Property Tax Relief From The 2025 Legislative Session

Michael Smith Photography for AARP Wyoming

If you have tried to follow the 2025 Legislative Session - specifically the yin and yang of property tax relief - you could be forgiven for not remembering which of the 12 property tax relief bills was passed, amended, or signed by the Governor this spring.

We can boil it all down to this: If you apply for the Property Tax Exemption for Long-Term Homeowners program through your local assessor, you can receive 50% off of your property taxes in 2025 and 2026. You have to be 65 and older and have paid residential property tax in Wyoming for 25 years or more. If you use this program you can apply for the Property Tax Refund Program, but will not benefit from Senate File 69 (see below).

What If You Haven't Paid Property Tax For 25 Years in Wyoming?
If you haven’t hit those markers to apply for the Long-Term Homeowners Exemption discussed above, Senate File 69 was signed into law by the Governor this week. It provides a 25% break on your property tax for the first $1 million of your home’s value. As of right now, the Exemption for Long-Term Homeowners is only available for 2025 and 2026. If that program is allowed to sunset or go away, those who took the Long Term Homeowners exemption would then benefit from Senate File 69’s relief.

Property Tax Refund Program Avoids a Haircut
One potential casualty of the Senate’s decision not to pass a budget was the $10.5 million that was in the Governor’s budget for the Property Tax Refund Program. Luckily, the Senate was able to amend House Bill 279 (a bill telling the Department of Revenue how to apply multiple percentages of tax relief), to include the $10.5 million for the Property Tax Refund program. Senate Majority Floor Leader Tara Nethercott (R-Laramie) sponsored that amendment, which was unanimously agreed upon in both houses. If you remember, the Property Tax Refund program received an appropriation of $20 million last year that was supposed to get it through 2026. However, $14.3 million has already been used this year.

AARP Wyoming Property Tax Zoom Meeting Scheduled
If you are still confused by all the property tax relief options out there, or just want to learn more, join our AARP Wyoming Property Tax Zoom event with Wyoming Department of Revenue Director Brenda Henson, scheduled for noon on May 1. Click here to register. Henson will discuss how property tax is collected and used in Wyoming, not to mention deadlines and processes for applying for the Property Tax Exemption for Long-Term Homeowners; the Property Tax Refund Program; as well as how to determine the impacts of the state’s 4% cap on year-over-year property tax increases, and the 25% exemption brought forward by this session’s Senate File 69. The event will be livestreamed on AARP Wyoming’s Facebook page at facebook.com/aarpwy.