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HB0052 • 2024

Property tax-homestead exemption.

AN ACT relating to taxation; establishing a homestead exemption for primary residences; providing a penalty for false claims; providing a sunset date; providing an appropriation; and providing for an effective date.

Budget Children Taxes
Inactive

Wyoming marks this bill as inactive, which usually means it is no longer moving in the current session.

Sponsor
Representative Sommers
Last action
2024-03-05
Official status
inactive
Effective date
3/1/2024

Plain English Breakdown

The bill's status as inactive means it will not move further in this session and has no current legal effect.

Property Tax-Homestead Exemption

This act establishes a homestead exemption for primary residences in Wyoming and provides funding to local governments for any resulting loss in revenue.

What This Bill Does

  • Creates a new paragraph (xliii) under W.S. 39-11-105(a), which exempts the first $100,000 of fair market value of single family residential structures from property taxation.
  • Appropriates $123.4 million from the general fund to the Department of Revenue for reimbursing local governments for revenue losses due to this homestead exemption.
  • Repeals the new paragraph (xliii) on December 31, 2024.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Homeowners who own single family residential structures in Wyoming.
  • Local governments affected by the loss of property tax revenue due to the homestead exemption.

Terms To Know

Single Family Residential Structure
A structure intended for human habitation, including a house, modular home, mobile home, townhouse or condominium that is a privately owned single family dwelling unit.
Homestead Exemption
An exemption from property taxation on a portion of the value of a primary residence used as a homestead.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill is marked as inactive, meaning it will not move further in this session.
  • It does not specify penalties for false claims related to the homestead exemption.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HB0052H2001

2nd reading • Representative Oakley

Withdrawn

Plain English: The amendment adds a condition to qualify for a homestead exemption on primary residences based on income level.

  • Adds an income requirement that the owner's total gross household income must be no more than three hundred percent of the state median gross household income.
  • The amendment does not specify what happens if a homeowner exceeds this income threshold in future years.
  • It is unclear how the state will determine and verify the median gross household income for all residents.
HB0052H2002

2nd reading • Representative Sommers

Withdrawn

Plain English: The amendment adds a new rule that stops homeowners from getting extra property tax breaks if they already have one for their main home.

  • Adds a provision stating that an owner receiving a homestead exemption cannot get any additional property tax exemptions in the same year.
  • The amendment does not specify what happens to existing exemptions or how it affects other types of tax breaks unrelated to primary residences.
HB0052H2003

2nd reading • Representative Olsen

Adopted

Plain English: The amendment changes how homestead exemptions for primary residences are defined to include properties owned by corporations, partnerships, or LLCs if the property is occupied by a shareholder or owner of those entities.

  • Adds a new definition allowing individuals who own shares in a corporation, partnership, or limited liability company (LLC) and occupy a property owned by that entity to qualify for homestead exemptions.
  • Reorders existing definitions by changing the numbering from '(5)' to '(4)' after incorporating the new definition.
  • The amendment does not specify any additional details about how this change will be implemented or enforced beyond the renumbering of subsequent sections.
HB0052H2004

2nd reading • Representative Storer

Adopted

Plain English: The amendment changes the homestead exemption for primary residences by setting a specific dollar amount that is exempt from property tax and removes previous language.

  • Sets the homestead exemption at $100,000 of fair market value.
  • Removes existing text related to the homestead exemption.
  • The exact details removed by deleting lines are not specified in the amendment text.
HB0052H3001

3rd reading • Representative Sommers

Corrected, Corrected, Adopted

Plain English: The amendment changes the definition of homestead exemption from primary residence to single family residential structure and adjusts several dates and values in the original bill.

  • Changes 'primary residence' to 'single family residential structure' throughout the bill.
  • Adjusts the sunset date from 2027 to 2025.
  • Sets the homestead exemption value at $30,000 of fair market value starting in January 2024.
  • The amendment text does not provide a clear explanation for all changes made, such as why certain sections are deleted without replacement.
  • Some technical details about the deletion and insertion of specific lines may be unclear to readers.
HB0052H3002

3rd reading • Representative Sommers

Adopted

Plain English: The amendment adds a provision to HB0052, stating that an owner receiving a homestead exemption cannot claim additional property tax exemptions for the same residential property in the same tax year, except for certain specific cases.

  • Adds language requiring homeowners who receive a homestead exemption to not be eligible for any other property tax exemptions on the same property during the same tax year.
  • The amendment does not specify all possible exceptions or scenarios where additional exemptions might still apply, which could lead to confusion.
  • It is unclear how this change will interact with existing state and local laws regarding property tax exemptions.
HB0052H3003

3rd reading • Representative Sommers

Corrected, Adopted

Plain English: The amendment changes the definition of 'primary residence' to 'single family residential structure', adjusts the exemption amount and timing, and removes certain sections related to penalties and definitions.

  • Changes the term 'primary residence' to 'single family residential structure'.
  • Adjusts the sunset date from 2027 to 2025.
  • Modifies the homestead exemption value to $40,000 of fair market value starting in 2024.
  • The amendment removes several sections without providing clear replacements or explanations for those changes.
HB0052H3004

3rd reading • Representative Sommers

Adopted

Plain English: The amendment changes the definition and application date of homestead exemptions for single family residential structures in property tax laws.

  • Changes 'primary residence' to 'single family residential structure'.
  • Moves the effective date from January 1, 2027, to January 1, 2024.
  • Specifies that $60,000 of fair market value is exempt as a homestead exemption.
  • The amendment removes several lines and sections without providing clear context for their content or purpose.
HB0052H3005

3rd reading • Representative Sommers

Adopted

Plain English: The amendment changes the definition and application date of homestead exemptions for single family residential structures in property tax laws.

