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Home > Tax Relief Programs > Homeowner’s Tax Relief

Homeowner’s Tax Relief

Homestead Exemption

Each owner-occupied primary residence (house or manufactured home) and up to one-acre of land is eligible for a Homestead Exemption. This exemption allows the value of your residence and land up to one-acre be exempted at 50% of the assessed value up to a maximum of $125,000; whichever is less.

To qualify; you must own and occupy your home before December 31st , you must file an application with our office by December 31st, for the current tax year.  Applications received after April 15th*, on properties without an existing homestead exemption in the current assessment year, that are not newly constructed and occupied, shall have their exemption value pro-rated on a quarterly basis.

Application Received Date Exemption Proration
January 1 – April 15* 100%
April 16 – June 30 75%
July 1 – September 30 50%
October 1 – December 31 25%

Once you apply and qualify for this exemption, you only must reapply if you move or if the ownership changes.

Pursuant to Idaho Code 63-602G(§5) upon discovery of evidence indicating the existence of an improperly claimed Homeowner’s Exemption, the Assessor must assess a recovery of property taxes, plus costs, late charges, and interest.  Unless subject to a homestead exemption recovery case, exemptions shall not be removed within the current assessment year so long as the property/owner(s) met the qualification requirements for the Homestead Exemption on Jan 1st of that year, unless said property owner(s) were to apply and qualify for an exemption on a different property by the second Monday in July within the same assessment year.

If you have occupied a newly constructed home after the first of the year you must apply for the Homestead Exemption within 30 days of receiving a notice of assessment for the newly occupied dwelling for the exemption to be considered for the current assessment year.   Any application occurring after that timeframe will be considered for the following assessment year.  Homestead Exemptions for newly constructed owner-occupied dwellings allow for 50% up to maximum of $125,000 to be exempted from the pro-rated occupancy assessment of the dwelling.

 

*If April 15 is a weekend or a certain holiday recognized by the internal revenue service, such claims shall be considered timely filed if filed on the next business day, quarterly proration dates for the end of the first quarter and commencement of the second quarter shall be adjusted accordingly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who Qualifies?

To qualify, applicants must own, occupy and use the dwelling as their primary residence and apply before December 31. Although there are no income or age restrictions to qualify for the Homestead Exemption, taxpayers can qualify for an exemption on only one home. The statute governing qualifications for the Homestead Exemption is 63-602G.

The exemption will be extended to all newly constructed and occupied residential structures, including new manufactured housing, if the owner applies for and meets the requirements for such exemption within thirty (30) days of notification of appraisal by the assessor, according to Statute 63-317.

How does one apply?

You must complete an application for a Homestead Exemption. You can get an application by emailing us or calling our office at (208) 287-7200A Homestead Exemption application can also be filled out online.

The online application requires your parcel number; to locate this information use our Property Parcel Search by Address link. Your Idaho driver’s license is used to validate your identity in lieu of a signature, if you do not have an Idaho Driver’s License you must print and sign the application and scan and email, fax or mail your application to the assessor’s office. Digital signatures cannot be accepted.

If you file online a receipt will automatically be sent upon  submission of your application.  All other delivery methods have receipts available upon request. ***** RECEIPTS ARE NOT PROOF THAT YOUR APPLICATION HAS BEEN APPROVED.

What happens after my application is approved?

When the application is approved, the exemption is permanent as long as one owns and occupies the property. If the property is sold, the new owner must file an application with the assessor’s office.

Notices of approval are not sent to homeowners; to verify that your exemption has been processed please review your annual assessment notice. If you believe there is an error pertaining to your exemption contact our office at (208) 287-7200.

What is the application deadline?

The statutory deadline for filing an application for Homestead Exemption is December 31st of that current year**.  Applications received after April 15th*, on properties without an existing homestead exemption in the current assessment year, that are not newly constructed and occupied, shall have their exemption value pro-rated on a quarterly basis. (January 1- April 15*: 100%, April 16 – June 30: 75% , July 1- September 30: 50%, October 1 – December 31: 25%)

*If April 15 is a weekend or a certain holiday recognized by the internal revenue service, such claims shall be considered timely filed if filed on the next business day, quarterly proration dates for the end of the first quarter and commencement of the second quarter shall be adjusted accordingly.

