Idaho Property Tax Reduction (Circuit Breaker): Disabled Veterans

What it is. Idaho Code 63-701 to 63-710 set up the Property Tax Reduction programme, which the Tax Commission and the county assessors run and everyone calls the circuit breaker. Section 63-701(1) lists who may claim it, and one group is "A disabled veteran of any war engaged in by the United States, whose disability is recognized as a service-connected disability of a degree of ten percent (10%) or more, or who has a pension for nonservice-connected disabilities, in accordance with laws and regulations administered by the United States department of veterans affairs". The others are people 65 or older, widows and widowers, the blind, people recognised as disabled by Social Security and similar agencies, former prisoners of war and hostages, and fatherless or motherless children under 18, so a veteran who misses the veteran test may still qualify on another. The statute does not say what "of any war" means, and none of the county assessor pages read for this catalog repeats it. How much. The lowest income bracket gets $1,500, or the actual tax if less, and the highest gets $250 (63-705(3)). The Tax Commission's 2027 brackets, published in September 2026: household income of $16,110 or less gets $1,500, and the reduction falls by $30 to $50 a step to $250 for income from $39,331 to $40,030. It does not reduce solid waste, irrigation or other fees. The income test. Income is the claimant's and spouse's for the calendar year before, after unreimbursed medical costs and up to $5,000 of funeral costs (63-701(5)). It counts most pensions, Social Security and military retirement, but it does not count VA disability pay to a veteran rated 40% or more ("'Income' does not include veterans disability pensions received by a person described in subsection (1)(e) of this section ... if the disability pension is received pursuant to a service-connected disability of a degree of forty percent (40%) or more"), and it does not count dependency and indemnity compensation or VA death benefits. A veteran rated 10% to 30% has the compensation counted. The ceiling is the greater of $37,000 or 185% of the federal poverty guideline for two (63-705(1)), adjusted each October: $40,030 of 2026 income for the 2027 programme. The home value limit. Since 2023, a home whose assessed value is more than $400,000 or twice the county's median homestead value, whichever is greater, is sent to the property tax deferral programme instead (63-705(2)). That limit "do[es] not apply to a veteran with either a service-connected disability of one hundred percent (100%) or a disability rating based on individual unemployability rating that is compensated at the one hundred percent (100%) disability rate". The Tax Commission's guide says the 2027 limit "will be calculated in June 2027". It stacks with the veterans benefit. The $1,500 special reduction for a veteran rated 100% or paid at 100% for unemployability (Idaho Code 63-705A; see Idaho's Property Tax Benefit for Veterans with Disabilities) is given "regardless of any reduction received under section 63-705", and where a veteran qualifies for both, the two together may not exceed the actual tax. A low-income 100% veteran should file for both rather than choose between them. How to apply. The home must be the claimant's primary home, owned and lived in before April 15, with a homeowner's exemption (63-602G), and the claimant must have lawful presence in the United States. Apply every year between January 1 and April 15 at the county assessor's office or online through the Tax Commission, with proof of income, medical and funeral costs, ownership and the qualifying status (for a veteran, the VA letter giving the rating or the pension). An approved reduction shows on the December tax bill. The Tax Commission answers at 208-334-7736 or 800-972-7660 ext. 7736. What the State's own pages leave out. The Tax Commission's page lists the groups as "65 or older, blind, widowed, disabled, a former POW or hostage, or a motherless or fatherless child", and its 2027 guide (Pub. 135) lists "Disabled as recognized by ... Veterans Affairs" and asks for proof of "VA disability"; neither says that 10% is enough or that a VA pension qualifies. The statute does, and so do the Kootenai, Canyon and Twin Falls assessors' pages. Edition. Read 2026-10-23 on legislature.idaho.gov, updated July 1, 2026 after the 2026 session; 63-701 was last amended in 2025 (chapters 122 and 208), 63-705 in 2023 and 63-705A in 2023.