Land whose primary purpose is continuously growing and harvesting trees of a marketable species may qualify for our Timber Property Tax Exemption, which aims to assess forestland at a value commensurate with its capacity to produce timber, rather than the price the land will sell for. The intent is for landowners to be able to use this savings on actively managing their timber for harvest.
Reference :
Idaho Code 63.1701 Definitions
Idaho Code 63.1702 Lands of Less than Five Acres
Idaho Code 63.1703 Certain Forest Lands to be Designated for Taxation by Owner
Idaho Code 63.1704 Large-Size Forest Tracts
Idaho Code 63.1705 Taxation of Forest Lands Under the Productivity Option
Idaho Code 63.1706 Yield Tax on Applicable Forest Products
Idaho Code 63.1707 Examination of Records
Idaho Code 63.1708 Property Exempt from Taxation
Mailing:
P.O. Box 9000
Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814
Phone: 208-446-1526
Fax: 208-446-1501
Must have at least FIVE (5) *CONTIGUOUS, FULLY-STOCKED ACRES of timber that aligns with the definition of “FORESTLAND”.
Forestland Defined:
“Forestland” means privately owned land being held and used primarily for the continuous purpose of growing and harvesting trees of a marketable species. Having met the above criteria, forestland is further identified by consideration of any of the following:
(i) Present forestland use and silvicultural treatment being clearly evidenced.
(ii) A dedicated timber use, further evidenced by a forestland management plan that includes eventual harvest of the forest crop.
(iii) Bearing forest growth or having NOT been converted to another use.
(iv) Trees removed by man through harvest, including clear-cuts or by natural disaster, such as but not limited to fire, which within five (5) years after harvest/initial assessment will be reforested as specified in the Administrative Rules pertaining to the Forest Practices Act.
*”Contiguous” means being in actual contact or touching along a boundary or at a point, except no area of land shall be considered not contiguous solely by reason of a roadway or other right-of-way.
Forestland (Tax) Options:
Upon initial application, you are required to designate between two forestland tax assessment options:
It is required by law that all parcels statewide under the same ownership be put into the same designation. For landowners with ownership of 5,000 or more acres, the forest tax law requires that the land be assessed under the Land Productivity tax option only.
Either option requires landowners to manage their timber as a crop that will be commercially harvested and sold (in part or whole) at some point in time. If landowners do not wish to raise their trees for harvest, they should not apply for this program.
1. Land Productivity Option:
Every year the landowner pays taxes on the assessed value for the land and projected year growth. The owner does not pay taxes on the timber when it is harvested (no 3% yield tax at harvest). When the timbered acres are removed from the timber program for any reason, the land will be assessed at full market value, but the landowner is not required to pay back taxes on the difference in value between full market value and the lower, taxable values placed on the land while it was in the program (no deferred bill). The assessed rate per acre for this program is about 29-48% higher than the Bare Land & Yield option depending on the productivity of the land.
2. Bare Land & Yield Option:
The landowner defers a portion of the property tax to be paid later. The assessed value is calculated using rates much lower than those for the Land Productivity option (29-48% lower).
However, a 3% yield tax is billed on the value of the timber itself when it is harvested. An advantage of this option is that the property tax may be paid partly from the income generated by sale of the timber. The total taxable value depends upon the species of trees and the quantity harvested (by the thousand board feet). Yield tax bills are processed bi-annually.
The first-half billing covers the period of January 1 st – June 30 th . Bills are mailed in October and are due December 20 th .
The second-half billing covers the period of July 1 st – December 31 st . Bills are mailed in March and are due June 20 th .
When the land is removed from the Bare Land & Yield option or the timber program, deferred tax may be billed. This tax is based on the difference in total value between the Land Productivity option and the Bare Land and Yield option for the years the land was in the program, not to exceed 10 years, and less credit for any yield tax already paid. If the land is removed from the program because it is being developed, the deferred tax calculations are based on the difference between the Bare Land and Yield value and full market value.
