Updated September 5, 2026. Quick answer: Wyoming’s deferral is county-optional and currently runs in only one county, Teton, but where it applies its lien is explicitly senior to every other lien on the property, including a pre-existing mortgage; the strongest lien-priority language of any state in this family.
County-optional, and currently Teton County only
Wyo. Stat. §39-13-107(a)(iii) lets a county’s board of commissioners adopt a property-tax deferral, but only if it does: the statute requires the county to adopt rules and submit them to the Department of Revenue before July 1, which can disapprove them within 45 days, and ‘the deferral option shall not be available in any county which has not adopted rules.’ As of this reading, the Department of Revenue’s own guidance states plainly that only Teton County authorizes the program. Where it is available, a homeowner qualifies on a residence of 40 acres or less by meeting any one of four tests: limited income (gross monthly household income at or below 250% of the federal poverty level for a household of four, adjusted by the county’s own cost-of-living index: Teton County’s adjusted figure is $143,067 for a household of four), being 62 or older, being disabled under Social Security’s definition, or having owned the property for at least 10 years.
The strongest lien priority in this family, and a genuinely disputed interest rate
A Wyoming deferral becomes a perpetual tax lien with priority over any other lien; explicit, unqualified language that puts it ahead of a pre-existing mortgage, not merely level with or behind it, which no other state surveyed here states so plainly. The interest question has two layers: the statute itself sets a compounded rate of 4% a year for most qualifiers, except that anyone who qualifies solely on the disability test pays the average yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds over the prior three years plus 1.5%, as determined by the state treasurer. The Department of Revenue’s current guidance simply confirms that interest does accrue on deferred taxes, consistent with the statute; the two sources agree rather than conflict once the disability-only carve-out is accounted for. No more than half of any year’s taxes can be deferred, and the county can force full repayment if the total deferred balance ever exceeds half the property’s fair market value.
When it comes due, and how to apply
Deferred taxes become due and payable on a significant change in the taxpayer’s financial status as the county commissioners determine it, abandonment of the property, failure to file the required annual affidavit, the death of the property owner, or the sale or transfer of the property, whichever happens first. The affidavit renewing the deferral is due on or before November 10 of the levy year, and the deferral can be prepaid at any time with no penalty.
Wyoming’s broader senior property-tax picture, covering exemptions, freezes and circuit-breaker credits, not just the deferral: property tax breaks for seniors in Wyoming.
How every state’s programme compares: property tax relief for seniors by state. What a deferral means in general, and who it catches out: the property-tax deferral lien trap.
Statutory text read at each state’s own legislature, revisor, or revenue agency this session. General information, not tax or legal advice; rates, caps and thresholds change most years and a county or state agency retains the final say on your own application.