Frequently Asked Questions

If you'd like to change your mailing address for county assessment notices and tax bills, please click this link.

If you'd like to file for a homeowner's exemption, please click on this link.

The Homeowner's Exemption is a program that reduces property taxes for individuals who own and occupy their home as their primary residence. This is done by reducing the net taxable value of the home and up to one acre of land. Beginning in 2021 the maximum homeowner's exemption reduction increased to $125,000 and will remain that amount until the legislature changes it. 

To qualify for this exemption you must own and occupy the home as your primary and current residence. You can file an application any time AFTER you purchase, move in, and make the home your primary residence.

If you'd like to fill out a homeowner's exemption application, please click here.

• Buyers and sellers in the real estate market establish value.  The Assessor's staff researches the market and collects information about properties to estimate value.
• The Assessor's Office has no control over tax rates.
• The Assessor uses standard appraisal methodology, utilizing the three traditional approaches to value (cost, market, and income), to estimate the fair market value of a given property as of January 1st of every year.
• It is important to note that the Assessor is simply measuring the information produced in the market to determine the estimated value.  The economic principles of supply and demand, along with the desires of the purchasers and sellers of property, determine fair value.

Property are budget driven. This means that all property values could stay exactly the same and property taxes could still increase due to of budget increases.

Property taxes are the principal source of income for cities, counties and special-purpose governments like schools, libraries, cemetery, fire, and other taxing districts. The county Treasurer sends and collects the tax, then distributes it to these local governments. At the Assessor's Office, our job is to make sure homes and businesses are valued correctly. Under Idaho Code 63-205, our assessed value must be the same as the actual market value of that property as it is on January 1^st  of each year.

Determining Levy Rates

• 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

Taxing District Levy Example

Budget divided by property value equals tax levy rate

Example: $42 million / $13 billion = .003230767

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: taxable value mulitplied by levy rate equals tax amount. 

Example: $70,000 times 1.4062635% equals $984.39

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.

Tax Cycle Dates

• A property's value may change for a number of reasons. The most obvious is that the property changes. A bedroom, garage, or bathroom is added, or part of the property is damaged by a fire.
• The most frequent cause of a change in value is a change in the market. If a community's major industry leaves, property values can collapse. As older neighborhoods with good quality housing are discovered by young homebuyers, prices gradually rise and then may even soar as the neighborhood becomes fashionable. A shortage of detached homes in a desirable city neighborhood can send prices to extreme levels. In a recession, larger homes may stay on the market for a long time, but more affordable homes are in demand, so their prices rise.
• In a stable neighborhood, with no extraordinary pressure from the market, inflation may increase property value.

Only property that exists on January 1st is taxed on the regular property tax roll that year. New construction is added to our records and is taxed using the occupancy roll. The amount of the occupancy tax is the value of the structure(s) prorated from the month it was first occupied or used to the end of that year multiplied by the levy rate.

Example

A home is built on an existing property. It's completed and occupied in July. The assessment notice that is sent out in June that year will not include the value of that home. Thus, the tax bill that is sent out in December will not include taxes for the home. A separate assessment notice that includes only the value of the home is sent out the beginning of the following year. Then a separate tax bill for just the home is sent out approximately two months later. The following year the value and taxes for that home will be included with all of the other property on that parcel.

• Full Value of the Home: $235,000.00 
• Prorated Value
  July to December (Value divided by 12 months multiplied by 5 months) = $97,916
  Multiplied by the Tax Levy Rate = 0.01861108
  Equals the occupancy tax = $911.16

See Idaho Code 63-317.

The Assessor's Office has plat maps covering all properties in Kootenai County. They are available for your viewing at our office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. The maps are filed by township, range, section, and quarter section (northeast quarter, northwest quarter, southwest quarter, or southeast quarter) and provide parcel numbers needed to obtain parcel information.

The maps are also on the website. "Then select the township/range combination, the section, and then quadrant (quarter section). If you do not have this specific information, you can use the large wall maps at our office to narrow your search. 

Purchasing a Copy

The full sized plat maps may be purchased at the Assessor's Office at 451 Government Way in Coeur d'Alene. The maps measure approximately 18 inches by 24 inches and cost $2 each. When requesting a map, please specify the quarter section, section, township, and range of the map. The Assessor's Office can help you identify the map you wish to purchase.

You may also purchase a black and white map of Kootenai County from the Commissioner's Office. This map measures approximately 36 inches by 45 inches and costs $30.

There are other maps available for purchase from the Kootenai County Recorder's Office:

• Survey maps
• Recorder's plat maps (platted subdivisions)
• The above two types of maps come in two sizes:
  • 11 inches by 14 inches - These cost $1 each.
  • Large size - The sizes vary considerably and cost $4 each.
• You can request that maps be mailed to you. Postage will vary by map size and weight.

