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H0528..................................by ROBISON, ALEXANDER, BIETER, ET AL PROPERTY TAX - HOMEOWNER'S EXEMPTION - Amends existing law to provide an annual cost-of-living adjustment to the homeowner's property tax exemption. 01/28 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing 01/29 Rpt prt - to Rev/Tax
H0528|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO |||| Fifty-fourth Legislature Second Regular Session - 1998IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE BILL NO. 528 BY ROBISON, ALEXANDER, BIETER, BOE, CHASE, JAQUET, JUDD, STOICHEFF AND WATSON 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO THE HOMEOWNER'S PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION; AMENDING SECTION 63-602G, 3 IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE AN ANNUAL COST-OF-LIVING ADJUSTMENT TO THE 4 HOMEOWNER'S PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY AND PROVIDING 5 RETROACTIVE APPLICATION. 6 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 7 SECTION 1. That Section 63-602G, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 8 amended to read as follows: 9 63-602G. PROPERTY EXEMPT FROM TAXATION -- RESIDENTIAL IMPROVEMENTS. (1) 10 During the tax year 1983 and each year thereafter, the first fifty thousand 11 dollars ($50,000) of the market value for assessment purposes of residential 12 improvements, or fifty percent (50%) of the market value for assessment pur- 13 poses of residential improvements, whichever is the lesser, shall be exempt 14 from property taxation. During the tax year 1998 and each year thereaf- 15 ter, the tax exemption provided in this section shall be adjusted for cost-of- 16 living changes as provided in section 63-705, Idaho Code. 17 (2) The exemption allowed by this section may be granted only if: 18 (a) The residential improvements are owner-occupied and used as the pri- 19 mary dwelling place of the owner as of January 1. The residential improve- 20 ments may consist of part of a multidwelling or multipurpose building and 21 shall include all of such dwelling or building except any portion used 22 exclusively for anything other than the primary dwelling of the owner. The 23 presence of an office in an owner-occupied residential property, which 24 office is used for multiple purposes, including business and personal use, 25 shall not prevent the owner from claiming the exemption provided in this 26 section; and 27 (b) The tax commission has certified to the board of county commissioners 28 that all properties in the county which are subject to appraisal by the 29 county assessor have, in fact, been appraised uniformly so as to secure a 30 just valuation for all property within the county; and 31 (c) The owner has certified to the county assessor by April 15 that: 32 (i) He is making application for the exemption allowed by this sec- 33 tion; 34 (ii) That the residential improvements are his primary dwelling 35 place; and 36 (iii) That he has not made application in any other county for the 37 exemption, and has not made application for the exemption on any 38 other residential improvements in the county. 39 (d) For the purpose of this section, the definition of owner shall be the 40 same definition set forth in section 63-701(8), Idaho Code. 41 When an "owner" is any person who as grantor created a revocable 42 trust and named himself or herself as beneficiary of that trust, he or she 43 may provide proof of the revocable trust with an affidavit stating: (i) 2 1 the name of the grantor; (ii) a statement that the grantor is the benefi- 2 ciary of the trust; (iii) the trust is revocable during the grantor's 3 lifetime; and (iv) the grantor is the owner-occupier of the residential 4 property and uses the property as the primary dwelling place of the owner 5 as of January 1. 6 The affidavit shall include the attaching of the copies of those por- 7 tions of the trust which set forth the grantor, the grantor as benefi- 8 ciary, the revocable character of the trust and the signature page of the 9 trust. 10 (e) Any owner may request in writing the return of all copies of any 11 revocable trust created by the owner that are held by a county assessor, 12 and the copies shall be returned by the county assessor upon submission of 13 the affidavit set forth in paragraph (d) of this subsection in proper 14 form. 15 (f) For the purpose of this section, the definition of "primary dwelling 16 place" shall be the same definition set forth in section 63-701(9), Idaho 17 Code. 18 (g) For the purpose of this section, the definition of "occupied" shall 19 be the same definition set forth in section 63-701(7), Idaho Code. 20 (3) An owner need only make application for the exemption described in 21 subsection (1) of this section once, as long as all of the following condi- 22 tions are met: 23 (a) The owner has received the exemption during the previous year as a 24 result of his making a valid application as defined in subsection (2)(c) 25 of this section. 26 (b) The owner still occupies the same residential improvements for which 27 he made application. 28 (c) The residential improvements described in subsection (3)(b) of this 29 section are owner-occupied and used as the primary dwelling place of the 30 owner as of January 1. 31 (4) The exemption allowed by this section must be taken before the reduc- 32 tion in taxes provided by sections 63-701 through 63-710, Idaho Code, is 33 applied. 34 (5) The legislature declares that this exemption is necessary and just. 35 (6) Residential improvements having previously qualified for exemption 36 under this section in the preceding year, shall not lose such qualification 37 due to the owner's absence in the current year by reason of active military 38 service in a designated combat zone, as defined in section 112 of the internal 39 revenue code. If an owner fails to timely apply for exemption as required in 40 this section solely by reason of active duty in a designated combat zone, as 41 defined in section 112 of the internal revenue code, and such improvements 42 would have otherwise qualified under this section, then the board of county 43 commissioners of the county in which the residential improvements are located 44 shall refund property taxes, if previously paid, in an amount equal to the 45 exemption which would otherwise have applied. 46 SECTION 2. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby 47 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after its 48 passage and approval, and retroactively to January 1, 1998.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 07431
This bill would adjust the upper limit for the homeowner exemption, now $50,000, for inflation in the same
way that the qualifying limit for the circuit breaker law is adjusted for the cost of living. The upper limit
has not changed since 1983. Had it been adjusted for inflation it would now be more than $70,000. With
this change, if the cost of living adjustment is 3 per cent, the upper limit would rise to $51,500 for tax year
1998. It would benefit about 20 per cent of homeowners, those who have "topped out" the existing
$50,000 limit.
FISCAL IMPACT
Had this measure been in effect for 1997 total residential taxes in Idaho would have risen $24.2 million
rather than $25.5 million. If the taxable value on a home rises $1,500 or more, there would be no
reduction in taxes collected on that home by local government. If taxable value did not rise, there would
be a reduction averaging $22.50 for each home that has topped out the $50,000 limit. This varies by
county. Some counties have relatively few homes in that category.
Contact: Rep. Ken Robison
Phone (208) 332-1000
Statement of purpose/fiscal impact
H 528