Property Assessment Notification & Appeals

Owners of property in Adams County receive their annual assessment notices early in June, which notifies them of the current year’s market value for their property. The value is used to determine the amount of property taxes due later in the year.

In addition to the new assessed value, the assessment notice also shows the previous year’s value. The actual tax bill will be mailed out in November by the county treasurer and will be based on the new levies.

Property owners are encouraged to review the assessment notices and contact the assessor’s office if they have any questions. Market value reviews are heard by the assessor’s office through the fourth Monday in June. The assessment notice provides information about further appeals procedures.

Idaho law requires that each property be physically reappraised by the assessor’s office at least once every five years to assure that it is as close to market value as possible. To keep the property value in line with market trends, in each of the other four years of the cycle the law requires that a market adjustment be applied to the property, based on the selling prices of similar properties.

Owners of business equipment who failed to return their Idaho Personal Property Declaration will be able to do so when they receive their assessment notices. An estimated value is used for assessment because the equipment was not reported, as required by Idaho law. The estimate can be removed if the owner completes a declaration and returns it to the assessor before the protest deadline (the fourth Monday in June). Otherwise, the owner will be taxed on the estimated assessment value.

Anyone with questions about the assessment or the appeals process should contact the assessor’s office to review the appraisal as soon as the assessment notice is received. It is important not to wait until the tax bill is received to review the assessment. Idaho law requires that appointments for protests be made on or before the fourth Monday in June.

Placing Market Value on Property
The assessor’s office is to place value on properties that represent typical sale and/or purchase prices of similar properties. All property is assessed as of January 1 each year using sales of property occurring between January 1 and December 31 of the previous year. If too few or no sales are available, the assessor can use sales from other time periods or similar areas.

The assessor’s office defends values or appraisals using current sales information of comparable properties and making adjustments for dissimilar characteristics between the subject and sales. This process demonstrates that the subject property is valued according to market sales.

For a meaningful and productive appeal, the property owner should supply evidence that establishes error in the appraisal of the property. It is important to employ comparables from the same location as the subject and to consider age, type and condition. Sales occurring this year will be considered for next year’s assessment. It is essential to understand the definition of typical when supplying information to the assessor. When several comparable properties sell, the assessor applies the average or typical values gathered from such data in determining the assessment instead of picking the highest or lowest values.