(Fremont County, WY) – More than 1,520 local residents have already applied for the new property tax exemption long-term homeowners the Wyoming Legislature passed this year, Fremont County Assessor Tara Berg said Friday.
That number is up from Tuesday, when Berg told the Fremont County Commission that 1,400 local residents had applied so far.
‘A significant amount of money’
Based on preliminary estimates, which she calculated using data from the Wyoming Property Tax Refund Program, Berg said the decrease in local revenues resulting from those 1,400 exemptions alone could amount to about $1 million.
“It’s going to be a significant amount of money for both the county and all the special districts,” Berg told the Commission this week. “(We’re) going to have to have a discussion on what that’s going to mean.”
The state does not currently have a plan to backfill the revenue loss resulting from the property tax exemption, Berg said Friday, noting that the same is true for the new law that places a 4 percent cap on certain residential property tax increases.
Fremont County was unable to realize $26 million in value as a result of the new 4 percent cap, Berg said – and “that’s all local money.”
“That money does not go to the State of Wyoming,” Berg said. “(That’s) the most important thing for people to remember.”
Eligibility
The property tax exemption application for long-term homeowners became available last month, and Berg said local residents have until the fourth Monday in May to submit the form.
Eligible applicants must be age 65 and older, having paid residential property taxes in Wyoming for at least 25 years, Berg said; they must also live in the home that’s involved in the exemption for at least eight months out of the year.
There are about 12,000 residential property owners in Fremont County, Berg said, and she isn’t sure how many will be eligible for the exemption.
For more information call the Assessor’s Office at (307) 332-1188.