (legislative staff analysis). Public legislative document.

   Reliability: Government. Nonpartisan House staff analysis of Initiative 976 (2019). Its schedule tables match the Senate report and RCW 82.44.035.

4. Sound Transit Combined 1.1% rate and $110 per $10,000 of depreciated value

   Retrieved October 18, 2026. Public agency document. Linked, not redistributed.

   Reliability: Party to the dispute. Has a stake in this finding. Sound Transit collects the tax and defends its use of the older schedule. Its rate and bond-retirement figures match state law and court records.

Limitations and reproducibility

Fully reproducible: Every value is copied from the cited schedules or computed by simple arithmetic: the 2006 value is 85% of base MSRP times the RCW 82.44.035(3)(b) percentage, and the ratio is the in-use percentage divided by the 2006 value. The worked example multiplies a $30,000 base MSRP by each percentage and by 1.1%.

• These are statutory taxable values, not market values. Neither schedule measures what a particular car would sell for; mileage, condition, trim and model all matter.
• Year of service counts the model year as year 1, so a 2026 model in calendar 2026 is year 1 and a 2023 model in 2026 is year 4.
• The schedule in use is Schedule 1 of former RCW 82.44.041 as amended by Referendum 49 (1998), for passenger vehicles, motorcycles, light trucks and small trailers; trucks over 6,000 pounds use different schedules not shown.
• The worked example applies the full 1.1% combined Sound Transit rate to both schedules for comparison. In law, the 0.3% Sound Move tax expires when its bonds are repaid (expected 2028), so after the switch the 2006 schedule would apply to the 0.8% ST3 tax only.
• Dollar values are rounded to the nearest dollar.