Wyoming Senior Property Tax Relief: Property Tax Refund Program

Wyoming senior property tax relief comes in two main forms: an exemption for long-term homeowners 65 and older, and a refund program with no age limit. The exemption takes 50 percent off the fair market value of a qualifying home, up to the first $3,000,000.1 The refund returns the lesser of one-half of the median residential property tax amount or 75 percent of your bill, and its income test is tied to a county or state median rather than a flat dollar figure.1 Refund applications are due the first Monday in June.

In This Guide

• Key Takeaways
• The Long-Term Homeowner Exemption
• Wyoming Senior Property Tax Relief at a Glance
• Who Qualifies
• The Income Formula: Why There Is No Single Dollar Figure
• The Asset Limit
• How Much You Can Get Back
• Residency and Occupancy Requirements
• How to Apply
• Wyoming Veterans Property Tax Exemption
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Next Steps

Wyoming Senior Property Tax Relief: The Property Tax Refund Program

Wyoming runs a Property Tax Refund Program that returns a portion of the property taxes you paid. It is not age-gated: the requirements the Department of Revenue lists for it include no age condition.1

The refund is up to one-half of the median residential property tax amount or 75 percent of your property tax bill, whichever is less.1 As a hypothetical, if the median amount were $2,000, half of it would be $1,000; a homeowner who paid $1,000 in property tax would be capped at $750 (75 percent of the bill), while one who paid $3,000 would be capped at $1,000. The refund is also graduated: it is adjusted based on how your income compares to 125 to 145 percent of the county or state median, and amounts may be adjusted according to fund availability.1

The refund does not lower your tax bill before it is due: you pay the full amount and apply for a refund afterward.

The Long-Term Homeowner Exemption

The Department of Revenue's tax relief page lists three programs, the refund, a deferral and a veterans' exemption, but that page is not an inventory of everything a Wyoming senior can claim. County assessors also take claims for the Property Tax Exemption for Long Term Homeowners, which began in tax year 2025.1

To qualify, the owner or their spouse must be 65 or older, the owner or their spouse must have paid residential property tax in Wyoming for 25 years or more (the years do not have to be consecutive), and the home must be a primary residence you live in for at least 8 months of the year. It takes 50 percent off the fair market value of the residential property and up to 35 acres of associated land, on up to the first $3,000,000 of fair market value.1

The law also covers a move within Wyoming. Under House Bill 45, the 2026 act that took effect July 1, 2026, if a primary residence is sold and another property is purchased within Wyoming, the months you live in both owner-occupied residences apply to the requirements of this exemption.1

Four things to know before you apply:

• The 2027 end date was repealed. The 2024 act that created the exemption said it would be repealed effective July 1, 2027. In 2026 the Legislature passed House Bill 45, which repealed that end date and took effect July 1, 2026. Lincoln County's assessor lists the exemption among its property tax relief for 2027. Ask your own county assessor each year whether it is still available.1
• Keep it by March 1 in later years. You apply at your county assessor's office, and Albany County's assessor says you must claim the exemption every year. The 2026 act says that after you file a sworn claim, you remain qualified in later years if you contact the assessor's office by telephone, mail or other communication method on or before March 1 and confirm that you still meet the requirements. If you qualified in 2026 and nothing about ownership or residency has changed, Lincoln County's instruction is to complete the Wyoming Long-Term Homeowners Affidavit with your county assessor, so ask your assessor what form the confirmation takes.1
• Check the filing window. Albany County opens applications on October 1 each year, and Lincoln County gives the filing period as October 1 through March 1. Confirm with your own assessor when the window closes.1
• Applying can rule out a different exemption. The 2026 act says that if the secretary of state certifies to the Department of Revenue that the voters have approved an initiative implementing a homeowner's property tax exemption, and that exemption is enacted into law, an owner who qualifies and applies for the long-term homeowner exemption does not qualify for the exemption under the initiative. Both conditions have to be met for the bar to apply, and the sources behind this guide do not say whether such an initiative has been approved or enacted.1

Both counties' assessor pages also list a separate homeowner exemption (Albany's Property Tax Exemption for Homeowners, Lincoln's Homeowner Property Tax Exemption), which is a different program worth asking your assessor about. Lincoln County says its homeowner exemption is not available to people who qualify for the long-term one.1

Wyoming Senior Property Tax Relief at a Glance

Who Qualifies

The Department's listed requirements include no age condition, but several other conditions apply:1

1. Taxes paid on time. Your property tax must have been paid timely.
2. Income. Your household income must be below the threshold determined by the income formula (see the next section).
3. Assets. Assets per adult household member must be below $156,900, with certain exclusions.1
4. Residency. You must have been a Wyoming resident for the past five years.
5. Occupancy. Carbon County's treasurer adds that you must have occupied the residence for at least nine months of the tax year.1

No age appears among those requirements, so the program is not restricted to seniors, though it matters most to seniors on fixed incomes.

