Iowa Property Taxes — Home Value Appraisals — Make Professional Floor, Building & Landscaping Plans — Cheap Mortgage Refinance Rates
Home Value Appraisals, Property Tax Appeals
Iowa Property Taxes Home Property Valuation Iowa Property Tax Appeal and House Appraisal tutorial for home value appraisals and how to establish the market value of residential property and pursue a winning property tax appeal.
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State law requires that all real property be assessed every two years in odd-numbered years. Since this is cost prohibitive and impossible for the local tax authorities to enact, home values are most likely rolled over to comply with the law.
Iowa Home Value Property Tax Exemptions
Homestead Credit: The Homestead Credit is available to residential property owners. Iowans saved more than $113 million in property taxes in fiscal year 1999. The credit is an actual reduction in the amount of property tax owed; it is not a refund.
• To qualify for the credit, the property owner must be a resident of Iowa and actually live on the property on July 1 and for at least six months of every year. The only exceptions are persons in the military and nursing homes who otherwise qualify.
• Sign-up for the credit is at the assessor’s office by July 1 of the year the credit is first claimed. Once a person qualifies, the credit continues until the property is sold or until the owner no longer qualifies.
Military Exemption: Military veterans who served on active duty during wartime periods qualify for this exemption. The veteran must apply with the local assessor; once accepted, the exemption is ongoing.
Ag Land Credit: The Agricultural Land Tax Credit was originally established in 1939 to help offset higher farm taxes. The credit is available to all owners of agricultural land of 10 acres or more if the use is for agricultural or horticultural purposes. Land owners do not actually file a claim. The county auditor determines the amount of the credit for each taxpayer.
Family Farm Credit: Legislation was enacted in 1990 to provide $10 million for the Family Farm Tax Credit. The purpose was to give an additional property tax credit to those individual land owners who were actively engaged in farming the land. An annual application is required to be filed with the local assessor between July 1 and October 15. Land used for agricultural or horticultural purposes in tracts of 10 contiguous acres or more qualify for this credit. Buildings and other structures do not.
Who pays property tax?
Home owners pay 47 percent of the property tax collected each year in Iowa. Farmers pay 16 percent, and businesses and industry, a total of 34 percent. Utility companies, including railroads, pay 3 percent. The miscellaneous category pays less than 1 percent.
Personal income tax
• Iowa imposes taxes on net state income of individuals and estates and trusts. Iowa’s personal income tax system consists of nine brackets with a top rate of 8.98% in 9 income brackets.
Sales tax
• Iowa state sales tax is 5 percent (food and prescription drugs exempt). Local option taxes can add up to another 2%.
• The top five states where the tax burden as a percent of income is the highest are: Maine (13.0%), New York (12.0%), Hawaii (11.5%), Rhode Island (11.5%), and Wisconsin (11.4%). The United States average is 10.1%. The District of Columbia is 12.2%.
• The five states with the lowest tax burden as a percent of income are: Alaska (6.4%) 50th, New Hampshire (7.4%) 49th, Delaware (8.0%) 48th, Tennessee (8.3%) 47th, and Alabama (8.7%) 46th. See effective state tax burden table
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