Deadline Fast Approaches


Appeal now, if you are going to appeal! Your assessed property value, that is.

Assessment notices were sent out by the Ada County Assessor’s Office the last week of May. Property owners who disagree with the value assigned to their property are welcome to file an appeal for a reduction to the Board of Equalization (that’s just the Board of Ada County Commissioners wearing another hat!) by 5:00 p.m. the fourth Monday in June, which is June 22 this year. Check out our appeal page and instructions here or contact our office at 287-7000 for further information on the process.

Per Idaho Code, assessed property values are supposed to reflect the “fair market value” of your property as of January 1. On January 1 of this year, given adequate time on the market, could you have sold your house for at least as much as the assigned value? If so, unless you are aware of gross inequities between the various assessed values in your neighborhood, you will probably be out of luck at getting your assessed value reduced. If you are quite certain that the assessed value is significantly more than the property would have sold for in an arms-length transaction (not a divorce, foreclosure, etc.) on January 1 of this year, by all means file an appeal. By the time of your hearing, be prepared to supply comps – recent sales data for similar homes in your area – to back up your claims that the value is too high.

Please keep in mind that assessed value only determines the portion of property tax you pay compared to what everyone else pays. It does not, alone, determine the amount of tax you will pay. Assessed values are set, taxing districts’ budgets are set, and then the levy is mathematically calculated based on the other two values. Only after the levies for all of the relevant taxing districts have been multiplied by your value will you know what your share is of the local property tax burden.

If you think the amount of property tax you pay is too high, take your complaints to the individual taxing districts, BEFORE they set their budgets this summer. Please see your assessment notice for a list of the taxing districts in which your property sits, and the contact information for each one.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *