What You Need to Know About Property Taxes

by Lysi Bishop Real Estate

Ada County homeowners received their assessment notices in the mail in June regarding their home’s proposed valuation for tax purposes. Boy, did these assessments seem scary, with some folks seeing increases of $200K or more in their home’s assessed value. Earlier in May, Robert McQuade, the Ada County Assessor, released statements that home assessments would increase due to an “unprecedented year of real estate sales growth.” The appeals deadline was back in June, and for those who found that their assessments were higher than market value (or what they saw their neighbor’s home sold for), they could have their assessment appealed. However, if the assessment was lower than current market value, it was not likely that their appeals were approved.

The assessment notice is not a bill. The actual property tax bill will come out at the end of November after levies have been approved, and will be due December 20th. We go into depth how property taxes are calculated and what they are used for.

What’s in the Notice

The mailed paper assessment looks like the sample above. Some areas to note:

Parcel number and address of assessed property
The appraiser’s contact information
The appeals deadline
The current description
The current year’s value
Taxing district information: These are the entities that will be receiving taxes. They typically are city and county services like police/fire, highway districts, and public schools.

The bar graphs show the historical assessed values and taxes. A stair step increase from year-to-year aligns with the increases in home values every year. Something noticeable about this year’s will be the large jump, reflecting the significant price growth we’ve experienced here in Ada County.

What Do the Taxes Cover?

The taxing districts are listed at the bottom of the assessment. In Boise, an example property includes the following assessments (taxing districts may vary by address and area of town):

Ada County
Medical/Emergency
Ada County Highway District
School District #1
Boise City
Mosquito Abatement
College of Western Idaho

They also may look a little different depending on your city (i.e. City of Meridian, Eagle, or Hidden Springs). These entities use public funds to operate, including maintaining roads, schools, and emergency services.

How Taxes Are Calculated

A common misconception about tax assessments is that the percentage increase in the property’s value directly correlates with the tax amount percentage. Homeowners may not expect to see their property tax bill rising at the same percentage as their home’s value, but should expect an increase in their contributions. The assessments take into account market value changes to calculate taxes. The increase in the assessed value represents the property owner’s ‘slice’ of the overall property tax pie. Properties of higher value will have a larger slice of the unsavory property tax pie. The increase is due to record high construction costs, historically low inventory, and record demand.

Brace Yourself for a Tax Increase

In October, levies will be applied to each of the properties in Ada County. Homeowners should expect a bill around November 20th, with the first half due December 20th, 2021 and second half due June 20th, 2022. While we fully expect taxes to go up this year, we are hopeful that the levies will come down a little bit and it won’t be as drastic of a tax increase as it would've been if last years’ levies were applied to this years’ valuations. A tremendous increase is just not sustainable here in Idaho. However, brace yourself for the sting of another increase. We hope it won’t be a 25% increase as Ada County Assessor Robert McQuade warned, but we’ll provide an update once the levies have been applied.