JACKSON, Wyo. — The Board of County Commissioners (BCC) unanimously adopted amendments to the County’s optional property tax refund program during its regular meeting on Tuesday, August 13. Changes were made to financial eligibility and the application deadline was moved back to be more workable for residents.
The County’s proposed new rules were in response to the Wyoming Legislature amending the State’s tax refund program, HB0004/House Enrolled Act No. 52, in March. The legislation requires that each county offering a local tax refund program adopt program rules and regulations. Counties were allowed some flexibility with tailoring the program to fit the needs of their communities.
According to the staff report, the income limit to qualify for the Teton County Property Tax Refund Program was raised. To obtain a refund from the previous year’s property taxes, a Teton County household’s gross income cannot exceed 145% of Median Household Income. It was previously 125% of Median Household Income.
During the BCC meeting, County Commissioner Mark Newcomb requested that the definition of “occupant” be added to the amendments to ensure that only the primary resident of a property could be eligible to apply for a tax refund.
“Do we want to specify that a home should be occupied by the actual applicant?” Newcomb asked.
Deputy County Attorney Abigail Moore then adopted this change by adding the wording, “The applicant must attest that the property for the which the applicant is applying for a refund program is occupied by the applicant for more than nine months.”
Moore said for those who then qualify, newly added refund tiers, based on gross household income, will determine how much of a tax refund is received. Property owners whose gross household income was at or less than 125% of the County’s Median Household Income ($154,275 in 2023), can obtain up to 100% of the maximum tax refund established by the BCC each year. Property owners whose gross household income was at or less than 145% of the County’s Median Household Income ($178,959 in 2023) can only obtain up to 65% of the maximum tax refund. The BCC cannot authorize refunds in excess of 75% of the tax paid.
The refund program application deadline for Teton County was changed to the second Monday in October. The application for the state program continues to be the first Monday in June.
Other state and county application requirements remain the same, which are as follows: must be a Wyoming resident for at least five years, must occupy a home for nine months of the year and must have “timely paid” the property tax. All household assets must be less than $150,000 per each adult in the household. There are exceptions — assets that are not included in the calculation, such as the house itself, one vehicle, furnishings, pensions, IRA accounts, life insurance cash values and medical savings accounts. This asset limitation to qualify for the refund programs does not apply if the property tax liability was more than 10% of the gross household income.
