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Idaho Tax Commission presents assessment process, relief totals and long‑standing homeowner programs
Summary
Kathleen Ireland of the Idaho State Tax Commission summarized how property assessments and levy calculations work, reported 2024 statewide assessed value totals, and outlined tax‑relief measures from House Bills 292 and 521 and long‑standing programs such as the circuit breaker, disabled veterans credit and tax deferral.
Kathleen Ireland, a property‑tax policy research specialist with the Idaho State Tax Commission, gave the committee an overview of Idaho’s property‑tax system, assessment practices, recent assessed‑value trends and the totals for recent tax‑relief measures.
Ireland said statute requires all taxable property be assessed annually with a lien date of Jan. 1 and that county assessors operate on a five‑year reappraisal cycle so that at least 20% of parcels are physically inspected each year and the remainder are indexed or trended. "Assessors are on a 5 year reappraisal cycle," she said; "statute requires that every parcel ... needs to be at 100% of market value."
Ireland reported total statewide assessed value for 2024 at about $363,000,000,000, up from $342,000,000,000 in 2023. She noted the extraordinary increase in 2021–22 tied to in‑migration and market changes: "Idaho saw a roughly $110,000,000,000 increase in value within that 1 year."
On revenue shares, Ireland said schools used about 20% of property tax statewide in 2024 after relief programs; counties, cities and other local taxing districts make up the remainder. She explained how taxing district budgets translate to levy rates: taxing districts set budgets, remove other revenue sources, and divide the budgeted net levy by net taxable value to determine levy rates.
Ireland summarized relief measures enacted in recent legislation: House Bill 292 directed roughly $107 million to the school district facilities fund, of which $97.7 million was used to lower school levies; House Bill 521 provided about $128.4 million to that fund. Homeowner tax‑relief credits totaled nearly $200 million in 2023 and fell to about $118 million in 2024 after legislative changes. Ireland said those relief amounts reduced the total hypothetical statewide property tax levy by measurable percentages in 2023 and 2024 when applied.
She also reviewed long‑standing homeowner programs: the circuit‑breaker credit (up to $1,500 for eligible homeowners; 2025 income limit cited at $37,810 and home‑value tests tied to county medians and a $400,000 cap), the service‑connected disabled veterans credit ($1,500, state funded; 25,371 approved claimants in 2023 averaging about $952 each, totaling about $24 million), and a tax‑deferral program for qualifying homeowners (income limit cited at $60,170 for 2025; 27 applicants in 2024, 11 approvals; 2024 cost cited at $18,344 and a 6% interest rate for deferrals).
Committee members asked technical and presentation questions about bill‑credit line items on the tax bill and the tax commission’s regional support for assessors. Ireland said the tax commission maintains consulting appraisers who work with county assessors and that tax bills itemize relief credits. "On every tax bill. Both of those programs are completely itemized," she said, referring to school relief and homeowner credits.
Ireland closed by offering to supply members with additional examples of tax bill screenshots and follow‑up information about line‑item displays and credits.
