Park County assessor: Many homeowners eligible for 25% tax exemption

CODY (WNE) —- A large number of homeowners in Park County are likely leaving money on the table by not filing for property tax exemptions.

As a result of recent legislation, most homeowners in Park County are eligible for either a 25% or 50% property tax reduction. However, Park County Assessor Terry Call said that the number of applicants for those exemptions are below what his office expected.

Approximately 2,500 county residents have applied for the 25% exemption, while Call’s office estimated that between 6,000-8,000 residents are eligible.

Property owners are eligible for a 25% property tax reduction if they occupy their home for at least eight months of the year. The 50% reduction is for residents at least 65 years old who have paid Wyoming property taxes for 25 years and occupy their home for at least eight months of the year.

“Things just aren’t happening quickly enough. Folks aren’t signing up fast enough – our number of sign-ups are lower than we expected them to be,” Call said.

Although there are talks of extending the 25% exemption deadline, the current deadline is February 1. All other exemptions have a deadline of the fourth Monday of May.

Both exemptions require property owners to sign up. Applicants for the 25% exemption can sign up online, or the assessor’s office can help people sign up in person at the Park County Courthouse as well, Call said.

Call attributed the lack of sign-ups to general confusion and lack of awareness of the exemptions. Although notification related to the tax exemptions was included in property tax bills, many homeowners likely missed that information, he said.

“A lot of people don’t look at their tax bill because it’s handled by their escrow company or their mortgage company,” Call said. “The people we seem to be missing are the younger folks.”