How are the taxes on my property determined?

The first thing you need to know about property taxes is that they are budget driven. This means that all property values could stay exactly the same and property taxes could still increase because of budget increases.

Property taxes are the principal source of income for cities, counties and special-purpose governments like fire, schools, library, cemetery and other 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 1st.

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 Request divided by property value equals tax rate (levy)

Example: $42,000,000 / 13.billion = $311,313


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.


TypeLevy
County0.03113130
School0.05137568
City0.05811937
Special Districts (highway, cemetery, etc.)0.01004090
Total0.014062635


The taxable value of each property is determined:


TypeTaxable Value
House Value:$100,000
Land Value:$40,000
Total Value:$140,000
Minus Homeowners Exemption:($70,000)
Total Taxable Value$70,000


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.

Show All Answers

1. What is an occupancy tax?
2. How are the taxes on my property determined?
3. What is the annual tax cycle?
4. How does the Assessor determine the value on my property?
5. Why do property values change?
6. How do I contact the taxing districts listed on my assessment notice?
7. How do I find out the name of a property owner and other details about the property?
8. Can I see a map of my property? May I purchase a copy?
9. What do the categories or group code numbers shown on the assessment notice mean?
10. How do I change the name of the owner(s) on my property?
11. How do I correct the acreage on my property?
12. How do I correct or change the boundaries of my property, such as a lot line adjustment?
13. How do I convert my manufactured home into real property? Can I reverse a manufactured home from real property to personal property?
14. How do I change the location of my manufactured home? How do I change ownership on my manufactured home?
15. How many taxing districts are there?