Idaho's revenue nearly $98 million below projected number through April

The state’s revenue through April is $97.6 million below the Legislature’s estimated revenue for this point in the fiscal year.

Automatic withdrawals from sales tax revenue — as a result of recent legislation over the past few years — are leading to lower revenues hitting the state general fund. Approved tax cuts this year will also reduce state revenue by another estimated $400 million annually in subsequent years. 

Money flowing into the state general fund is up from last year, by about 1.6%, but still behind the targeted revenue that which legislative budget-writers estimated, according to a report from Legislative Budget Manager Keith Bybee.

Individual income tax collection in the general fund is up by $122.5 million year-to-date from last year and corporate income tax revenue is up $36.1 million, the report shows.

The total revenue the state has collected from sales tax is also up 3.4%, but legislation from the past few years has a percentage of that money redirected to other funds before it goes into the state’s main general fund. For example, House Bill 292, passed in 2023, directs a percentage of sales tax revenue into two funds, one for school district bonds and levies and another to go toward reductions of homeowner property tax bills. 

HB 521, passed in 2024, diverted more sales tax revenue to go out for a bond and made available $1 billion to school districts over the next 10 years for school facility projects.

HB 25, which passed in 2025, will divert more funding July 1 toward use for road and bridge projects.

There are other diversions from sales tax revenue already in code, such as revenue sharing with local government entities, the local highway district fund and the state's permanent building fund. 

The budget writers of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee projected total revenue to come in at $5.99 billion for fiscal year 2025; this number was slightly higher than the governor’s office’s estimate of $5.94 billion. The fiscal year 2025 estimate was voted on unanimously Jan. 16; however, the fiscal year 2026 revenue projection took multiple votes and weeks before the committee could agree on a number.

Eventually, JFAC members decided to create the state budget assuming revenue of $6.4 billion — a 6.8% increase over what they predicted in revenue for this fiscal year, the Idaho Capital Sun reported.

The new fiscal year begins July 1.