The Valley Signal

Government & Accountability

How to Claim the Homeowner's Exemption in Teton County

Idaho's homeowner's exemption cuts up to $125,000 off a primary home's taxable value, yet most Teton County homes don't claim it. How to qualify and file.

By Valley Signal Staff ·

DRIGGS — Idaho's homeowner's exemption takes half the value of an owner-occupied home, up to $125,000, off the amount the county taxes it on. In Teton County, 2,764 of the county's 7,323 residences carry the exemption, according to figures a county commissioner presented at a June 23 budget work session. Roughly 4,500 do not.

Some of those owners do not qualify. Others, one commissioner said, are people who "just didn't know to claim it."

Claiming the exemption takes one application filed with the county assessor. Once the assessor approves it, the exemption stays in place for as long as the owner owns and occupies the home.

What the exemption does

The exemption applies to a primary residence and up to one acre of land. It removes 50% of the property's assessed value, up to a maximum of $125,000, whichever is less, from the value the county taxes. A home assessed at $400,000 is taxed as though it were worth $275,000. A home assessed at $200,000 is taxed on $100,000.

The $125,000 cap is a flat figure set in state law. Idaho removed the earlier inflation indexing in 2016 and has set the ceiling as a fixed dollar amount since, raising it to $125,000 in 2021. The cap has not moved as valley home values climbed.

The break does not lower the county's tax levy or anyone else's bill. It shifts where the tax falls. Property that does not get the exemption, including second homes and short-term rentals, carries a larger share of the same levy.

Who qualifies

The exemption is for an owner who occupies the home as a primary residence. A house or a manufactured home both count. Second homes, short-term rentals, and other properties the owner does not live in do not qualify, which explains part of the roughly 4,500 residences without an exemption. The county counts 685 short-term rentals it knows of, and commissioners estimate the real number runs closer to 1,000.

The rest of the gap is harder to account for. A property with no exemption could be a rental, a second home, or a primary residence whose owner never filed. The June 23 discussion put a name to that last group when a commissioner said some non-claimants did not know the exemption existed.

How to claim it

The assessor's office requires a completed Homeowner's Exemption application and a copy of an Idaho driver's license for every owner listed on the property. All owners sign the form. The office accepts the application by mail, email, or fax.

To receive the exemption for a given tax year, the owner must both own and occupy the home before December 31 and file the application by December 31. Once the assessor approves it, the exemption is permanent for as long as the owner lives in the home. A new application is needed only when the owner moves or the property changes hands, and a new owner files their own.

The Teton County Assessor's office is at 150 Courthouse Drive in Driggs. Reach the office at (208) 776-8203 or [email protected], and find the application form posted with the office's tax relief programs.

What to watch: The deadline to file for the current tax year is December 31. Whether the roughly 4,500 unclaimed residences are second homes that never qualified or owner-occupants who never filed, the assessor can sort only the applications it receives.

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