**Homestead Exemptions need only to be applied for once unless there are changes to owner’s primary residency, property ownership changes, or ownership updates such as adding or removing owners from a property, or properties being transferred into trusts.

What else do I need to know about the Homestead Exemption?

Many taxpayers wait until the last minute to apply for these exemptions. Others fail to qualify because they misunderstand the law’s guidelines and deadlines.

Applying now provides assurance that all supporting documentation was obtained in time. We encourage taxpayers to request receipts for verification that their application was received timely.

Homeowner’s Tax Relief Program

In 2023 the Idaho State Legislature passed House Bill 292 which designates 4.5% of state sales tax revenue for Homeowner’s Property Tax Relief.  To qualify for the Homeowner’s Tax Relief credit, homeowners need to ensure that they have applied and qualified for the the Homestead Exemption (Homeowner’s Exemption) on their property by the second Monday in July.  Homeowner’s who already have the Homestead Exemption on their property do not need to file any additional application to qualify for this credit.  Once qualified, homeowner’s will see this credit listed on their tax bill.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who qualifies for Homeowner's Property Tax Relief program?

All residential or manufactured home property owners of non-newly constructed and occupied dwellings who have applied and qualified for the Homestead Exemption (Homeowner’s Exemption) by the second Monday in July in the year for the credit is to be applied.  If you have already qualified for the Homestead Exemption, you do not need to file any additional application to receive this credit.  As long as you continue to meet the qualification requirements to maintain your Homestead Exemption, you do not need to submit any additional application to receive this credit.

Property owners who have recently occupied newly constructed homes, which qualify for the Occupancy Tax Exemption do not qualify for the Homeowner’s Tax Relief Credit in the year in which they have received the Occupancy Tax Exemption which prorates the assessment of their newly occupied dwelling for only the portion of the year in which they have occupied the dwelling.  After the initial year in which occupancy of the newly constructed dwelling has occurred those properties that have applied and qualified for the Homestead Exemption by the second Monday in July of the following year will automatically qualify for the Homeowner’s Property Tax Relief credit.

I just built a home and recently occupied it, do I qualify for the Homeowner's Property Tax Relief Program?

No.  Property owners who have recently occupied newly constructed homes, which qualify for the Occupancy Tax Exemption do not qualify for the Homeowner’s Tax Relief Credit in the year in which they have received the Occupancy Tax Exemption which prorates the assessment of their newly occupied dwelling for only the portion of the year in which they have occupied the dwelling.  After the initial year in which occupancy of the newly constructed dwelling has occurred those properties that have applied and qualified for the Homestead Exemption by the second Monday in July of the following year will automatically qualify for the Homeowner’s Property Tax Relief credit.

What do I need to do to qualify for the Homeowner's Tax Relief Program?

Homeowner’s who own and occupy their home need to ensure that they have either an existing Homestead Exemption (Homeowner’s Exemption) in place, or need to make application by the second Monday in July for the Homestead Exemption in the year in which the credit will apply.  Once qualified for the Homestead Exemption, there is no additional application required to receive the Homeowner’s Tax Relief Credit.  Please note, if you lose your qualification for the Homestead Exemption reapplication for that program would be necessary to obtain this credit.  

How do I know if I received the Homeowner's Tax Relief Credit?

Once you receive your Tax bill in November, you notice a line item denoting a credit for the Homeowner’s Tax Relief (HTR) program on your tax bill.  If you received a Homestead Exemption (Homeowner’s Exemption) on your property in the current year, and you did not qualify for the Occupancy Tax Exemption as a result of occupying a newly constructed dwelling, you should qualify for the Homeowner’s Tax Relief (HTR) credit.