Please view a listing of the codes (PDF) and their meanings.

You can search by owner, address, parcel number, or alternate identification number (AIN) on the County website.

In addition to ownership name, mailing address, and possible location address, other information available on the website and at the office includes, but is not limited to, legal description, acreage of the parcel, assessed value, homeowner's exemption, timber and agricultural classifications, and property classifications.

Refer to the lower third of your Assessment Notice to the section entitled "Budget Hearing Information." The column on the left lists the Taxing Districts in which your property is located. The second column from the right lists the phone numbers for each district. The right-hand column provides the date and time for the budget hearings.

The Assessor's Office also receives a complete list of the Taxing Districts from the Auditor's Office. We can provide you the mailing address and name of the contact person for each district.

For more information about taxing districts, contact the Auditor's Office at:
451 Government Way
Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814
Phone: 208-446-1000

For more information on taxing districts, view our informational brochure (PDF).

There are a variety of situations in which the ownership of a property or name on the property might change. These include, but are not limited to, sale of property, death of one of the owners, addition of owners, removal of owners, and foreclosure on a property. Circumstances can vary so widely that we cannot describe every situation here.

The Assessor's Office is not able to provide legal advice to owners or potential owners on how to handle a change of name/ownership. Therefore, we recommend that you contact an attorney to advise you on the procedure.

If you think that you have all the documentation needed to enact a name change, please bring it directly to the Assessor's Office. A mapping specialist will review the material to see if it is sufficient for us to process a name change.

Each situation involving a question of acreage or change in the acres is different and must be examined individually by a mapping specialist.

Acreage amendments need to be researched and calculated. Additional information supplied by the property owner may help in this regard. Please inform the Mapping Department of any surveys or description changes to your property that would be helpful in determining the proper acreage for any given parcel.

For more information contact the Land Records Department in the Assessor's Office.

Each situation involving a change in boundaries is different and must be examined individually by a mapping specialist.

Changing the boundaries of properties may involve deeds for lot line adjustments between neighbors. A title company or surveyor can assist in the creation of the necessary documents to complete the lot line adjustment. A survey may be needed to comply with the requirements for State mapping standards.

The Assessor's Office cannot provide legal advice or assist you in the creation or amendment of documents or surveys.

Please refer to the instructions on the back of the form, "Statement of Intent to Declare Manufactured Home to Real Property." Obtain a form called a "Statement of Intent to Declare Manufactured Home to Real Property" from the Assessor's Office. A Deputy Assessor signs the form verifying that the land and home are under the same ownership.

The owner then contacts the building department located within their jurisdiction (Kootenai County for properties in the County outside any city limits; otherwise, Coeur d'Alene City Building Department, Post Falls City Building Department, etc.) for inspection to verify the home is set according to Idaho Code 63 to 304.

The owner then has his/her signature notarized and returns the completed "Statement of Intent" form, along with the original title to the manufactured home, to the Recorder's Office to record both documents. The Recorder's office will return the original "Statement of Intent" and original title to the owner. Taxes for the manufactured home must be prepaid if there is an existing assessment.

After recording, the owner takes the original "Statement of Intent" form and original title (no copies) to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The DMV forwards the documents to the Idaho Department of Transportation in Boise, and this office will eliminate the title for the manufactured home.

Reversing a Manufactured Home

• Obtain a form from the Assessor's Office called a "Reversal of Declaration of Manufactured Home to Real Property."
• The owner prepays the current year's property taxes on the home in the Treasurer's Office. If necessary, obtain a permission letter from the lender on the mortgage.
• The owner then has his/her signature notarized and then recorded in the Recorder's Office.
• The owner takes the recorded "Reversal of Declaration" form (the original) to the Department of Motor Vehicles to obtain a receipt of title. The new title is issued by the Idaho Department of Transportation in Boise.

The owner must first prepay the current year's property taxes on the manufactured home. A mover will not hook onto the home for transport unless the owner provides the receipt from the Treasurer's Office showing that the taxes are prepaid.

Please notify the "Mobile Home" Department in the Assessor's Office of the change of location and/or mailing address for Assessment Notices.

Change Ownership on My Manufactured Home

The title is the legal ownership. Obtain a form from the Assessor's Office. The current year's property taxes on the home must be prepaid. The new owner takes the Treasurer's prepaid tax receipt to the Department of Motor Vehicles to have the title changed.

If the manufactured home is your primary residence that you are occupying, apply to the "Mobile Home" Department of the Assessor's Office for the Homeowners Exemption.