HOMEOWNERS: Know your exemption

Residential property owners who purchased their primary residence this year need to make sure they take advantage of House Bill 562, allowing them to claim their homeowner’s exemption at any time during the year.

This specifically covers those residences that did not previously have a homeowner’s exemption in place. This effectively lowers their property tax bill by exempting the assessed value of their primary residence by the amount of the applicable homeowner’s exemption.

Representative Anderst and I were fortunate to work with the Idaho Association of Realtors on this bill. House Bill 562 was passed in the 2020 legislative session and took effect Jan. 1 of this year.

Prior to the passage of House Bill 562, a qualifying homeowner was required to file for the homeowner’s exemption prior to April 15 to receive their exemption for the entire year. Those who did not file prior to April 15, or bought their primary residence after April 14, were ineligible for the homeowner’s exemption, and had to wait until the next year to claim their exemption.

The passage of this bill allows a qualifying property owner to claim their exemption after April 14 and benefit from the corresponding reduction in their property taxes. Given the increase in market values, allowing this reduction in the taxable portion of assessed value, in the current year, is a substantial savings for the residential property taxpayer and a common-sense change in how your county administers this program.

REP. JIM ADDIS

Coeur d’Alene