(Bannock County News Release, October 1, 2025; Cover photo credit: Bannock County)
Can you believe it’s October already?
As of October 1st, there are only 91 days left in the year — it’s hard to believe how quickly time is flying by!
This time of year, our appraisers are especially busy reviewing building permits throughout the county — a process we refer to as New Construction and the Occupancy Roll. This includes appraising newly built homes, manufactured homes, commercial buildings, and other structures like detached garages or barns etc., that have been completed and occupied after January 1st. Today, I’d like to take a moment to explain how that process works.
The New Construction Process
When we receive a building permit, one of our appraisers visits the property to inspect it and document the stage of construction. We periodically follow up on these permits to monitor progress, taking photos along the way to verify any changes or updates.
Before a Certificate of Occupancy (CO) has been issued, we contact the building department to obtain the final plans. These plans help us gather important details like the number of bedrooms and bathrooms. However, it’s not uncommon for the actual construction to differ from the original plans — changes happen for many reasons. That’s why we strongly encourage homeowners to visit our office to confirm that the information we have on file is accurate.
After the CO is issued, we send a letter inviting the homeowner to come in and apply for the Homeowner’s Exemption. The homeowner has 30 days to come in to our office and apply so that it can be applied to the Occupancy Roll.
Determining Occupancy and Assessment
Our next step is to determine the move-in date. We prefer to contact the homeowner directly to get the most accurate information, but we may also use the CO date if needed. Once we’ve confirmed occupancy, we enter the property details into our system along with the official occupancy date.
New construction is assessed on a prorated basis. That means if you moved into your new home in April, for example, you would only be assessed from May through December of that year. The Homeowner’s Exemption is applied to this prorated value. Eligible homeowners may also apply for the Property Tax Reduction (PTR) program, formerly known as the Circuit Breaker. We ask that folks to contact our office for information on applying for the PTR program for Occupancy notices.
After this process we mail assessment notices in November or early December, showing the pro-rated amount of the full market value will appear on your assessment notice, which reflects the number of days you occupied the home or building.
You’ll have the opportunity to appeal the assessed value when the County Commissioners meet as the Board of Equalization (those dates are listed on the assessment notice). Once that process closes, we finalize the values, and the Treasurer’s Office will issue tax notices — typically in January. The first half of property taxes is due in February, and the second half in June.
Please note: You will also receive separate assessment and tax notices for the land only, issued in June and November, respectively.
Questions? We’re here to help!
We understand this can be a complex process, especially if you’re building a new home for the first time. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to our office — we’re happy to walk you through each step and ensure everything goes smoothly.
I hope you all have an amazing October!!!!
I LOVE FALL
~ Anita Hymas
Bannock County Assessor
