Property tax relief bills make headway in Wyoming Legislature

Property tax reduction has arrived for some Wyomingites over the past two years, but it remains a top priority for lawmakers.
House of Representatives
The Wyoming House of Representatives during the 2025 general session. (Jordan Uplinger / Wyoming Public Media)

by | Jan 29, 2025 | Politics & Policy

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A series of property tax measures are working their way through House and Senate hurdles as Wyoming lawmakers mull what to do about high property tax rates in some parts of the state.

For instance, HB 169 would make it easier for Wyomingites to qualify for property tax relief. It passed the House and arrived in the Senate on Jan. 24.

HB 169 – Homeowner tax exemption

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HB 169 would exempt 50% of a home’s first $1 million in fair market value from property tax assessment.

“A large number of us were sent here to deliver property tax relief and ultimately tax reform to Wyoming families,” said Rep. Tony Locke (R-Casper), an endorsee of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus and the bill sponsor, on the House floor on Jan. 21. “This bill is short-term relief for a large swath of our residential taxpayers to fix excessive increases to property tax burden that our families have seen in the last several years. The people have been very clear that it is a priority, evidenced by the people’s initiative to get tax relief and reform in place.”

The initiative Locke was referring to is a citizens-led ballot proposal that recently garnered enough signatures to make it onto the 2026 general election ballot. It would go further than many of the property tax policies under consideration this year by slashing property taxes by 50% for homeowners who’ve lived in Wyoming for at least a year. It wouldn’t include backfill funding for local government entities.

HB 169 includes a $125 million backfill to counties to cover 50% of local governments’ tax revenue losses as the result of the measure.

But even with that backfill, some opponents of the bill worried about its impact on local services like community colleges and special districts, including fire departments.

If it’s signed into law, it’s expected to reduce statewide revenue by nearly $200 million. The new exemption would only last for two years.

The bill passed the House successfully and is waiting to clear the first reading process in the Senate.

Similarly, SF 69 would slash 25% of a single family residence’s property taxes for the first $2 million of the home’s fair market value.

The bill would require every county treasurer to keep records of the reduction in local tax revenues caused by its implementation. Then, the state government’s Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account would pay out the difference that local entities lost as long as it ends up being less than $100 million.

That measure recently finished out its first reading in the Senate.

HB 39 – Property tax refund program-revisions

Another bill that would make it easier for Wyomingites to qualify for a property tax refund program passed third reading in the House on Jan. 28.

HB 39 would lower the maximum income level allowed for property tax refunds from 165% to 145% of the median household income found in the county where the homeowner lives.

The changes would affect a property tax refund program that the state Legislature created in 2023. The measure now heads to the Senate.

SF 67 – Long-term homeowner tax exemption-revisions

And yet another property tax bill recently made its way out of the Senate Revenue Committee only to fail in that chamber’s Committee of the Whole.

SF 67 would’ve made a property tax exemption lawmakers passed last year for longtime senior residents permanent.

The measure exempts 50% of a property’s value for homeowners at least 65 years old who’ve paid property taxes in Wyoming for at least 25 years and live in the home at least eight months out of the year.

The new bill would’ve remove that law’s expiration date and reduce the requirement for Wyomingites to live in their property from eight months to six months a year.

It’s possible that lawmakers in the House or Senate could resurrect SF 67 in some form at some point during the session. The deadline for senators’ bills to be filed for introduction is Jan. 29.

This reporting was made possible by a grant from the Corporation For Public Broadcasting, supporting state government coverage in the state. Wyoming Public Media and Jackson Hole Community Radio are partnering to cover state issues both on air and online.

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