A possible advantage of this option is that deferred tax may be paid out of the proceeds of the sale of the land. A possible disadvantage is that non-payment of deferred tax may result in a lien against the property.
Deferred taxes are on demand, with the bill due in 30 days.
The TIMBERLAND DESIGNATION OPTIONS and DEFERRED RECAPTURE handouts help to further explain the difference between the two options and provide more detail on yield and deferred tax.
(A 3% yield tax is also charged for timber removed from grazing and cropland; explained on our agricultural exemption webpage under YIELD TAX ON AGRICULTURAL PARCELS .)
For more general timber exemption information see our HOW TO’S FOR QUALIFYING LAND IN THE TIMBER CLASSIFICATION . Contact the Timber and Agricultural Department at 208.446.1526/ kctimberag@kcgov.us for more information on calculations of yield and deferred tax.
Forest Management Plan:
In order to qualify for the timber exemption, a forest management plan much accompany your initial application.
A forestland management plan shall mean a written management plan reviewed by a professional consulting forester, Idaho Department of Lands private forestry specialist, professional industry forester, or federal government forester, to include eventual harvest of the forest crop.
Professional forester is defined as an individual holding at least a Bachelor of Science degree in forestry from an accredited four (4) year institution.
The plan shall include as a minimum:
Here is a list of CONSULTING FORESTERS who commonly do forest management plans for Kootenai County landowners.
You are required to submit one application for each individually assessed parcel but you may submit one Forest Management Plan to cover each group of contiguous parcels (adjacent, or sharing the same parcel border) that you will manage as a single stand of timber.
After Being Accepted into the Timber Program:
When land is accepted into the timber program, it is classified as timberland and is assessed at a lower rate per acre than full market value rates. The intent is to enable landowners to use the tax dollars saved to actively manage the timber for harvest. The rates vary in Idaho according to your land's location in one of four value zones within the State. Kootenai County is in Zone 1. The assessment rates per acre within each zone vary according to whether the land is graded as good, medium or poor production ground (production is how much tree growth occurs per acre, per year.). These production grades are measured and assigned by the Assessor's Office. Please see the IDAHO’S FORESTLAND TAXATION LAW pamphlet provided by the State Tax Commission for further explanation.
ONCE IN THE PROGRAM, IT IS THE LANDOWNER’S RESPONSIBILITY TO NOTIFY THE COUNTY ASSESSOR OF ANY SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE IN USE OF SAID FORESTLAND NOT CONFORMING TO THE DEFINITION OF FORESTLAND WITHIN 30 DAYS OF SAID CHANGE.
For Questions or More Information:
Call the Timber and Agricultural Department 208.446.1526 or email us at kctimberag@kcgov.us . (iv)
The deadline to submit timber applications and management plans is
April 15th of each year to qualify for the timber program in the following year. You must submit one application for each individually assessed parcel. You may submit one Forest Management Plan to cover each group of contiguous parcels (adjacent, or sharing the same parcel border) that you will manage as a single stand of timber.
How to Submit :
You may:
(i) Fill out the pdf form below and email or mail in:
(ii) Complete and submit our online application form:
(iii) If you do not have internet access, please call the department as soon as possible and we can send you the forms in the mail, or you can stop by the office.
Attn: Timber/Ag Dept.
Kootenai County Assessor OR kctimberag@kcgov.us
PO Box 9000
Coeur d’Alene, ID 83816
To Update your Existing Forest Management Plan:
Your land must be accessible for inspection prior to approval. We require a phone number/email on the application for this reason. It is not public information and is only used to notify the landowner prior to coming onsite or of any issues with their application or exemption. Parcels will only be accepted if they are in qualifying order at the time of inspection.
Call the Timber and Agricultural Department 208.446.1526 or email us at kctimberag@kcgov.us .
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. CAN I CHANGE MY TIMBER TAX DESIGNATION, OR CATEGORY (Land Productivity vs. Bare Land & Yield)?
