Idaho Construction Estimating Services

The Idaho Contractors Board handles registration. This state asks for registration, not a license. You need it when a job costs more than $2,000 in labor and materials combined.

• Proof of workers’ compensation, or a statement of why you do not need it.
• A general liability policy of at least $300,000 in a single limit. It must cover products and completed operations.
• A yearly renewal. Notices go out about six weeks before the date.

The page does not list a contractor bond. A homeowner may ask for a surety bond, at the homeowner’s own cost, up to the value of the project.

• Licensed trades, such as electrical contractors, plumbers, and HVAC installers, unless they work beyond their license.
• Employees who are paid wages.
• Suppliers that do not install or build anything.
• Owners doing their own work on their own land, if they do not plan to sell within 12 months.

• No building permits.
• You waive your lien rights on real property.
• You lose the right to sue to collect payment under a contract that required registration.

A general contractor must get proof that everyone on the job is registered. Using someone you know should be registered, but isn’t, can cost you lien rights.

Home jobs add paperwork. Before a contract over $2,000, the contractor gives the homeowner an initial disclosure and gets a signed receipt. At the end, a completion disclosure lists every sub and supplier who worked or supplied over $500.

Public jobs need a different credential. Idaho has a Public Works Contractor license. The class sets the largest amount you can bid.

Four license types determine the kind of work you can do: heavy, highway, building, and specialty construction. You must pass an exam with a score of 70% or better. The license renews every year, and it cannot be transferred.

Other rules to know:

• A public works contractor may not accept a bid from someone without the right license.
• Unless the specs say otherwise, you may not sub out more than 80% of a contract.
• On federal-aid work, you can bid without a license. But the winner needs one by the time the contract is signed.
• When you bid on public work, you must list your plumbing, mechanical, and electrical subs.

Your class also sets what kind of financial statement you must file. It must be no more than 12 months old.

• Class C: DOPL’s approved balance sheet, QuickBooks, or a statement from a CPA or LPA.
• Classes CC and B: a compiled statement from a CPA or LPA, with the accountant’s report.
• Classes A, AA, AAA, and Unlimited: a reviewed or audited statement from a CPA or LPA, with the accountant’s report.

Before we price a public job, we check your class against the bid size. A bid over your limit is not a bid.

Idaho Code 54-1926 sets the bond rules. They apply to public building and works contracts of $50,000 or more.

• Performance bond: at least 85% of the contract amount. It protects the public body.
• Payment bond: at least 85% of the contract amount. It protects people who supply labor, materials, or equipment.
• Retainage: if a bond is more than 50% of the contract, the public body may hold back no more than 5%.
• Release: retainage on accepted work is released within 30 days.
• Subs: their retainage is also capped at 5% and paid within 30 days after the subcontract is done.

A public body cannot require you to use a certain surety, agent, or broker. But it can ask for extra security. The bond premium gets a separate line in our estimate. And we ask the agency for its exact bond terms.

The Idaho State Tax Commission’s contractor page says contractors are the final users of what they buy. That includes tools, supplies, building materials, and fixtures.

1.  Rate: Idaho’s sales and use tax rate is 6%.
2. Contract-only jobs: do not charge the customer sales tax. Build the tax on materials into your bid.
3. Retail sales: if you sell a product, charge tax on the full retail price.
4. Mixed jobs: split the contract work from the retail goods on the invoice.
5.  Use tax: if no one collected tax on an item, you owe use tax at the same rate.

Exempt owners do not pass the exemption to you. A government owner can be exempt, but you still owe tax on the materials. Out-of-state contractors may get credit for tax paid in another state if it is as high as Idaho’s.

If tax is charged on a contract-only bill, the customer can refuse to pay it. We show materials tax on its own line. That keeps your bid clean.

DOPL keeps a list of adopted codes. It lists these:

The list gives no effective dates. And the electrical code is newer than the rest. So we ask the permit office which edition it applies to before our estimators price code-driven items.

The owner changes the list of rules. Here is the short version.

With a private owner, we plan for:

• Registration when the job is over $2,000
• Home disclosures and signed receipts on residential contracts
• Proof that every sub is registered
• Materials tax built into the bid

With a public owner, we plan for:

• The Public Works Contractor license and its bid limit
• Performance and payment bonds on contracts of $50,000 or more
• The list of plumbing, mechanical, and electrical subs
• The 80% limit on subcontracting, unless the specs say otherwise

• Registration cost. Insurance and renewal go into overhead.
• Public license check. We compare your class to the bid size.
• Bond premiums. They get their own line on public jobs.
• Materials tax. It sits apart from labor.
• Code edition. We note which book the permit office uses.

You get a quantity takeoff by trade and a priced estimate. A short note sits next to each figure that an Idaho rule changed.

• Working without registration. You can lose permits, liens, and your right to collect.
• Hiring an unregistered sub. It can cost you your lien rights.
• Bidding over your class limit. The public works class caps your bid.
• Charging sales tax on a contract-only job. The customer can refuse to pay it.
• Forgetting the sub list. Public bids must name plumbing, mechanical, and electrical subs.