Application deadline nears for 25% property tax break

Time is running out for Big Horn County residents who have yet to apply for the Homeowner’s Property Tax Exemption.  The deadline to do so is March 1.

There are two ways to apply — either in person at the county assessor’s office by the close of the business Friday, Feb. 27 or online at ptd.wyo.gov/OWNEROCC.

Big Horn County Assessor Cozette Winters said it takes most people less than five minute to complete the paperwork. As of Monday, Feb. 23, 751 Big Horn County residents had requested the exemption.

“Last year everyone got it, but this year, you have to apply,” Winters said. 

To qualify for the exemption, homeowners must reside in the home eight months of the year. The home can be a house, condo, townhouse, manufactured or mobile home, but it cannot be a rental or commercial property.

The amount of the exemption is 25% of the fair market value of the single-family residential structure and the associated improved land; the exemption only applies to the first $1 million of fair market value.

Winters said her office
distributed information to county residents some time ago, but is fielding an increasing number of calls as the March 1 deadline nears.

The deadline for the other exemptions, the Long-Term Homeowners Exemption and the Veterans Exemption, is the fourth Monday in May, the 25th, which is Memorial Day.

The Long-Term Homeowner’s Exemption provides 50% relief on the assessed value of the primary residential structure and up to 35 acres of land.

To be eligible, the owner or spouse must be 65 or older and have paid residential property taxes in Wyoming for 25 years or more.  Owners must reside in the primary residence for not less than eight months a year.

As of Monday, 597 Big Horn County residents had applied for the Long-Term Homeowners Exemption, according to Winters. That represents a slight increase from last year’s total of 591.