Many people mistakenly think the change in their assessed value is a direct link to what will happen with their property taxes, but property taxes are budget driven not assessment driven. This means that all property values could stay exactly the same and property taxes could still increase because of budget increases. There is a cap to budget increases which is discussed in more detail here. It is important to note that property taxes are the principal source of income for cities, counties and special-purpose governments like fire, schools, library,cemetery and other districts. These taxing districts provide vital services for our citizens, many of which are required by law regardless of the funds available. See Required County Services.
When it comes to property taxes there is a confusion of the duties of the Treasurer and Assessor since they are so closely related. The county Treasurer sends the tax bills, receives tax payments, then distributes it to the taxing districts. The Assessor's job is to make sure homes and businesses are valued correctly for the purpose of calculating each owner's tax bill. Under Idaho Code 63-205, the assessed value must be the same as the actual market value of that property as it is on January 1st. As mentioned, the assessed value helps determine the tax burden of the property owner, but it is not the only factor. Levy rates have a large impact on one's tax bill. A levy rate is the amount multiplied by the assessed value to calculate the tax bill.
Determining Levy Rates
Taxing District Levy Example
|
Budget Request |
/ |
Property Value |
= |
Tax Rate (Levy) |
|
$42,000,000 |
/ |
13.2 billion |
= |
.00311313 |
-
Each tax district determines their budgets at public hearings. See Idaho Code 63-803
-
Individual properties are assessed to determine their market value
-
Homeowners (and other) exemptions are subtracted from the value
-
The total budget dollars requested by each district is divided by the total taxable value in the areas they serve.
Information on taxing district's actual budget requests are available on this website under the heading "Taxing District Budgets". Information on how levy rates are used and how they impact the tax bill is below.
How are your Property Taxes Calculated?
|
a) |
County |
0.003113130 |
|
b) |
School |
0.005137568 |
|
c) |
City |
0.005811937 |
|
d) |
Special Districts (highway, cemetery, etc.) |
0.001004090 |
|
|
0.014062635 |
|
House Value: |
$100,000.00 |
|
Land Value: |
$ 40,000.00 |
|
Total Value: |
$140,000.00 |
|
Minus Homeowners Exemption: |
($70,000.00) |
TOTAL TAXABLE VALUE: $70,000.00
|
Taxable Value
|
x
|
Levy Rate
|
=
|
Tax Amount
|
|
$70,000
|
x
|
.014062635
|
=
|
$ 984.39
|
-
Properties are generally served by more than one tax district, so the levies of all the tax districts serving your property are added together. The geographical areas in each county having a common group of tax districts is called a Code Area. The levy for this Code Area is shown in the table below.
-
The taxable value of each property is determined:
-
Individual Tax bills are calculated:
The collection of unpaid balances owed to certain agencies, may be added to your property tax bill. If you have questions regarding an amount charged by an agency to your property tax bill, please contact that agency. See Idaho Code 50-1008.
At this point you may have some questions such as:
Doesn't the law limit the amount taxes can increase?
How do property taxes increase?
What property is taxed?
These questions can be answered by following the links attached to them. Look for other questions you may have in the Frequently Asked Questions section of this site. A listing of levy rates is made available annually on the Treasurer's department's site.