Idaho's Circuit Breaker: Property Tax Relief for Boise Homeowners
Idaho's Property Tax Reduction program, better known as the Circuit Breaker, can cut the property tax on your home by $250 to $1,500 a year if your income is modest and you're 65+, disabled, widowed, blind or in a few other groups. Applications for the 2027 benefit open January 1. Here's how Boise and Ada County homeowners can get ready now.
AT A GLANCE
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Why it's called a circuit breaker
Idaho's program ties tax relief to income. The State Tax Commission runs it, but you don't file with the state. You apply through the assessor in the county where your home is, and the assessor's staff will help you complete the form. In Boise, that's the Ada County Assessor's Office on Front Street.
The program covers your primary residence and up to one acre. A mobile home counts too. It lowers property tax only. The Tax Commission's 2027 flyer (Pub. 135) says the reduction won't lower solid waste, irrigation or other fees that local governments add to the bill.
There's a second, separate program for the same homeowners: property tax deferral. We cover it further down, because you can use it alone or together with the reduction.
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The five tests you must pass
Pub. 135 says you might qualify for the 2027 benefit if all of these are true:
You're an Idaho resident.
You own and occupy your home or mobile home as your primary residence.
The home's value doesn't go over a limit set by law. The state will calculate that 2027 limit in June 2027, so no figure is available yet.
Your total 2026 income, after medical expenses, was $40,030 or less.
On January 1, 2027, you fit at least one status below.
Qualifying status on Jan. 1, 2027 | Notes from the Tax Commission |
|---|---|
Age 65 or older | Age is checked as of Jan. 1 |
Widow or widower | No age limit stated |
Blind | Proof of the condition is required |
Disabled | As recognized by the Social Security Administration, Railroad Retirement Board, Federal Civil Service, Veterans Affairs, or a public employment retirement system not covered by those agencies |
Former prisoner of war or hostage | Listed by the state |
Motherless or fatherless child under 18 | Listed by the state |
The Tax Commission's reduction page adds two points. You must have owned and lived in the home before April 15, 2027, and you must have a current homeowner's exemption on it. People who live in a care facility may also qualify.
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What counts as income
You report income received by you and your spouse in 2026. The state's list is broad. It includes:
wages, interest, dividends and capital gains
net business, farm and rental income
Social Security and SSI, plus railroad retirement
unemployment and workers' compensation
pensions, annuities, IRAs and military retirement
Department of Health and Welfare payments, including housing assistance
child support and alimony received
loss-of-earnings compensation, gambling winnings and disability income from all sources
Two exclusions matter to many applicants. Annuity payments that are a return of principal and IRS-qualified rollovers don't count. Nor do VA payments to a veteran with a 40% to 100% service-connected disability, or VA dependency and indemnity compensation and death benefits tied to a service-connected death or disability.
Deductions that lower your income
You may subtract these 2026 costs paid by you or your spouse:
medical, dental and related expenses that the IRS allows and that insurance didn't reimburse
funeral payments or prepayments
farm, rental or business losses (attach the federal schedule)
early withdrawal penalties
alimony paid
The state's medical expense form (EFO00119) adds details. It points to IRS Publication 502 for what counts and tells you not to include premiums paid with pre-tax dollars. It also gives 2026 mileage rates for medical trips: 20.5 cents a mile from January 1 through June 30, 2026, and 23.5 cents a mile from July 1 through December 31, 2026. Keep receipts. You'll need proof of payment.
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How much you could get
The Tax Commission's 2027 income bracket table sets the benefit. The lower your income after deductions, the bigger the reduction.
