County sending out property taxes

SANDPOINT — Bonner County’s 2023 property taxes are being mailed to property owners right now, but Bonner County Commissioner Luke Omodt told residents to not stress about higher property assessment values as that will not necessarily mean higher taxes this year.

“Idaho is a state based on budget,” he said. “It is not based on your assessment. So while my assessment went up roughly 20% … my taxes actually went down.”

The reason for that, county Treasurer Clorissa Koster said, is due to new property tax relief from House Bill 292 that was passed by the Idaho Legislature earlier this year. Because of this, many property owners are seeing their tax bills decrease even though their property’s assessed value has increased. An insert was put into each tax bill mailed out explaining how the relief works and how it correlates to the owner’s bill, Koster said.

These explanations, Omodt said, were an excellent way to learn more about what the state is doing to help Idahoans save money. He encouraged everyone receiving a property tax bill to take the time to read the inserts and learn more about the relief.

“Don’t be discouraged necessarily by your assessment, look at your total numbers,” he said.

In addition to the new relief, Koster said the county is encouraging property owners to go paperless with an online program called E-Notices. Starting next year, anyone who has signed up for paperless billing will no longer receive a physical copy of their bill in the mail.

“This will allow our office to save money on the printing services and postage that we pay each year,” Koster said.

An insert was also included in the bill packet with instructions on how to sign up for E-Notices.

Koster asked that anyone who has questions about the relief, E-Notices or about their bill in general contact the Treasurer’s Office at 208-265-1433.