How to Appeal Your Property Tax in Idaho: Step-by-Step Guide for 2026
An Idaho assessment appeal goes first to your county board of equalization, which is the board of county commissioners. For the regular property roll, Idaho Code § 63-501A(1) sets the deadline: the written appeal must be in by the end of the county’s normal business hours on the fourth Monday of June.
Idaho appeal deadlines by roll and by level
Section 63-501A sets a separate appeal date for each of three rolls: the property roll, the subsequent property roll and the missed property roll. Under § 63-308(2), the notice for the regular roll must reach you, or be mailed, “no later than the first Monday in June.”
| Step | Who hears it | Deadline rule | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appeal of a value on the property roll | County board of equalization | End of the county’s normal business hours, fourth Monday of June | § 63-501A(1) |
| Appeal of a value on the subsequent property roll | County board of equalization | End of the county’s normal business hours, fourth Monday of November | § 63-501A(1) |
| Appeal of a value on the missed property roll | County board of equalization | Before the board adjourns on the day of its January meeting | § 63-501A(1) |
| Appeal of the county board’s decision | Idaho Board of Tax Appeals, or the district court for the county where the property sits | Within 30 days after the decision is mailed, or after a decision is announced at the hearing | § 63-511(1), (3) |
| Rehearing of a Board of Tax Appeals decision | Board of Tax Appeals | Motion within 10 days of the day the decision is mailed to you | § 63-3810 |
| Appeal of a Board of Tax Appeals decision | District court (trial de novo, no jury) | Petition within 28 days after the decision is ripe for judicial review; a timely rehearing motion restarts the 28 days from the ruling on it, or from the date it is deemed denied | § 63-3812(a), (c); I.R.C.P. 84(b)(1) |
Section 63-501A has not been amended since 2012 (2012, ch. 4). The last sentence of subsection (1) closes the door on late filings: “The board of equalization may consider an appeal only if it is timely filed.”
The June filing with your county board of equalization
Section 63-501A(1) asks for three things. The appeal must be “in writing on a form provided by the county board of equalization or assessor,” and it must identify the taxpayer, the property, and the reason for the appeal. The statute leaves the form to the county board or the assessor, so each county supplies its own form.
Ada County is one example, and the details below apply to Ada only. Its commissioners’ page says the form “must be received or postmarked no later than 5:00 p.m.” on the date shown on the assessment notice. You can email, mail, deliver, or fax it to the Board of Ada County Commissioners. The page also says “ONLY the Property Owner may file an Assessment Appeal.” The Ada assessor asks you to bring five copies of your presentation to the hearing. For any other county, get the form, the filing office and the closing hour from that county’s clerk or assessor.
The board of equalization holds regular sessions up to the fourth Monday of June. It must finish its business and adjourn on the second Monday of July, or earlier if it finishes sooner (§ 63-501(1)).
Talking to the assessor first
The Idaho State Tax Commission’s guide lists the steps “in this order”: first, speak with your appraiser at the county assessor’s office, then file with the board through the county clerk. Ada County’s commissioners ask owners to “attempt to settle the dispute” with the assessor before they file. Neither step moves the June date, so file the written appeal even while those talks are still going.
What the county board can do and who has to prove what
Under § 63-502, the board’s job is “confined strictly to assuring that the market value for assessment purposes of property has been found by the assessor.” It “shall raise or cause to be raised, or lower or cause to be lowered” any assessment it finds improper. The same section puts the burden on you: “The taxpayer shall have the burden of proof in seeking affirmative relief… A preponderance of the evidence shall suffice to sustain the burden of proof.”
Ada County’s assessor page quotes a different standard: “clear and convincing evidence.” The standard written into the current § 63-502 is preponderance of the evidence.
The Board of Tax Appeals rules (IDAPA 36.01.01) define comparable sales as “Recently sold properties that are similar in locational and physical characteristics to the property being appraised,” and they count a sale as recent only if it closed before the valuation date. Ada’s assessor says it will consider “a realtor’s comparative market analysis, copies of independent appraisals done for sales or refinance, repair estimates or any other pertinent data.” Its page also warns that the hearing “is not a forum to protest property taxes.”
Taking it to the Board of Tax Appeals or district court
You have 30 days from the mailing of the county board’s decision, or from a decision announced at the hearing, to appeal (§ 63-511(1)). You can go to the Idaho Board of Tax Appeals or to the district court in the county where the property is located (§ 63-511(3)). The Board of Tax Appeals says a notice of appeal “MUST BE FILED WITH THE COUNTY AUDITOR, not directly with the BTA,” with a separate notice for each parcel.
