Park County Treasurer Barb Poley wants to reach more people this year than the 1,200 homeowners who saw a rebate for a percentage of their property taxes last year as part of the tax refund program.

In their winter Budget Session, legislators expanded the program to include more homeowners. Lawmakers almost unanimously passed a bill that pushed the eligibility level from 125% of the median household income to 165%, but Gov. Mark Gordon issued a line item veto that pared the cap back to 145%.

In Park County, a homeowner can’t have had more than $107,484 in household income to qualify. There is also an asset limit of $156,900 per adult household member, excluding the primary residence and one car per household member.

Poley told Park County commissioners on Tuesday that the change will bring in a bunch more homeowners — and she wants to spread the word beyond last year’s prime demographic of 60 years old and older.

“I’m looking for outreach for the 30, 40, 50 age group,” she said, adding that, “just because their taxes are escrowed in does not mean they don’t qualify.”

Poley said she has again set up times at the county libraries to assist people, but since those sessions attracted mostly seniors, she expects to spend roughly $1,000 to advertise in the county newspapers and radio stations to hopefully attract the younger demographic. 

“This is for working people,” she said, adding, “There’s a lot of people in the community that can qualify for this.”

Applications were mailed out over the weekend, and she had 50 of the forms submitted by Monday morning.

“People lined up for help,” Poley said.

While many Wyoming counties don’t offer extra help for people trying to apply, Poley said her office makes it a mission to do what it can to both get the program more exposure and offer assistance. 

Commissioners said they would be open to approving a budget amendment for extra advertising costs, and recommended getting the word out on community social media sites. 

Poley pushed the program last year too, and Park County had the highest per capita amount of homeowners who took advantage of the rebate. 

The program is open to those who live in their home at least nine months out of the year and who have lived in Wyoming at least five years. This year the Legislature appropriated an additional $20 million to further expand the program and ensure more homeowners in need are eligible to participate. In 2023, the program helped more than 9,000 families, with the average refund being approximately $938.

Homeowners can apply for a refund of up to one-half of the median residential property tax amount or 75% of their 2023 property tax bill, whichever is less. 

The Department of Revenue anticipates an additional 2,000 taxpayers will qualify with the increased income level.

All taxpayers who applied for refunds last year will receive an application in the mail in mid-April. Taxpayers may also apply online at wptrs.wyo.gov or in person at the Park County Treasurer’s office. All applications must be filed by June 3. Before applying for the refund, individuals must pay their 2023 taxes in full. 

For more information about Wyoming’s property tax refund program, visit wptrs.wyo.gov, call the Department of Revenue at 307-777-7320 or the Park County Treasurer’s Office at 307-754-8630.