Property values up in Washington county

Homeowners in Washington County will see an increase in the taxable value of their property when they receive their assessment notice shortly from the county assessor’s office.
 Nearly 8,800 assessment notices were mailed out to property owners with an estimate of what their property was worth on Jan. 1, 2019. The assessed value will be used to calculate property taxes later this year.
 Washington County Assessor Debbie Moxley-Potter said residential values are up across the county based on higher sale prices for homes.
 The price data on home sales lags the current real estate market. The sales used by the assessor to determine values were from October 2017 through September of 2018.
 Home prices in Weiser and Washington County are finally back to where they were a decade ago before the recession hit and the bottom fell out of the real estate market, Moxley-Potter said.
 An increase in assessed value doesn’t necessarily mean higher taxes for homeowners. The amount of property taxes levied annually is determined by taxing districts in the county. Taxes may increase, decrease or remain the same.
 The assessor’s office does not set the property tax rate for the county, nor does it collect any property taxes. The assessment notices are strictly to inform property owners what their land and improvements have been valued at for the purposes of collecting property taxes.
 The assessed value of taxable property in the county will be used as various local governments, school district,  etc., set their budgets for the next fiscal year.
 The assessed value of commercial property in the county was basically flat. There were not enough sales of comparable properties to move the valuations up or down on commercial property in Weiser and Cambridge.
 Agriculture land in the county actually went down slightly in assessed value. Ag property is assessed on a five-year average based on an income approach. If a profitable year is dropped from the five-year rolling average, the assessed value decreases, which is the case this year.
 Property owners should see on their assessment notices a value placed on the land and a separate value placed on the improvements, such as a home, pavement or outbuildings.
 There is also a column that shows last year’s assessed value. If there is a homeowner’s exemption, that is also shown on the assessment. If that line is blank, then there is not a homeowner’s exemption.
 The bottom of the assessment notice shows a dozen taxing districts that collect property taxes in the city and county and when their budget hearings will be held.
 Property owners can pay taxes to different taxing districts, depending on where they live.
 Anyone who has questions about their assessment or the appeals process should contact the assessor’s office to review their appraisal as soon as they receive the assessment notice.
 It is important that they don’t wait until they receive their tax bills later in the year to review their assessment. Idaho law requires that appointments for protests be made on or before the fourth Monday in June.
 Property owners can contact the assessor’s office with any questions at 414-2000.