US Laws, Codes, Statutes & Cases

                                  TITLE  63
                             REVENUE AND TAXATION
                                  CHAPTER 6
                           EXEMPTIONS FROM TAXATION
    63-602G.  PROPERTY EXEMPT FROM TAXATION -- HOMESTEAD. (1) During the tax
year 2006 and each year thereafter, subject to annual adjustment as provided
herein, the first seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) of the market value
for assessment purposes of the homestead as that term is defined in section
63-701, Idaho Code, or fifty percent (50%) of the market value for assessment
purposes of the homestead as that term is defined in section 63-701, Idaho
Code, whichever is the lesser, shall be exempt from property taxation.
Beginning for tax year 2007, the state tax commission shall publish
adjustments to the maximum amount subject to property tax exemption to reflect
cost-of-living fluctuations. The adjustments shall effect changes in the
amount subject to tax exemption by a percentage equal as near as practicable
to the annual increase in the Idaho housing price index as determined by the
United States office of federal housing enterprise oversight. The state tax
commission shall publish the adjustments required by this subsection each and
every year the office of federal housing enterprise oversight announces a
change in the Idaho housing price index. The adjustments shall be published no
later than October 1 of each year and shall be effective for claims filed in
and for the following property tax year. The publication of adjustments under
this subsection shall be exempt from the provisions of chapter 52, title 67,
Idaho Code, but shall be provided to each county and to members of the public
upon request and without charge.
    (2)  The exemption allowed by this section may be granted only if:
    (a)  The homestead is owner-occupied and used as the primary dwelling
    place of the owner as of January 1, provided that in the event the
    homestead is owner-occupied after January 1 but before April 15, the owner
    of the property is entitled to the exemption. The homestead may consist of
    part of a multidwelling or multipurpose building and shall include all of
    such dwelling or building except any portion used exclusively for anything
    other than the primary dwelling of the owner. The presence of an office in
    a homestead, which office is used for multiple purposes, including
    business and personal use, shall not prevent the owner  from claiming the
    exemption provided in this section; and
    (b)  The tax commission has certified to the board of county commissioners
    that all properties in the county which are subject to appraisal by the
    county assessor have, in fact, been appraised uniformly so as to secure a
    just valuation for all property within the county; and
    (c)  The owner has certified to the county assessor by April 15 that:
         (i)   He is making application for the exemption allowed by this
         section;
         (ii)  That the homestead is his primary dwelling place; and
         (iii) That he has not made application in any other county for the
         exemption, and has not made application for the exemption on any
         other homestead in the county.
    (d)  For the purpose of this section, the definition of "owner" shall be
    the same definition set forth in section 63-701(7), Idaho Code.
         When an "owner," pursuant to the provisions of section 63-701(7),
    Idaho Code, is any person who is the beneficiary of a revocable or
    irrevocable trust, or who is a partner of a limited partnership, a member
    of a limited liability company, or shareholder of a corporation, he or she
    may provide proof of the trust, limited partnership, limited liability
    company, or corporation in the manner set forth in section 63-703(4),
    Idaho Code.
    (e)  Any owner may request in writing the return of all copies of any
    documents submitted with the affidavit set forth in section 63-703(4),
    Idaho Code, that are held by a county assessor, and the copies shall be
    returned by the county assessor upon submission of the affidavit in proper
    form.
    (f)  For the purpose of this section, the definition of "primary dwelling
    place" shall be the same definition set forth in section 63-701(8), Idaho
    Code.
    (g)  For the purpose of this section, the definition of "occupied" shall
    be the same definition set forth in section 63-701(6), Idaho Code.
    (3)  An owner need only make application for the exemption described in
subsection (1) of this section once, as long as all of the following
conditions are met:
    (a)  The owner has received the exemption during the previous year as a
    result of his making a valid application as defined in subsection (2)(c)
    of this section.
    (b)  The owner or beneficiary, partner, member or shareholder, as
    appropriate, still occupies the same homestead for which the owner made
    application.
