Calculation Property Taxes

The County Assessor estimates the total assessed value of all taxable property in the district. The County Auditor calculates a tax rate by dividing the amount of requested budget dollars (taken from the submitted budget request) to be raised by the total assessed value.

For Example: A Taxing District submits a Budget Request of $42 million. The Ada County Assessor calculates the estimated value for property in the area receiving services provided by Ada County at $13.5 Billion (for illustration purposes only–actual estimated value may vary). The Auditor divides the budget request by the total property value to determine the tax rate for the Taxing District:

Budget Request                                   $42,000,000
Divided by                                  —————–                =.003112 Tax Rate
Est. Value of Property in Co.            $13,500,000,000
This same process is repeated for each of the taxing districts, using the budget request for that taxing district and the estimated value of property in the area receiving service by that taxing authority.

Tax rates for each taxing district are calculated and available by the end of October for each tax year.

Each district levy has a statutory cap. For example: the county current expense levy shall not exceed twenty six one-hundredths (.26%) of market value, or a levy sufficient to raise two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000.00), whichever is greater. Also, the tax supported portion of the budget of taxing districts, other than schools, may not grow by amounts greater than three percent (3%) each year. Only upon approval by the voters, may the cap on a levy be exceeded (overrides and bonds). There are exceptions based on foregone funds from prior years budgets.

The geographical areas within Ada County having a common group of taxing districts receiving revenue from property taxes are assigned a Code Area number. The tax rates for each of the individual districts within the code area are totaled. This total is the levy or tax rate which will be multiplied by the tax value (assessed value minus exemptions) to determine the amount of tax billed.

Click here to view the 2013 total levy for each code area in Ada County: 2013 Levy List (PDF)

For example Code Area 01 is the most common code area for Boise City. The group of taxing districts receiving revenue from property taxes, which are included in this code area and their tax rates (2013) are:

If a property located in Code Area 01 (Boise) has a total taxable property value of $100,000 the property taxes for 2013 are figured as follows:

Taxable Value     Code Area Levy (01)     Property Tax
$100,000     X     .018494879          =        $1,849.49

Idaho Code provides for the collection of unpaid balances owed to certain agencies, through certification of the balances due to the property tax roll. The list of agencies currently allowed to certify unpaid balances to the property tax roll is included along with the taxing districts. If you have questions regarding an amount certified to your property tax bill, contact the certifying agency directly at the telephone number listed.