(Bannock County Assessor’s Office, March 1, 2023)
Successful outreach events!
We recently completed our outreach efforts for communities in Bannock County to spread the word about the Property Tax Reduction (PTR) Program, also known as the “Circuit Breaker,” program.
We’ve seen a great increase in new applicants this year, and I believe that’s directly tied to our outreach efforts, and, to put it simply, I am so excited to see people taking advantage of this tax relief program!
We sincerely appreciate the applicants’ effort to gather all the information we need for the PTR program. We also recognize the great efforts of those who not only attended the PTR information meetings for their sake, but who also have gone ahead and shared that information with their neighbors, friends, and family here in Bannock County. Thank you!
Legislative Updates:
In statewide news, we have been watching the legislative session this year quite closely because there are bills that can, and will, affect us if they go into law. One bill in particular, HB101, would not allow those of us here in your Assessor’s Office to prorate Homeowner’s Exemption in the future. That means if you bought your house in July and apply for the Homeowner’s Exemption (exempts up to $125,000 of your home’s taxable value), you would only receive the exemption for the remainder of the calendar year, instead of the full year. That’s not good!
A law passed (HB389) in 2021 removed the Homeowner’s Exemption deadline, which county assessors interpreted to mean we cannot prorate the exemptions. However, two Idaho counties interpreted the law differently and decided to prorate.
The State Tax Commission sued those two counties for prorating. However, a district court judge found that the two counties were correct in their decision to prorate.
I believe this is a win for Idaho homeowners. The problem with not prorating these exemptions is that property values are certified with the Idaho State Tax Commission after July. From then on, any value changes made throughout the remainder of the year have to be done tediously through a ‘letter of cancellation.’ This means the taxing districts (schools, cities, counties, etc.) do not get the money that they budgeted for within the current fiscal year because of these cancellations and delays.
If proration is allowed, the cancellation letters would not be as substantial of an issue. However, HB101 would remove the option to prorate, indefinitely. Now, there is a proposed bill that would allow proration by quarter, SB1075. Even more, if passed, this bill would appropriate funds from the state’s sales tax revenue to provide tax relief for homeowners (YAY!). You can read up on each of these bills at the links provided below.
At this point in time, our office is anxiously awaiting what will happen with this bill and other propositions made by our legislature, and we will keep you posted with brief legislative updates within the Assessor’s Corners segments in the future.
Thank you for your patience and support as we await these delicate proceedings, and we look forward to serving you in any way that we can throughout.
Anita Hymas, Bannock County Assessor
