Agricultural exemption does not apply to homesite and
residential improvements.
Pub Date:
09/22/2011
Publication:
Name: Appraisal Journal Publisher: The Appraisal Institute Audience: Trade Format: Magazine/Journal Subject: Business; Real estate industry Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2011 The Appraisal Institute ISSN:0003-7087
According to the Supreme Court of Idaho, Idaho Code (I.C.), section
63-604 is unambiguous and does not exempt contiguous homesites not
actively devoted to agriculture.
In 2004, Walter and Judith Kimbrough purchased a small farm in
Canyon County, Idaho. The Kimbroughs dedicated all but 2 acres of their
land to growing alfalfa. The remaining 2 acres contained agricultural
buildings and the Kimbroughs' home. Of the 14.76 acres subject to
assessment, the Canyon County Assessor (the County) exempted 13.76 acres
of the farm from taxation under LC. section 63-604, which allowed for an
exemption of land actively devoted to agriculture. The County assessed
the remaining acre upon which the homesite was located at market value.
In 2007, the assessment more than doubled. The County attributed
nearly all of the added assessment to the increased value of the
homesite and residential improvements. The Kimbroughs appealed their
2007 property-tax assessment first to the Canyon County Board of
Equalization. Then they appealed to the Idaho Board of Tax Appeals, and
later appealed to the district court. Each review resulted in an
affirmation that the County was correct to value the one-acre homesite
and residential improvements at market value separately from the
Kimbroughs' agricultural acreage.
On appeal, the Kimbroughs conceded that the one-acre homesite was
not actively devoted to agriculture. They contended that under the
language of I.C. section 63-604, homesites contiguous with land actively
devoted to agriculture should also be included in the agricultural
exemption from tax assessment. The Kimbroughs asserted that because the
statute states that the total area of such land, including the homesite,
must exceed five acres to qualify for the agricultural exemption, the
statute exempts the homesite itself, in addition to the farmland. The
County argued the homesite acreage was only relevant when determining
whether a parcel of farmland is large enough to qualify for the
agricultural exemption.
The Idaho Supreme Court noted that while the Kimbroughs had their
own interpretation of I.C. section 63-604, not all interpretations are
reasonable. The supreme court affirmed the district court's ruling
and found the statute's plain language to be unambiguous, having
been previously interpreted to be applicable only to land that is
actively devoted to crop or livestock production and is not in a
crop-rotation program. Thus, homesites contiguous with farmland are not
subject to the tax exemption for land actively devoted to agriculture
under I.C. section 63-604.
Kimbrough v. Idaho Board of Tax Appeals
Supreme Court of Idaho
February 4, 2011
150 Idaho 417 (2011)
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