  • Changes 'primary residence' to 'single family residential structure'.
  • Moves the effective date from January 1, 2027, to January 1, 2024.
  • Specifies that $70,000 of fair market value is exempt as a homestead exemption.
  • The amendment removes several previous amendments and sections without providing their content, which limits full understanding of the context.
HB0052H3006

3rd reading • Representative Storer

Failed

Plain English: The amendment removes previous amendments and changes the definition of homestead exemption from primary residence to single family residential structure, with a new effective date in 2024.

  • Changes 'primary residence' to 'single family residential structure'.
  • Sets the sunset date for the exemption to 2024 instead of 2027.
  • Specifies that 25% of fair market value is exempt as a homestead exemption.
  • The amendment text does not provide details on how the changes will affect current property tax exemptions or the full extent of the new definitions and their implications.
HB0052H3007

3rd reading • Representative Harshman

Adopted

Plain English: The amendment changes the definition and application date of homestead exemptions for single family residential structures in property tax laws.

  • Changes 'primary residence' to 'single family residential structure'.
  • Updates the sunset date from 2027 to 2024.
  • Specifies that $100,000 of fair market value is exempt as a homestead exemption for single family residential structures.
  • Adds an effective date clause stating the new act applies starting January 1, 2024.
  • The amendment removes several previous amendments and sections without providing context on their content or implications.
HB0052HS001

Standing Committee • House Revenue Committee

Adopted

Plain English: The amendment increases several monetary thresholds related to homestead exemptions for primary residences and makes other minor changes to the bill.

  • Increases the initial exemption amount from $50,000 to $100,000.
  • Raises another threshold from $150,000 to $200,000.
  • Changes a requirement related to time of ownership from 'a majority' to 'at least eight months'.
  • Adds language specifying that the property and associated residential land must be owned by the person living in the dwelling.
  • The amendment text does not provide full context for all changes, so some details might need further explanation from the bill itself.
HB0052HS002

Standing Committee • House Appropriations Committee

Adopted

Plain English: The amendment changes the amount of money appropriated for a homestead exemption from $88,400,000 to $123,400,000.

  • Changes the appropriation amount from eighty-eight million dollars to one hundred twenty-three million four hundred thousand dollars.

Bill History

  1. 2024-03-05 Senate

    S:Died in Committee Returned Bill Pursuant to SR 5-4

  2. 2024-03-05 Senate

    S No report prior to CoW Cutoff

  3. 2024-02-28 Senate

    S Introduced and Referred to S03 - Revenue

  4. 2024-02-28 Senate

    S Received for Introduction

  5. 2024-02-27 House

    H 3rd Reading:Passed 55-6-1-0-0

  6. 2024-02-26 House

    H 2nd Reading:Passed

  7. 2024-02-23 House

    H COW:Passed

  8. 2024-02-22 House

    H Placed on General File

  9. 2024-02-22 House

    H02 - Appropriations:Recommend Amend and Do Pass 4-3-0-0-0

  10. 2024-02-20 House

    :Rerefer to H02 - Appropriations

  11. 2024-02-20 House

    H03 - Revenue:Recommend Amend and Do Pass 6-3-0-0-0

  12. 2024-02-13 House

    H Introduced and Referred to H03 - Revenue 58-3-1-0-0

  13. 2024-01-24 House

    H Received for Introduction

  14. 2024-01-10 LSO

    Bill Number Assigned

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
24LSO-0109
2024
STATE OF WYOMING
24LSO-0109
ENGROSSED
3.0

HOUSE BILL NO. HB0052

Property tax-homestead exemption.

Sponsored by: Representative(s) Sommers, Allred, Berger, Byron, Clouston, Crago, Larson, JT, Northrup and Western and Senator(s) Baldwin and Driskill

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to taxation; establishing a homestead exemption for primary residences; providing a penalty for false claims; providing a sunset date; providing an appropriation; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1.

W.S. 39
‑
11
‑
105(a) by creating a new paragraph (xliii) is amended to read:

39
‑
11
‑
105.

Exemptions.

(a)

The following property is exempt from property taxation:

(xliii)

A portion of property used as a single family residential structure as a homestead exemption as provided in this paragraph. An owner who receives a homestead exemption under this paragraph shall not be entitled to any additional property tax exemption for or related to the residential real property in the same tax year except for an exemption where the amount of the exemption is determined based on the amount of the assessed value that is in excess of the prior year assessed value of the property. This paragraph is repealed December 31, 2024. The following shall apply to the homestead exemption:

(A)

For residential real property used as a single family residential structure, the first one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00) of fair market value shall be exempt as a homestead exemption;

(B)

As used in this paragraph, "single family residential structure" means a structure intended for human habitation including a house, modular home, mobile home, townhouse or condominium that is a privately owned single family dwelling unit.

Section 2.

There is appropriated one hundred twenty
‑
three million four hundred thousand dollars ($123,400,000.00) from the general fund to the department of revenue for the purposes of reimbursing local governments for losses in revenue resulting from the homestead exemption as provided in this act. If the amount appropriated under this section is insufficient to fully reimburse all local governments for losses in revenue resulting from the homestead exemption, the department shall determine appropriate amounts to provide to each local government on a proportional basis. This appropriation shall be for the period beginning with the effective date of this act and ending December 31, 2027. This appropriation shall not be transferred or expended for any other purpose and any unexpended, unobligated funds remaining from this appropriation shall revert as provided by law on December 31, 2027. It is the intent of the legislature that this appropriation not be included in the department's standard budget for the immediately succeeding fiscal biennium.

Section 3.

The exemption provided by this act shall first apply to the tax year beginning January 1, 2024.

Section 4
.

This act is effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution.

(END)

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HB0052