For 2008, Idaho’s maximum homeowner’s exemption from property taxes will rise to $100,938, from the current $89,325, the state Tax Commission announced today. The homeowner’s exemption exempts from tax 50 percent of the value of a homeowner’s primary residence, up to a maximum set by law. That maximum was fixed at $50,000 from 1983 to 2006, when lawmakers voted to raise it to $75,000 and have future automatic increases tied to the price of housing in Idaho.

The Idaho Housing Price Index shows Idaho’s average single-family home cost has gone up another 8.42 percent in the past year. With the hike in the exemption, it’ll go up to what many argued the figure should have been back in 2006 when the law was changed – just based on inflation since 1983, when the number was first fixed at $50,000. So if your home is now worth more than $201,876, even with the increase next year, your homeowner’s exemption still will be less than the original 50 percent.

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