During the 2020 legislative session, Bill H562 passed which removed the April 15th deadline to apply for the homeowner’s exemption, allowing homeowners to apply for the exemption at any time. Due to some ambiguity in the language of the law and differing interpretations, some counties, including Ada, will accept homeowner’s exemption filing after April 15th but will not apply the tax benefit until the following year. Idaho REALTORS® (IR), who championed the bill, is currently in conversations on this and provided the following update on March 18, 2021:
“The Idaho Attorney General and tax commissioner have issued guidance for assessors to follow H562 and grant the $100,000 Home Owner’s Exemption after the previous April 15 deadline and any point until the end of the year. IR is working with the assessor’s legislative chair to implement this guidance across the state. Please find the Idaho Attorney General’s opinion and memo from the tax commission [below]. At this time no changes are needed to CE classes as these documents along with the assessor’s legislative chair guidance should compel assessors across the state into compliance for 2021.”
What you can tell clients: Not all county assessors in Idaho (including Ada County) are currently interpreting Bill H562 to provide the homeowner exemption benefit in the same year when filed after the April 15th deadline. However, new guidance has been released by the state Attorney General’s Office that should compel all county assessors to comply with H562 and offer the exemption at any time after the previous April 15th deadline. For details specific to your situation, contact your lender, title company, and/or county assessor’s office. REALTORS® will continue to fight for maximum homeowner exemption benefits for homeowners and we will continue to update this post with new information as it becomes available.
Updated as of 3/24/21
