- Assessor site
- https://www.iowa-assessors.org/ ↗
- Search by
- office contact via the Iowa State Association of Assessors directory; parcel search via iowaassessors.com
- Reassessment cycle
- 99 COUNTY ASSESSORS + 7 CITY ASSESSORS (Ames, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Dubuque, Iowa City, Mason City, Sioux City) value property; the county assessor is the record for all 99 counties. Each is appointed by a CONFERENCE BOARD (county supervisors + city mayors + school-board members) and reappointed by its vote. Residential/commercial/industrial at 100% MARKET VALUE; AGRICULTURAL on PRODUCTIVITY and net earning capacity (five-year crop average capitalized at ~7%), never highest-and-best use. Real property reassessed BIENNIALLY in ODD years at JANUARY 1. The AUDITOR applies the rollback; the state assesses railroads and utilities and runs equalization.
- Reassessment trigger
- January 1 of each odd year, plus biennial EQUALIZATION orders (odd years; tentative ~Aug 15, final ~Oct 1) that move a class's aggregate value in a jurisdiction 5% off the sales-ratio study. Value-change notices by April 1.
- Personal & intangible property
- Iowa does not tax general business personal property — the tax is on real property, with railroad and utility property assessed centrally by the state.
- CRE forecasting note
- Read the ROLLBACK, not the assessment: taxable value is assessed value times the class rollback the Department of Revenue sets each year, and commercial/industrial/railroad now sit under a two-tier assessment limitation (the old Business Property Tax Credit folded in for 2022+). Value can move two ways — your parcel's odd-year revaluation and a jurisdiction-wide equalization order (~Oct 1) you didn't cause, which has its own Oct 9-31 protest window. Work the April calendar: notice by April 1, Board of Review protest by April 30, then PAAB or district court by ~June 20. In the seven city-assessor cities the parcel is assessed by the city, not the county. Ag land is productivity-valued.
- Residential note
- Homes are assessed at 100% of market value, but the ROLLBACK means your taxable value is a fraction of that (residential taxable has lately run a bit under half of assessed — 44.5% for 2025), and it shifts each year — so a higher assessment doesn't automatically mean a higher bill. Relief is filing-based, mostly one-time, with a JULY 1 deadline: the new Homestead Exemption (10% of taxable value, $5,500–$20,000 — SF 2472 replaced the old Homestead Credit starting with 2026 assessments), the 65-and-over Homestead Exemption, and the Military Exemption (plus the Family Farm Tax Credit by November 1). If your assessment looks wrong, the window is short: notice by April 1, talk to the assessor April 2-25, and file a written protest with the Board of Review by April 30 — then PAAB or district court by about June 20. Taxes on a January 1 assessment aren't due until 18 months later, in the September and March that follow.
RATIO CAUTION — Assessed value is not the tax base — the statewide ROLLBACK sets, per class each year, what fraction of assessed value becomes taxable (residential taxable has run a bit under half lately — 44.5% for 2025 assessments). A rising assessment can still mean a flat bill if the rollback tightens; read the rollback, not just the assessment.
SPLIT RATE — Residential, commercial, and industrial are at 100% market value, but AGRICULTURAL land is valued on productivity and net earning capacity (a five-year crop average capitalized at ~7%), never highest-and-best use — and commercial/industrial/railroad now ride a two-tier assessment limitation.
REVENUE DRIVEN RATES — Biennial EQUALIZATION ORDERS (odd years, tentative ~Aug 15 / final ~Oct 1) raise or lower a whole class's valuation in a jurisdiction when it drifts 5% off the sales-ratio study — a value change you didn't cause, with its own Oct 9-31 protest window.
APPEAL DEADLINE — Notices by April 1; informal review April 2-25; formal protest to the Board of Review April 2-30 (it sits May 1-31); then PAAB or district court within 20 days of adjournment or May 31, whichever is later (~June 20). Equalization years add an Oct 9-31 window.
FILING REQUIRED RELIEF — Credits and exemptions are (mostly one-time) filings due JULY 1 — Homestead Credit, the 65+ Homestead Exemption, Military Exemption — plus the Family Farm Tax Credit by November 1. Miss the signup and that year's relief is gone.
Note: The Carroll County Assessor's office in Carroll sets values here — real property reassessed every odd-numbered year at January 1, at 100% of market value (agricultural land on productivity instead). Reach the office through the Iowa State Association of Assessors directory at the link; the Vanguard iowaassessors.com hub carries parcel search. Watch the tight spring calendar: a value notice by April 1, informal review through April 25, then a written protest to the Board of Review by April 30, and PAAB or district court by about June 20. Remember the ROLLBACK — your taxable value is a state-set fraction of this assessed value — and the July 1 deadline for the Homestead Credit and Military Exemption.
Primary sources: Iowa State Association of Assessors; Iowa League appeals guide; CALT/Iowa State (PAAB, June-20 window, ag classification); Page/Buena Vista/Iowa City/Iowa County assessor pages (rollback, equalization ~Aug 15/Oct 1, April calendar, July 1 credits, two-tier commercial); Iowa Code ch. 441, 428.4, 441.21, 441.47 (as of 2026-07-05). Confirm current rules and figures with the assessing authority before any use.