- Form: the Board’s “Notice of Appeal, Property Tax Assessment / Exemption.” Under section 046 of the Board’s rules (IDAPA 36.01.01), the notice must contain “A legal description of the property relating to the appeal”; a copy of the county board’s final decision and, when available, the postmarked envelope it came in; the market value you claim; and “A copy of the final tax assessment notice for the assessment appealed.” The form marks the assessment notice “(required)” and asks for your value claim as of January 1. If you no longer have the notice, its instructions say to include a statement noting that.
- Fee: the Board’s home page says “there are NO FEES to file an appeal with the BTA, and legal representation is NOT required.”
- Hearing: de novo, which means you present your evidence again from scratch. The Board’s rules, effective July 1, 2024, say “New evidence and argument may also be presented.” One board member or a hearing officer conducts the hearing. The decision becomes final when two board members sign it (§ 63-3809(1)). Once a notice of appeal has been timely filed, § 63-3809(4) requires the hearing to be held and the decision issued “no later than May 1,” unless all parties agree in writing to a delay.
A 2025 amendment changed who carries the burden at this level. House Bill 354 (2025, ch. 202) took effect January 1, 2026. It keeps the burden on the party seeking relief, “provided, however, that the burden of proof shall fall upon the party seeking an increase in taxable value if the increase in value exceeds ten percent (10%) of the value from the previous year, and the increase was due in part to an assessment of the taxable value that resulted from the assessor failing to use the equalization methods required pursuant to section 63-208.” The shift applies to appeals before the Board of Tax Appeals and the district court under § 63-511(4). It is not in § 63-502, which governs the county board.
Paying the tax while the appeal runs
An appeal does not stop the tax from coming due. Section 63-511(1) says “Nothing in this section shall be construed so as to suspend the payment of property taxes pending said appeal,” and § 63-3812(d) says the same for district court appeals from the Board. The second statute adds that “Payment of taxes while an appeal hereunder is pending shall not operate to waive the right to an appeal.” If a court or the Board of Tax Appeals orders a refund, the county commissioners can pay it back or apply it as a credit against the next year’s taxes (§ 63-1305(1)).
The homeowner’s exemption is a separate matter from market value. For how it is claimed, see the Idaho property tax guide. An exemption decision can be appealed to the county board as well, but the clock depends on the decision. If the assessor refuses a homeowner’s exemption because it appears to have been claimed on another homestead, or bills you to recover an exemption that was improperly claimed or approved, § 63-602G(6)(d) gives you “thirty (30) days of the date the county assessor sent notice” to appeal to the county board of equalization. For exemption appeals heard with the regular roll, § 63-501(1)(b) has the board hear appeals “received on or before the end of each county’s normal business hours on the fourth Monday of June.” Check the date on your exemption notice before you count on June. To see what a lower value would do to your bill, run it through the property tax calculator.
Neighboring states’ appeal rules
- Oregon: petition the county property value appeals board by December 31
- Washington: county board of equalization by July 1 or 30 days after the value notice (up to 60 if the county allows), whichever is later
- Montana property tax appeals
- Utah property tax appeals
More Idaho homeowner pages
- Moving to Idaho Falls in 2026
- Moving to Nampa in 2026
- Coeur d’Alene vs Spokane
- Seller net proceeds calculator
Idaho assessment appeal FAQ
I missed the fourth Monday of June. Is there any way back in?
Not through a value appeal for that year’s regular roll. Section 63-501A(1) says the board “may consider an appeal only if it is timely filed,” and the section has no good-cause exception. A separate statute, § 63-1302(1), lets the county commissioners, when in session, cancel property taxes “which for any lawful reason should not be collected” and refund money paid because of a “double assessment or erroneous assessment of property through error.” If your parcel was added later, on the subsequent roll or the missed roll, the November or January date for that roll applies instead.
If I win at the Board of Tax Appeals, does the lower value carry into next year?
Yes, with limits. Under § 63-3813, a final Board of Tax Appeals order that changes market value, and that is not appealed further, “shall be fixed for the current year appealed and there shall be no increase in value for the subsequent assessment year when no physical change occurs to the property.” Annual trending or equalization applied to your whole property class or area still applies.
Can the county board raise my value instead?
Yes. Section 63-502 directs the board to “raise or cause to be raised, or lower or cause to be lowered” any assessment it finds wrong. It is not limited to lowering the value you appealed.
Can I skip the county board and go straight to the state?
No. The Board of Tax Appeals says that for a property assessment, “you must first appeal to your local County Board of Equalization,” and § 63-511 gives the next appeal only from that board’s decision.
Does the June deadline apply in every county?
The date does. Section 63-501A is a statewide statute. The closing hour does not, because the statute ties it to “the county’s normal business hours.” Filing methods are set locally: Ada County accepts email, mail, delivery, and fax. Check your own county’s notice for its hours and filing options.