The Income Formula: Why There Is No Single Dollar Figure

This is the feature that makes Wyoming's program more complicated than most. Income eligibility is not a flat statewide dollar figure.1 Instead, it is based on a formula: your household income must be below the greater of 145 percent of your county's median household income or 145 percent of the statewide median household income. Because the test uses whichever of those two figures is larger, a household in a lower-income county is measured against the statewide number when that is more generous.1

Because county median household incomes vary significantly across Wyoming, from resource-boom counties to agricultural counties, the dollar threshold you are measured against depends entirely on where you live. A household in a high-income county faces a different threshold than a household in a lower-income county.

This means there is no single number to quote here. Contact the Wyoming Department of Revenue or your county treasurer's office directly to find out the income threshold that applies in your county for the current program year.1 They can also confirm whether your household income as you calculate it will be treated as above or below the line.

Gather pay stubs, Social Security award letters, pension statements, and any other income documentation before you call.

The Asset Limit

Household assets are also capped. The Department's page sets the limit at $156,900 per adult household member, but Carbon County's treasurer publishes a higher ceiling of $169,866 per adult, so if you are near either figure, confirm the current year's limit before you assume you are over it.1

The Department leaves out your house, a car for each adult household member, and IRA and other pension funds. Carbon County's treasurer lists more exclusions: your home, one car for each adult, IRAs, 401(k) plans, the cash value of life insurance policies, and medical savings.1

The asset limit also has an exception. Carbon County says it does not apply if your tax bill exceeds 10 percent of your total reported income.1

How Much You Can Get Back

The refund is calculated as follows:1

• Up to 75 percent of your property tax bill.
• But no more than one-half of the median residential property tax amount.

Whichever of those two figures is lower is the maximum refund you can receive.

If you paid a very high property tax relative to the median, the median cap will limit what you get back. If you paid a relatively low tax, the 75-percent calculation will be lower than the cap, and that becomes your refund.

The amount is then adjusted by income, from 125 to 145 percent of the county or state median, and may be adjusted according to fund availability.1 The Wyoming Department of Revenue or your county treasurer can tell you the figures for the current program year.

Residency and Occupancy Requirements

Five-year residency. You must have been a Wyoming resident for the past five years.1 New residents to Wyoming cannot use this program until they have lived in the state for five years.

Nine months per year. Carbon County's treasurer says you must have occupied the residence for at least nine months of the tax year.1 If you winter in another state for more than three months, confirm with your county treasurer that your time away does not push you below that line.

Seasonal absences are common in Wyoming, particularly for seniors who travel. Keep a calendar or other record of the months you spent in your Wyoming home if there is any chance your occupancy could be questioned.

How to Apply

Application deadline: the first Monday in June. An application is required every year. In Carbon County, the 2026 cycle opened April 15, 2026.1

Apply through your county treasurer's office or the Department of Revenue. The treasurer, not the assessor, takes refund applications.1

What you will need:

• Proof of property taxes paid on your primary residence (your tax statement or receipt)
• Documentation of total household income for the prior year (tax returns, Social Security award letters, pension statements)
• Documentation of assets for each adult household member
• Proof of Wyoming residency for at least five years (utility bills, tax records, or driver's license history work)

File by the first Monday in June. Missing the deadline means waiting a full year. Approved refunds are issued between July 1 and September 30.1

Wyoming Veterans Property Tax Exemption

Some veterans have a separate form of relief: the Veterans Property Tax Exemption. It is a combat-service exemption rather than a general veteran's benefit. The Department confines it to honorably discharged veterans of WWI, WWII, Korea or Vietnam, or honorably discharged veterans awarded the armed forces expeditionary medal or another authorized service or campaign medal for service in an armed conflict in a foreign country, plus surviving spouses of qualifying veterans; certain disabled veterans may also be eligible.1 It gives $6,000 in assessed value, and it can be applied to the property tax on a primary residence or to motor vehicle registration.1

You need current Wyoming residency plus three years lived in the state. If a qualifying veteran dies, a surviving spouse can continue the exemption until remarriage.1

Apply with your county assessor. The Department lists the deadline as the fourth Monday in May for the property tax exemption, and you must contact the assessor every year to keep it.1 The exemption and the refund are separate programs with separate offices, so check whether you qualify for each.

Next Steps

If you are 65 or older and have paid Wyoming residential property tax for 25 years, ask your county assessor about the long-term homeowner exemption first, and ask what you must do to keep it in later years. Albany County's assessor says to claim it every year, and the 2026 act has you confirm with the assessor's office on or before March 1 that you still meet the requirements.1 If you meet the residency, income, asset, and occupancy requirements, Wyoming's Property Tax Refund Program is worth filing for too. The application window closes the first Monday in June, so do not wait until the last minute to gather documentation.

• Contact your county treasurer or the Wyoming DOR to confirm the income threshold that applies in your county.1
• Gather documentation: property tax receipts, income statements, asset summary for each adult, and proof of five-year Wyoming residency.
• Apply through your county treasurer or the Department of Revenue before the first Monday in June.
• Ask for the median residential property tax amount to understand the cap on your potential refund.

For a broader picture of funding senior care costs in Wyoming, see our guide on how to pay for senior care.

If you are weighing selling your home versus staying put and applying for property tax relief, our guide on selling or renting your home for care covers the tradeoffs.

Homeowners with substantial equity who want to access funds without selling can learn more in our overview of reverse mortgages for senior care.

Learn More

Find more guidance on Wyoming senior property tax relief at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.