How to Homestead a Property in Idaho

Homestead exemptions are automatically given to all property owners in Idaho. The state homestead exemption protects up to $100,000 equity held by property owners in their primary residence in the event of a court settlement for debt collection. The protected residence must be the owner's primary residence, protecting only that property, even if the homeowner owns more than one Idaho property. No paperwork or filing is necessary unless the homeowner owns two properties and wishes to protect the uninhabited property. However, protecting an uninhabited property with a homeowner's exemption is possible only if the property is undergoing construction and will become the property owner's primary residence in the future.

• 1

  File a Declaration of Homestead only if you own more than one property in Idaho and want the one you are not currently living in protected under the homestead exemption. Since the property in which you reside is automattically given homestead exemption in Idaho, you must file a declaration only if you are occupying a secondary residence during the time in which the residence that will be your primary residence within the year is undergoing construction, such as a remodel.

• 2

  Compose a letter fully describing the property you want to homestead. State that the residence is one that you fully intend on occupying full time in the near future and provide the full cash value of the residence.

• 3

  Compose a second letter stating that the residence in which you currently reside while your primary residence is under construction is not one you want protected by the homestead exemption. This is called an Abandonment of Homestead Declaration.

• 4

  Describe the property and note the date on which you want the abandonment to take effect.

• 5

  Mail or deliver your declaration letters to the county recorder in the county where your property is located.