Iowa property tax: rollback, homestead credit and 2026 changes

How is an Iowa home taxed?

The assessor sets the home’s actual value, which the law defines as fair market value (Iowa Code § 441.21). The Department of Revenue then certifies a residential percentage each year. Taxable value is the assessed value times that percentage, minus exemptions. Local rates are quoted per $1,000 of taxable value.

Real property is reassessed in odd-numbered years, according to the Legislative Services Agency. The rollback exists because state law limits the growth of residential taxable value from revaluation to 3% a year in total (§ 441.21(4)). The percentage moves from year to year: it was 47.4316% for 2024 and 44.5345% for 2025 (Department of Revenue order, issued November 1, 2025).

Taxes for an assessment year are billed two years later. Assessment year 2025 produces the bills due in September 2026 and March 2027.

What is the homestead credit, and what replaces it?

For assessment years through 2025, a homestead gets a credit equal to the levy on the first $4,850 of actual value (§ 425.1). The credit cannot exceed the tax due. Homeowners 65 or older by January 1 of the assessment year also get an exemption of $6,500 of taxable value (§ 425.1A).

Senate File 2472, signed on May 18, 2026, changes this. For the 2026 assessment year and after, the credit is replaced by an exemption of 10% of taxable value, at least $5,500 and at most $20,000. From 2027 the maximum is adjusted for inflation (§ 425.1A, as amended). The Department of Revenue says the change applies to tax paid in September 2027 and March 2028, and that owners who already receive the credit are moved to the exemption without refiling. The 65+ exemption stays. The disabled-veteran homestead credit also stays.

What does a Des Moines bill look like?

This is an example, not a quote. It uses the Census Bureau’s 2024 median value for the city of Des Moines, $213,300, as the assessed value. It uses the 2025 rollback and the Polk County 2026-27 consolidated rate for Des Moines city / Des Moines school district (no special district). The owner is under 65.

Homeowners 65 or older would also subtract $6,500 from taxable value, which lowers the tax by about $284 at this rate.

Under the new law, the exemption would be 10% of $94,992, about $9,499. If the value, rollback and rate were the same, the tax would be $3,739.88, or about $203 lower. They will not be exactly the same: Iowa sets a new rollback and each taxing body sets new rates for each year. The rate differs by district. Special districts add to it: Polk County lists, for example, Downtown and Beaverdale self-supported districts at higher rates.

How do I apply for the homestead benefit?

File with the county assessor by July 1 of the year you first claim it. A claim filed after July 1 counts for the following year (§ 425.2). You must own and occupy the home on July 1. Once allowed, it continues without refiling while you keep using the home as a homestead. A buyer must refile after a sale. In Polk County, the Assessor accepts the application in person, by mail, by email or by fax; one title holder can sign.

When can I contest the assessment?

You can file a written protest with the county board of review from April 2 through April 30 of the assessment year (§ 441.37). Grounds are unequal treatment compared with like property, a value above what the law allows, a wrong classification or exemption, an error, or fraud. The assessor must notify owners of a changed value by April 1 (§ 441.23). If you lose, you can appeal to the Property Assessment Appeal Board within 20 days after the board of review adjourns or by May 31, whichever is later, or go to district court (§§ 441.37A, 441.38).

When are Iowa taxes due?

Pay in full, or half before September 1 and the other half before March 1 (§ 445.36). The first half becomes delinquent on October 1, the second on April 1. Interest is 1.5% per month on late payments, counting any part of a month as a full month (§§ 445.37, 445.39). Property tax is also prorated at closing; see closing costs in Iowa. Lenders often collect it through an escrow account. The Des Moines guide has local context.