Have ever wondered how your taxes are determined on your home? Its not to complex but I wanted to explain it for those that are not familiar. In Iowa each county has a county government that consists of different officials. There are 3 offices involved in your taxes on your home.

First the governing bodies such as the city council and county board of supervisors set tax rates. The tax rate is expressed as so many cents per $1000 value. In Iowa the County Assessor is responsible for determining the value of your home. Cities of 10,000 or more population can opt to have their own city assessor. The assessor is required to reassess the value of your home every two years. The value can changed based on a number of things but most likely will increase. Finally the county treasure collects the taxes, and if you fail to pay them offers the home for sale at tax sale.

How does you valuation affect your taxes? If the assessor says your home is worth $100,000 but in reality your home is only worth $80,000 then you are paying taxes on $20,000 of value that you do not have, which will be several hundred dollars.

So what if you do not agree with the assessors valuation of your property? You can file a written protest with the Board of Review which is composed of three or five members from various areas of the assessing jurisdiction. The Board operates independently of the assessor's office, and has the power to confirm or to adjust either upward or downward any assessment. Protest Applications can be sent to you if you call the Assessor's Office at 712-644-3101 in Logan. The form must be returned back to the Assessor's Office for filing with the Board of Review. If you are not satisfied with the decision of the Board of Review you may appeal to district court within twenty days after adjournment of said Board, or twenty days after May 31st whichever is latest.

I mentioned above that several things can affect home values, which in turn affect your assessment. Since the assessor is in charge of setting the value for hundreds and hundreds of homes there are likely to be errors, information he is not aware of or could not have known. This year with significant flooding in certain areas in Southwest Iowa, and particularly Missouri Valley in this case I feel that you would be very justified in asking that your assessment be lowered, as in reality the flood has hurt the value of those homes in affected areas. If your protest is successful the benefit will be a lower tax rate for your home.

The process may sound complicated but it is a matter filling out a piece of paper and turning it in and waiting for a decision. If you need help obtaining a form or would like me to email youa copy I do have a copy of the form from the court house I can email out or drop off to you.

Loess Hills Acreages and Farms | Southwest Iowa Homes | NP Dodge Real Estate

Jason Smith, REALTOR® Sales Associate - NP Dodge Real Estate

Homes, Acreages, Farms, Land, Building Lots and Auctions

Cell Phone 402.250.1006 Email Jason@gowithjason.com

Offices in three Iowa locations. Council Bluffs, Glenwood and Missouri Valley, Iowa

1032 Woodbury Ave Council Bluffs, IA 51503 712.328.5008
201 S. Locust Glenwood, IA 51534 712.527.3164
421 East Erie Missouri Valley, IA 51555 712.642.3287