Groups offer details on property tax relief

The Idaho Legislature passed several bills during the 2023 session to provide property tax relief based on the Fiscal Year 2023 surplus. The bills include House Bill 292, HB258, and changes to the property tax reduction program, which was formerly known as "circuit breaker."

"The purpose of these new bills and changes is to reduce the property tax burden for owners without shifting costs between types of property," Jennifer Economu, Boundary County treasurer, said. 

Three types of property tax relief from HB292 will be available in 2023, Economu said.

• School District Facilities Fund will be paid to eligible school districts’ bonds and temporary supplemental levies using state money to contribute to a reduction in property tax. Relief will be reimbursed based on average daily attendance. Not all school bonds will be eligible, but those that are will be reflected as a savings on the tax bill. 

This money is reimbursed directly to the schools with bonds or levies that are eligible for this relief, Economu said.

• Homeowner Tax Reduction provides a relief to the property of taxpayers who own and occupy their home. This tax relief credit is applied only to parcels with a homeowner’s exemption, and will be paid by the state reflected as a credit on the tax bill. 

"This is a percentage of the home’s value and is calculated using the sum of the HTR lists provided statewide divided by the amount allocated in the Tax Relief Account held by the state," Economu said.

The homeowner's exemption must have been applied for by the second Monday in July to be eligible for the credit. Applications after this date may still receive a homeowner's exemption, but not the additional HTR credit. If your property already qualified for an exemption, you do not need to reapply. HTR will not apply to newly built homes completed in 2023. 

• Additional Property Tax Relief is for all property owners based on a percentage of the property value. After $50 million from the State Tax Relief Account has been applied to HTR, 50% of the remaining funds will be allocated to all properties and will be allocated to urban renewal agencies, if applicable. This will also be reflected as a credit on your tax bill that will be paid by the state directly to the county on property owners' behalf. 

HB258 provides property tax reduction benefits to veterans with 100% service-connected, permanent disabilities. This bill allows for a one-time application rather than annual re-qualification. 

Economu said changes to the PTR program include increasing the income and property value thresholds and making the program more accessible to seniors and disabled property owners. The SDFF, HTR and ATR will reduce the tax amount owed prior to applying the PTR payment, she added.

The state will disburse these credits directly to county governments, and they will then be distributed to the local taxing districts similar to other state replacement money. Any property tax relief that properties are eligible for will automatically be applied to tax bills and will be reflected as a credit.    

The Idaho Association of County Treasurers  and the Idaho Association of Counties have provided answers to frequently asked questions regarding this tax relief. That information can be found online at tinyurl.com/3ryvx749/.