What You Need to Know About Your Property Tax Assessment

Ada County homeowners will be receiving their property tax assessments in early June. The Ada County Assessor's Office is required by law to estimate the full market value of all property within the county for property tax purposes and then notify property owners of our market value estimates.

The assessment notice is not a bill. The actual property tax bill will come out at the end of Fall.

Go to the Ada County Assessor’s website for more information.

What’s in the Notice

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

1. Parcel number and address of assessed property
2. The appraiser’s contact information
3. The appeals deadline
4. The current description
5. The current year’s value
6. 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. 

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. 

Appeals

If you disagree with your property tax assessment, you can file an appeal by the deadline listed on your notice. When would you make an appeal? If the current market value of your property (calculated based on recent sales in your area) is lower than what the property assessment states, you may consider an appeal. It is unlikely that appeals made on properties that have a current market value higher than the property assessment notice will be granted.

Appeal forms are available online or at the Ada County Assessor’s Office, 190 East Front Street, Suite 107 or from the Ada County Commissioner’s Office, 200 W. Front St., 3rd Floor, Boise ID 83702.

Completed forms must be filed with the Ada County Commissioner’s Office on or before the 4th Monday of June at 5:00 p.m. The Commissioner’s office will schedule a date and time for your hearing.