Thousands of property owners in Pierce County will get their annual property tax statements in the mail beginning next week. But if you can’t wait, you can look yours up online at the Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer’s office here.

The files were posted Friday afternoon by the assessor’s office, along with a wealth of information you can see here about how much property is in the the county, the assessed value of all of it, budgets by taxing district and lots of other statistics.

Though average assessed residential property values in the county went down in 2010, many taxpayers will find themselves paying more in 2011.

The reason? Voter approved levies in many communities.

In Tacoma, for example, voters in Tacoma approved a new capital levy for technology in the schools a year ago. They also OK’d more money for upkeep of parks.

The tax issues that won at the ballot box in 2010 are, in a way, showing up in your mailbox in the coming week. They make up a portion of your overall tax bill. And if they’re new levies, lid lifts or increased rates, they’re part of the reason for your increased tax rate.

So, if you own a home in the heart of Tacoma that’s assessed at $200,000, your property tax for 2011 would be $2,892 (before adding in a few dollars for weed control and the conservation district). That’s about $250 more than you would have paid last year in property taxes on the same house – even though your assessed value went down.

How’s that, you say?

Well, the 2011 property tax rate in most of Tacoma (there are some variations) $14.46 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. So a home assessed at $200,000 in 2010 for 2011 would have a tax bill of $2,892 (200 x 14.46).

The same house might have been assessed at around $223,500 in 2009 for taxes paid in 2010. Values in the county dropped around 10.5 percent last year.

Soooooo, say you had a higher assessed value in in 2009 but your property tax rate was lower – in this case $11.82 per $1,000. Your bill last year would have been $2,642 (223.5 x 11.82)

It can all be very confusing, and taxpayers often have lots of questions. You can find some answers through the fact sheets at the assessor’s website.

Property taxes are split into two payments. The first half is due by April 30.