2026 income after deductions | Maximum reduction |
|---|---|
$0 – $16,110 | $1,500 |
$16,111 – $16,790 | $1,460 |
$16,791 – $17,470 | $1,430 |
$17,471 – $18,160 | $1,390 |
$18,161 – $18,830 | $1,360 |
$18,831 – $19,510 | $1,330 |
$19,511 – $20,180 | $1,290 |
$20,181 – $20,870 | $1,260 |
$20,871 – $21,550 | $1,220 |
$21,551 – $22,240 | $1,190 |
$22,241 – $22,920 | $1,140 |
$22,921 – $23,620 | $1,120 |
$23,621 – $24,310 | $1,080 |
$24,311 – $24,990 | $1,050 |
$24,991 – $25,680 | $1,020 |
$25,681 – $26,350 | $970 |
$26,351 – $27,030 | $940 |
$27,031 – $27,710 | $910 |
$27,711 – $28,400 | $870 |
$28,401 – $29,070 | $840 |
$29,071 – $29,760 | $800 |
$29,761 – $30,440 | $760 |
$30,441 – $31,120 | $730 |
$31,121 – $31,810 | $690 |
$31,811 – $32,490 | $660 |
$32,491 – $33,180 | $630 |
$33,181 – $33,860 | $590 |
$33,861 – $34,550 | $560 |
$34,551 – $35,230 | $520 |
$35,231 – $35,920 | $490 |
$35,921 – $36,590 | $450 |
$36,591 – $37,270 | $420 |
$37,271 – $37,950 | $380 |
$37,951 – $38,650 | $340 |
$38,651 – $39,330 | $290 |
$39,331 – $40,030 | $250 |
A worked example (our own math)
Say a 70-year-old Boise widow had $24,000 in Social Security and a $3,500 pension in 2026. That's $27,500. She paid $1,200 in unreimbursed prescriptions and dental work. Her income after deductions is $26,300, which falls in the $25,681–$26,350 row, so the table shows a reduction of up to $970. This is only an illustration. The county and the Tax Commission make the real calculation.
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Papers to bring to the assessor
If you file a federal tax return | If you don't file a return |
|---|---|
A copy of your federal return | Social Security, railroad retirement or other 1099 forms |
Records of income not on the return, including nontaxable income | W-2s |
Federal Schedule A, or the state medical expense form with proof of payment | Records of any other taxable or nontaxable income |
Proof of funeral payments or prepayments | The medical expense form with proof of payment, and proof of funeral payments |
You'll also need proof that you meet a status (such as age, blindness or VA disability) and proof that you own the home. Pub. 135 says that if some income papers haven't arrived, file what you can by the deadline.
Besides the county office, the state offers the application online through its Taxpayer Access Point (TAP). Ada County notes that when April 15 lands on a weekend or holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day. Owners of new construction get a different window: within 30 days of the occupancy notice, according to Ada County.
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Two related Idaho programs
Homeowner's exemption
This is a separate break you apply for once, not every year. It exempts 50% of the value of your home and up to one acre, up to a $125,000 maximum, per the Tax Commission's exemption page. You need it for the Circuit Breaker. Ada County says to apply by the last county business day in December. Ada County also explains the Homeowner Tax Relief credit created by House Bill 292 in 2023, which requires the homeowner's exemption to be in place by the second Monday in July and appears on the November tax bill.
Property tax deferral
The deferral program lets the state pay your property taxes on the home and up to one acre now, with repayment later. The Tax Commission's deferral flyer (Pub. 67) sets these terms:
2026 income of $63,400 or less, plus the same kinds of status tests as the reduction program
apply January 1 through September 7, 2027 through the county assessor
no reverse mortgage or home equity line of credit on the home
a lien is placed on the property, and your fire and casualty insurance must list the Tax Commission as a loss payee
you repay when the home is sold or transferred, when the last claimant dies, when the homeowner's exemption ends, or if the deferral was granted by mistake
Ada County's deferral page says the deferred taxes carry 6% interest a year and that signatures must be notarized.
Veterans with a 100% rating
Idaho also has a Veterans Property Tax Reduction worth up to $1,500 for veterans with a 100% service-connected disability rating or 100% individual unemployability. Ada County says the window is also January 1 to April 15, and veterans rated 100% permanent and total don't have to reapply each year.
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BEFORE APRIL 15, 2027
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Boise and statewide contacts
Ada County Assessor's Office: 190 E. Front Street, Suite 107, Boise, ID 83702. Phone (208) 287-7200, fax (208) 287-7209. Open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday.
Idaho State Tax Commission (property tax): (208) 334-7736 in the Boise area, or toll free (800) 972-7660, ext. 7736.
Hearing impaired: Idaho Relay Service (TDD) (800) 377-3529.
More help with property taxes
Official sources
Last checked: October 30, 2026. Eligibility, income rules, deductions, the 2027 bracket table, deadlines and contacts come from the Idaho State Tax Commission's reduction, exemption and deferral pages, Pub. 135, Pub. 67, the 2027 income bracket table and the medical expense statement, plus the Ada County Assessor's tax relief pages.
This is general information, not tax advice. The Ada County Assessor and the Idaho State Tax Commission decide whether you qualify and how much your taxes are reduced.
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