Frequently Asked Questions

If you received an original tax bill and your mortgage company should be paying the tax, please send the bill to them immediately, keeping a copy for your records.

If you received a copy bill, the mortgage company requesting the bill is listed in the upper right-hand portion of the bill. Be sure to verify that this is your mortgage company. If not, please send a copy of the bill to your correct mortgage company.

Just prior to our billing, the mortgage companies notify us of the tax parcels they expect to pay. The Treasurer’s Office receives an electronic file that automatically downloads a computer code to each parcel for which billing is requested. The mortgage company receives an electronic billing for each of their coded accounts and the property owner is sent a copy. Please verify that the mortgage company requesting your bill is the company that currently services your mortgage. If the mortgage company payment is not mailed prior to the due date, late charge and interest will be added.  Post mark rules apply to mortgage companies also.

A late charge equal to 2% of any unpaid portion of the first half of the tax is added at 5:00 p.m. on the due date. Interest accrues daily at 1% per month, on a per diem. The rate is .032854 beginning January 1st of the year following the December 20th first half due date.

When any portion of a manufactured home or personal property tax becomes delinquent, a Warrant of Distraint is issued to the County Sheriff for collection. Full payment of all tax, late charge, warrant fees and interest is required to release the warrant.

Late Payment Calculator

If you received a Delinquent Notice but did not receive a property tax bill, it is often because your lender will automatically request the bill (approx. April) and plans for these taxes to be paid from your escrow account. If the property has recently been paid off, changed lenders/mortgage companies, or been refinanced, you will typically get a check back from your lender from your escrow account. This is meant to pay owed property taxes. Ada County charges property taxes in arrears. When you receive a tax bill in November, the taxes owing are for that current year.

Property owners may view the current year’s tax bill by visiting our website and clicking the “Pay Online or View Bill” button.

Tax bills are distributed for each parcel. However, failure to receive a tax bill does not excuse the taxpayer from paying the taxes, late charge, and interest accrued if any.

If you don’t have access to your payment coupon, you may simply write your parcel number on your check.

For a list of accepted methods of payment, please visit our payment methods page.

Property tax bills are sent to the owner on record.

Please reference your closing documents to determine what was agreed to in regards to property taxes. Oftentimes, the seller will allow a credit at closing for the anticipated tax amount.  If you cannot find this information in your closing documents or have further questions, please contact your title company as they may be able to assist you.

• If your new home was completed midyear and assessed after April, you may receive a “Subsequent/Occupancy” bill in January (due February 20th) or February (due March 20th) in addition to the “Real Property” billing issued in November, which represents a tax on the land. When the home is completed and occupied, the home value is prorated and taxes billed on a “Subsequent/Occupancy” tax roll.
• Subsequent bills are late entries to the tax roll, and may not be coded for billing directly to your mortgage company. If your mortgage company will be paying the bill, please forward it to them immediately.
• If you own a business, you may receive a real property tax bill for the land and buildings and a business personal property tax bill on furniture, fixtures, and equipment used in your business, if the total value of ownership exceeds the $100,000 annual exemption enacted in 2013.

Please visit our Property Tax Rolls page for further information.

Please complete a Change of Address form with the Assessor’s office.

To get a receipt for paid taxes, please complete our Tax Information Request Form and we will get one to you.

Postmarks are imprints on letters, flats, and parcels that show the name of the United States Postal Service (USPS) office that accepted custody of the mail, along with the state, the zip code, and the date of mailing. The postmark is generally applied, either by machine or by hand, with cancellation bars to indicate that the postage cannot be reused.
Taxpayers who send their payments by mail are cautioned that the USPS only postmarks certain mail depending on the type of postage used, and may not postmark mail on the same day deposited by a taxpayer.

ACCEPTABLE POSTAGE – Postmarked

• STANDARD POSTAGE STAMPS: Stamps purchased and affixed to mail as evidence of the payment of postage.

