Wyoming committee reviews bill to base residential property tax on acquisition value

Representative David Locke told the Revenue Committee on Friday that House Bill 282 would change how residential property is taxed in Wyoming by using acquisition value—the price paid at purchase—as the base for taxing most homes beginning in 2026.

Locke summarized the bill as a three‑phase transition that would rebase older properties to a 2019 baseline, treat purchases from 2020–2025 using that year’s fair‑market calculation as a base, and apply acquisition value with a rebuttable presumption for purchases made on or after Jan. 1, 2026. He said the bill includes an annual escalator capped at 2 percent or the consumer price index, whichever is lower, and carve‑outs for transfers and clearly non‑arm’s‑length transactions. "My view of acquisition value is this is fair market value at time of purchase," Locke said during his presentation.

The bill’s sponsor and multiple witnesses framed the change as a move to limit taxation of unrealized capital gains tied to market spikes in recent years. "This bill is not tax relief, and it should not be considered tax relief," Brenda Henson, director of the Wyoming Department of Revenue, told the committee, urging the panel to consider implementation burdens and legal questions before advancing the measure.

Why it matters: HB 282 would alter the basis used to compute taxable value for roughly the state’s entire stock of residential accounts and, according to the Department of Revenue, affects roughly 230,000 properties statewide. Proponents say acquisition value would make annual tax increases more predictable for a homeowner who pays a high purchase price…