CHEYENNE, Wyo. — On Tuesday, March 4, Governor Mark Gordon signed Senate File 69 – Homeowner property tax exemption, which provides a 25% property tax exemption on the first $1 million of a single-family home’s fair market value.
SF0069 states that the exemption goes into effect immediately. Starting in tax year 2026, the exemption will require homeowners to occupy their residence for at least eight months of the year. The new property tax law, which does not have a sunset date, applies to all income levels.
“I have always supported tax accountability, and this bill provides tax relief without transferring the burden to our core energy industry,” Governor Gordon said in a statement. “This act, coupled with the bills I signed last year, responds to the call for property tax relief. Now the practical impacts of this legislation will need to be navigated by our cities, counties, special districts and citizens.”
With the property law offering no backfill money for local schools and governments, Teton County Assessor Melissa Shinkle explained to Buckrail that this could be felt in Teton County. The 25% exemption is only applied to the first $1M of property value, but will reduce property tax collections by approximately $16.5 million in Teton County, according to early estimates based upon the state’s average mill levy. As defined by Teton County, a mill levy equates to $1 of taxes for every $1,000 of assessed value that a property owner must pay.
“Each mill equals about $4 million in Teton County, because our assessed value in 2024 was $4.09 billion,” Shinkle said.
According to Teton County, mill levies or units of taxation are dictated by the State Legislature. Shinkle said that County Commissioners review the county’s budget each year, then base their mill levy decisions on the amount needed for their budgetary needs. She said that the new property tax exemption will not hit Jackson as hard because Teton County’s mills are currently less than the maximum 12 mills.
“If needed, the Commissioners can increase the mill levy to make up for the lost revenue,” Shinkle said. “Local school districts can assess 25 mills. The Town can levy up to eight mills, and the County can levy up to 12 mills. We are estimating a total loss of $16.5 million, but the majority of that goes to our schools, so they are going to take a hit. The rest of the lost revenue is split up between the county and special districts.”
Shinkle estimated that by the time the tax cut trickles down to the local level, Teton County’s general fund is likely to see a loss of $3.2 million.
“That’s money that we won’t get,” Shinkle said. “Obviously, the hospital is going to lose a little bit. Teton County Weed and Pest will lose a little bit. As far as fire, EMS, the Sheriff’s office, recreation center, library and other services, I would anticipate that we’re not going to be hiring anybody this year. We’re going to have to keep our budgets fairly flat.”
Shinkle told Buckrail that the Board of County Commissioners and Jackson’s Town Council could impose an increase in local taxes to cover basic needs. She said that another way to make up for the loss of revenue is to cut certain programs.
“It’s in our Commissioners’ hands as to whether or not they want to raise those mills to make up for the loss in revenue,” Shinkle said. “If those mill levies are increased, everyone’s taxes in Teton County could go up so that we can stay at the revenue level that we’ve been operating on.”
Shinkle said that another bill currently being considered by State Legislature could potentially impact Teton County’s revenue on a much larger scale. Senate File 153, which went to the Senate concurrence committee on Tuesday, March 4, would lower residential property assessment rates.
“We could end up with two major discounts on our property taxes,” Shinkle said. “If they lower the assessment rate from 9.5% to 8.3%, that will have a far bigger impact on our budgets than this 25% property exemption. That’s a big deal. With these multi-million dollar properties — that difference in assessment rates is going to be huge for them.”
Shinkle said that the County Commissioners will have even more difficult decisions if SF0153 were to become law.
