Senate backs extending tax exemption after death

BOISE (AP) — Death and taxes may be life's only certainties, but Idaho lawmakers don't want death to mean increased taxes.

The Senate on Friday passed a measure 29-5 to allow Idaho's popular homestead exemption to apply to a property for a year after the homeowner dies.

That's to give survivors time to bring the estate in order, without facing the immediate prospect of a rising tax bill.

Sen. Michelle Stennett, whose husband, father and father-in-law died in 2010, argued for the bill.

Though families try to resolve estates quickly, she says, complications can arise.

The popular exemption allows Idaho homeowners to exempt 50 percent of their property value from taxation, up to a set amount.

The measure has also passed the House 64-3, so it's headed to Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter's desk.