High property taxes? Here’s how you can save $1,320 and get help with the application
Homeowners, if your property taxes are too high, one of three state tax-relief programs may help you.
Assessor’s offices across Idaho are now accepting applications for enrollment in three state tax-relief programs: the circuit breaker, the Veterans Property Tax Benefit and the Property Tax Deferral.
And if you aren’t already receiving, or signed up to receive, the benefit of a fourth program — the homeowner’s exemption, the biggest program of all, because it’s available to all Idahoans who own their primary residences — now’s the time to sign up.
The deadline to apply for any of these is April 15.
1. The circuit breaker
The circuit breaker, officially the Property Tax Reduction program, can save you up to $1,320 on top of the homeowner’s exemption that all Idaho homeowners can receive on their primary residences.
You must have a 2019 income of no more than $31,280 after deducting non-reimbursed medical expenses, your house must have the homeowner’s exemption, and you must meet at least one of the following qualifications as of Jan. 1:
- 65 years or older
- A widow/widower of any age
- Blind
- Fatherless or motherless child under the age of 18
- Former prisoner of war or hostage
- Disabled as recognized by the Social Security Administration, Railroad Retirement Board or Federal Civil Service, or Public Employee Retirement System
- Veterans with 10% or more service-connected disability or who are getting a pension from Veteran’s Affairs for disability not connected to service
The Ada County Assessor’s Office mails applications to all county residents who were in the program last year. If you haven’t received yours or need a new application, contact your assessor’s office. You can call the Ada County Assessor’s Office at (208) 287-7200 or visit it at 190 E. Front St., east of the Ada County Courthouse on the ground floor of the Civic Center Apartments building.
If you have questions on the application or need help filling it out, you can get hands-on, one-on-one help at the Ada County Assessor’s Office or by visiting any of these:
- Boise Senior Center (690 Robbins Road in Boise) — 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. every Tuesday from Feb. 4 to April 7
- Meridian DMV (1769 N. Lakes Place in Meridian) — 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. every Wednesday from Feb. 5 to April 8
- Star Senior Center (102 Main St. in Star) — 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Friday, March 13
- Kuna Senior Center (299 Avenue B in Kuna) — 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Feb. 7 and March 6
- Garden City Public Library (6015 N. Glenwood St. in Garden City) — 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Feb. 14 and March 20
- Eagle Senior Center (312 E. State St. in Eagle) — 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on April 6.
2. Veterans Property Tax Benefit
This, too, can save you up to $1,320, and it has no income limit. You must be a veteran who is 100% service-connected disabled.
Surviving spouses can also use the benefit, though it cannot be transferred to a new property after the death of the qualifying veteran.
To be eligible, your house must have the homeowner’s exemption, and you must meet the following qualifications:
- Recognition for a 100% service-connected disability by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as of Jan. 1
- Own and occupy your home in Idaho as your primary residence before April 15. Mobile homes are fine.
The benefit is not automatically renewed year to year.
3. Property Tax Deferral
You can defer your taxes as long as you own your house if your 2019 income was $45,756 or less and you meet any of the eligibility requirements for the circuit breaker program above.
Deferred taxes eventually must be paid back to the state with 6% interest. They must be repaid if any part of the property is sold, the title is transferred, the qualified claimant (or last qualified claimant) dies, the property is no longer the primary resident, or the Idaho State Tax Commission determines the property tax deferral was granted to a person or property that does not qualify.
4. The homeowners exemption
Sometimes called the homestead exemption, this exempts 50% of a property’s value, up to a maximum of $100,000, for your home and up to one acre of land. There are no income, age or other restrictions.
The exemption applies only to your primary residence — not to any second homes or houses you rent out.
To qualify, you must apply to your county assessor. You can call or visit the assessor. In Ada County, you can apply online at adacounty.id.gov/assessor.
You don’t need to reapply as long as you own and live in the house — you’ll keep getting the exemption automatically each year, unless you’ve refinanced or added or removed a name from the deed.
The Idaho Legislature might lift the exemption’s $100,000 cap in response to fast-rising Treasure Valley home values — the Boise area’s rose faster than any other metropolitan area among the nation’s 100 largest in the year that ended Sept. 30. Stay tuned.
But any help from lawmakers won’t come in time for the tax bills homeowners received in November. Maybe next year.
Business Editor David Staats contributed.
This story was originally published January 16, 2020 at 4:00 AM.
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