Per the 1982 Law, landowners participating in the timber exemption have the opportunity to change their timber tax designation from Bare Land & Yield to Land Productivity, or vice versa, on a ten (10) year cycle, starting from 1982. So, you will have the option to re-file and change your designation in 2022, 2032, 2042, etc. For more information please read 1982 CHANGE TIMBER OPTIONS and look over Idaho Code 63-1703 .
2. CAN I BUILD A HOUSE ON MY TIMBERLAND WITHOUT LOSING THE TIMBER CLASSIFICATION?
Absolutely, as long as there are still 5 or more treed acres remaining after 1 acre is removed for the home site, and they are or can still be managed as a timber crop. The 1 acre will be valued as an improved home site and the remaining 5 or more acres will continue to be classified as timber.
3. CAN I HAVE MULTIPLE AG/TIMBER CATEGORIES ON ONE PARCEL?
Yes. For example, if you have a 10-acre parcel that has an area of forestland and an area that you farm, you can put 5ac into the timber exemption and 5 acres into the agricultural exemption.
You cannot, however, have both exemptions on the same piece of ground. For example, if you have 10 treed acres, and you graze cattle throughout the trees, you will have to choose either the grazing or the timber exemption. Keep in mind that in an instance such as this, if you choose to go into the grazing exemption and at some point decide to harvest some of your trees, you will have to pay a 3% yield tax on whatever you make from the mill.
4. HOW DO I KNOW IF MY TIMBER IS FULLY-STOCKED?
Appropriate stocking levels are specified in the Administrative Rules Pertaining to the Idaho Forest Practices Act .
Seedlings to saplings (0 to 3 inches in diameter), 400 to 300 trees per acre or a tree every 10 to 12 feet apart
Post and poles to small saw logs (4 to 10 inches in diameter), 300 to 200 trees per acre or a tree every 12 to15 feet apart
Saw logs (11 or more inches in diameter), 150 to 125 trees per acre or a tree every 16 to 40 plus feet apart. Most lands will have a mixture of all these sizes within 5 years after a substantial harvest, so use an average spacing of 10 to 15 feet between trees.
Seedlings to saplings (0 to 3 inches in diameter), 400 to 300 trees per acre or a tree every 10 to 12 feet apart
Post and poles to small saw logs (4 to 10 inches in diameter), 300 to 200 trees per acre or a tree every 12 to15 feet apart
Saw logs (11 or more inches in diameter), 150 to 125 trees per acre or a tree every 16 to 40 plus feet apart. Most lands will have a mixture of all these sizes within 5 years after a substantial harvest, so use an average spacing of 10 to 15 feet between trees.
5. DO I HAVE TO RE-APPLY EACH YEAR?
No, you do not have to re-apply annually. The land remains in the program for as long as a landowner actively manages it as timber land. If any changes occur to the property (name change, put into trust, lot line adjustments, build house, etc…) it is the landowner’s responsibility to notify the county of said change within 30 days. Applications and forest management plans will need to be updated. Forest management plans will need updated on average about every 5-10 years, depending on your original plan and prescription.
6. HOW CAN I MEASURE HOW MANY ACRES OF TIMBER I HAVE?
Our KCEarth Web Map tool allows you to see your property from an aerial view, overlaid with your property boundaries and other layers of your choice. If you are unsure how many acres you have of timber, you have the ability to draw a polygon around this area and it will provide you with that acreage. You must have at least 5 acres of ground actively devoted to timber production to qualify.
7. HOW DO I KNOW I AM RECEIVING THE TIMBER EXEMPTION?
Assessment notices are sent out every year at the beginning of June. If you are in fact receiving the exemption, your notice will read one of the following depending on how you designated upon initial application:
Land Productivity – 06 Land Prod
Bare Land & Yield – 07 Bare Forest
If you are not seeing one of these two line items and you think you should be receiving the exemption, notify our office as soon as possible – kctimberag@kcgov.us.