    (c)  The homestead described in subsection (3)(b) of this section is
    owner-occupied or occupied by a beneficiary, partner, member or
    shareholder, as appropriate, and used as the primary dwelling place of the
    owner or beneficiary, partner, member or shareholder, as appropriate, as
    of January 1; provided however, that in the event the homestead is
    owner-occupied after January 1, but before April 15, the owner of the
    property is entitled to the exemption.
    (4)  The exemption allowed by this section must be taken before the
reduction in taxes provided by sections 63-701 through 63-710, Idaho Code, is
applied.
    (5)  Recovery of property tax exemptions allowed by this section but
improperly claimed or approved:
    (a)  Upon discovery of evidence, facts or circumstances indicating any
    exemption  allowed by this section was improperly claimed or approved, the
    county assessor shall decide whether the exemption claimed should be
    allowed and if not, notify the taxpayer in writing, assess a recovery of
    property tax and notify the county treasurer of this assessment.
    (b)  When information indicating that an improper claim for the exemption
    allowed by this section is discovered by the state tax commission, the
    state tax commission may disclose this information to the appropriate
    county assessor, board of county commissioners and county treasurer.
    Information disclosed to county officials by the state tax commission
    under this subsection may be used to decide the validity of any
    entitlement to the exemption provided in this section and is not otherwise
    subject to public disclosure pursuant to chapter 3, title 9, Idaho Code.
    (c)  The assessment and collection of the recovery of property tax must
    begin within the seven (7) year period beginning the date the assessment
    notice reflecting the improperly claimed or approved exemption was
    required to be mailed to the taxpayer.
    (d)  The taxpayer may appeal to the board of county commissioners the
    decision by the county assessor to assess the recovery of property tax
    within thirty (30) days of the date the county assessor sent the notice to
    the taxpayer pursuant to this section.
    (e)  A recovery of property tax shall be for each year the exemption
    allowed by this section was improperly claimed or approved up to the
    lesser of a maximum of seven (7) years or until the property was
    transferred to a bona fide purchaser for value. The amount of the recovery
    of property tax shall be calculated using the product of the amount of
    exempted value for each year multiplied by the levy for that year plus
    costs, late charges and interest for each year at the rates equal to those
    provided for delinquent property taxes during that year.
    (f)  Any recovery of property tax shall be due and payable no later than
    the date provided for property taxes in section 63-903, Idaho Code, and if
    not timely paid, late charges and interest, beginning the first day of
    January in the year following the year the county assessor sent the notice
    to the taxpayer pursuant to this section, shall be calculated at the
    current rate provided for property taxes.
    (g)  Recovered property taxes shall be billed, collected and distributed
    in the same manner as property taxes, except each taxing district or unit
    shall be notified of the amount of any recovered property taxes included
    in any distribution.
    (h)  Any unpaid recovered property taxes shall become a lien upon the real
    property in the same manner as provided for property taxes in section
    63-206, Idaho Code, except such lien shall attach as of the first day of
    January in the year following the year the county assessor sent the notice
    to the taxpayer pursuant to this section.
    (i)  For purposes of the limitation provided by section 63-802, Idaho
    Code, moneys received pursuant to this subsection as recovery of property
    tax shall be treated as property tax revenue.
    (6)  The legislature declares that this exemption is necessary and just.
    (7)  A homestead having previously qualified for exemption under this
section in the preceding year, shall not lose such qualification due to: the
owner's, beneficiary's, partner's, member's or shareholder's absence in the
current year by reason of active military service in a designated combat zone,
as defined in section 112 of the Internal Revenue Code, or because the
homestead has been leased because the owner, beneficiary, partner, member or
shareholder is absent in the current year by reason of active military service
in a designated combat zone, as defined in section 112 of the Internal Revenue
Code. If an owner fails to timely apply for exemption as required in this
section solely by reason of active duty in a designated combat zone by the
owner, beneficiary, partner, member or shareholder, as appropriate, as defined
in section 112 of the Internal Revenue Code, and such homestead would have
otherwise qualified under this section, then the board of county commissioners
of the county in which the homestead is located shall refund property taxes,
if previously paid, in an amount equal to the exemption which would otherwise
have applied.