NON-ACCEPTABLE POSTAGE- Not Postmarked

• Metered mail: Mail on which postage is printed directly on an envelope or label by a postage machine licensed by the USPS. Many private companies use these types of postage machines.
• Pre-canceled stamp: Stamps sold through a private vendor, such as stamps.com®.
• Automated Postal Center (APC) stamps: Stamps, with or without a date, purchased from machines located within a USPS lobby.
• Permit Imprint: Pre-sorted mail used by bill pay services, such as online home banking

Property tax payments must be received or postmarked by the due date to avoid penalties. If a payment is received after the due date, with no postmark, the payment is considered late and penalties will be imposed, in accordance with Idaho law.

If you pay half of your tax by December 20th, and your lender does not request the bill, a second-half reminder notice will be mailed in May. Delinquent notices are mailed in January and July on all parcels with delinquent balances. Failure to receive a bill does not excuse the taxpayer from paying taxes, late charge & interest accrued if any.

Look up property tax bills

Ada County charges property taxes in arrears. For example, when you receive a tax bill in November the taxes owing are for that current year.

DUE DATE

• OPTION #1: Pay the whole amount by Dec 20th
• OPTION #2: Pay the first half on Dec 20th and second half on June 20th without penalties and interests.

Tax payments are governed by title 67 Idaho Code. Property taxes are due no later than December 20th, however, you may pay ½ of the total taxes due no later than December 20th; and use a grace period to pay the second ½ no later than June 20th of the next year. If ½ payment is not received by December 20th, your property tax bill is considered delinquent.

DELINQUENT PROPERTY

Partial payments toward real property delinquent taxes are accepted (any amount, any time) and are applied to tax, costs, interest and late charge in the proportion each bears to the total amount due.

PAYING FOR FUTURE TAXES

Partial payments of at least $25 can be applied toward current year or future taxes on all property types. Any remaining balance may be paid according to the standard schedules and regulations for property tax collection.

BUSINESS PERSONAL PROPERTY OR MANUFACTURED HOMES

Once any part of a personal property or manufactured home tax becomes delinquent, the unpaid portion of the entire tax shall immediately become due and payable.

Your property tax amount cannot be challenged.

You may appeal the taxable value of your property after you receive your Assessment Notice. You must submit your appeal by the fourth Monday in June. This appeal will be made to the Board of County Commissioners. If you did not appeal the current year’s assessed value during this time period, you must wait until next year to appeal the assessed value. Call the area appraiser listed on your assessment notice or apply online to begin the appeal process.

If you feel that the levy of a taxing district is too high or you want to know what the levy pays for, please call the district directly. The phone numbers of each taxing district within your property’s code area can be found on your tax bill or your Assessment Notice. You can also find contact information for each taxing district by viewing the Levy Rates by Tax District listing.

If a property is your primary residence, please ensure you have applied for and received the Homestead Exemption. Please see “How do I apply for the Homestead Exemption” in our FAQs or apply online.

Please choose the appropriate form for your situation from the Assessor’s Property Tax Reduction page.

When an Urban Renewal District (URD) is created, the taxing districts drawing revenue from property located in the URD, with the exception of the School District, agree to turn tax revenue on value increases after the baseline year to a “tax allocation fund” to make available affordable funding for improvements within the URD. Your tax bill shows the property value as assessed in the year the URD was created (base value) and additional value added in subsequent years (increment value). The total of the base and increment value represents the total assessed value of the property. Taxes on the base value are distributed to the standard group of taxing districts drawing revenue from property taxes in the area. Taxes on the increment value are distributed to the tax allocation fund. Being in a URD does not change your tax amount, only the way your taxes are distributed.

Please visit the Ada County Courthouse parking guidelines. The Ada County Treasurer is located on the east side of the first floor of the Ada County Courthouse at 200 West Front Street in Boise, Idaho.

To qualify for a Homestead Exemption, Idaho Code 63-602G, this property must serve as your primary dwelling. To receive the Homestead Exemption for the current year, you must occupy & apply before December 31st.  Applications received after this deadline will be considered for the next tax year.

Homestead Exemption Application

If payment is returned, you may be assessed a $20 service fee. 

Please contact your bank to stop payment on a check. If your payment is returned, you may be assessed a $20 service fee.