8. IF I DON’T HAVE MUCH KNOWLEDGE ABOUT TIMBER MANAGEMENT, HOW CAN I LEARN ABOUT IT?
9. I JUST RECEIVED A YIELD TAX BILL – WHAT IS THIS?
When a landowner designates into the Bare Land & Yield option upon initial application, they are deciding to defer a portion of the property tax to be paid later. A 3% yield tax is billed on the value of the timber itself when it is harvested. The total taxable value depends upon the species of trees and the quantity harvested (by the thousand board feet). Yield tax bills are processed bi-annually.
The first-half billing covers the period of January 1 st – June 30 th . Bills are mailed in October and are due December 20 th .
The second-half billing covers the period of July 1 st – December 31 st . Bills are mailed in March and are due June 20 th .
The TIMBERLAND DESIGNATION OPTIONS and DEFERRED RECAPTURE handouts help to explain the Bare Land & Yield designation and yield tax billing.
10. I JUST RECEIVED A DEFERRED TAX BILL – WHAT IS THIS?
The TIMBERLAND DESIGNATION OPTIONS and DEFERRED RECAPTURE handouts help to explain the Bare Land & Yield designation and the deferred billing.
11. WHAT IF I JUST WANT TO LEAVE MY FORESTLAND “AS IS”?
That is the free choice of each individual landowner, and may be the right one if they either do not wish to cut any trees, hire a forester, have no timber management experience or do not want to spend the time, money and energy it takes to maintain and manage timber as a crop. The honesty of the decision is admirable, but the bottom line is that the parcel will not qualify or be classified as timberland if it is left "natural". It will be assessed at full market value.
12. WHERE CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT FORESTRY?
This University of Idaho Extension offers a Forestry Shortcourse twice a year that we always recommend for landowners looking to learn more about forestry. They offer many other forestry-related classes/conferences. Visit https://www.uidaho.edu/extension/forestry for more information.
13. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LAND PRODUCTIVITY AND BARE LAND AND YIELD?
Please read our TIMBERLAND DESIGNATION OPTIONS handout for a more detailed explanation of the difference between these two designations.
14. DOES MY ORCHARD QUALIFY FOR THE TIMBER EXEMPTION?
No, but it may qualify for the agricultural exemption if you produce fruit/nuts/berries for-profit.
15. HOW WILL MY LAND BE ASSESSED ONCE I AM ACCEPTED INTO THE PROGRAM?
When property is accepted into the timber program, it is classified as either good, medium or poor productivity. The assessed rate per acre varies depending on which timber tax designation you chose (Land Productivity or Bare Land & Yield) and what the productivity of your parcel is. Productivity is determined by the Assessor’s office forester and is done by collecting Habitat Type and Site Index on your parcel. The assessed value is calculated by multiplying the acres in the program by one of these rates, which are lower than the per acre rates for full market value, to obtain the taxable value. For more information on your savings, call the Timber and Agricultural Department 208.446.1526 or email us .
16. WHAT CAN I DO IF MY CLOSING DATE IS VERY NEAR THE DECEMBER DEADLINE?
Work with a forester and have an application in on or before December 31 st . A forester can request an extension through our office as long as they contact us prior to the deadline and so long as we have an application on file by then as well.
17. WHAT DOES CONTIGUOUS MEAN?
Contiguous means being in actual contact or touching along a boundary or at a point, except no area of land shall be considered not contiguous solely by reason of a roadway or other right-of-way. Two small parcels, contiguously making up at least 5 acres of timber can qualify for the exemption. An application is required for each parcel.
18. WHERE CAN I FIND MY AIN# OR PARCEL#?
You can find this information by searching your name or address in our Parcel Information Search webpage. Here you can find your deed, plat maps, AIN # and Parcel #.
19. WHY IS MY PHONE NUMBER REQUIRED ON THE APPLICATION?
In order to qualify for the exemption you must agree to have your parcel inspected by the agricultural appraiser to ensure compliance. Your phone number or email is required at initial application to allow the appraiser to give you notice prior to coming out and inspecting. This information is not public and will only be used for inspection purposes, information on accessing your parcel or if there are any problems or questions regarding your exemption.
For Questions or More Information:
Call the Timber and Agricultural Department 208.446.1526 or email us at kctimberag@kcgov.us .