You may have seen the billboards around town, taxes are DUE. Each September and March your property taxes are due on your home. If you have a mortgage on your home you likely have already paid into an escrow account to pay this when it’s due. An escrow account is basically a savings account managed by your mortgage company that you pay into each month with your mortgage payment that goes towards your property taxes and home owners insurance.
Because 2023 is an odd year this is considered a reassessment year so there is a great chance the assessment of your home will change. In 2021 the typical increase in assessments was just 8% but in 2023 the data is projecting that property value assessments will go up by 22%. Although this can impact you eventually, don’t let the media reports scare you. This does not mean that your taxes will go up instantly. The Iowa legislature has enacted a rollback that limits tax increases occurring immediately upon assessments increasing. The rollback program limits the increase in how much the taxable value can increase in any given year to 3%. To understand the rollback concept you have to understand the two different values.
Assessed Value -The actual market value of a property, according to the assessor’s best estimate -Intended to be an estimate of the selling price a property could demand on the market
Taxable Value -The portion of a property’s assessed value that is actually subject to property tax -Is never more than assessed value -The taxable value equals the assessed value times the rollback percentage
The rollback is currently around 54% but it is projected to be around 46% for the 2023 assessments.
Don’t be scared by property assessments, just continue to be a savvy home owner and pay attention to how things are trending with the value of your home. Taxes on the 2023 assessments won’t be due until September 30, 2024 & March 31, 2025 so you will have some time to prepare for any fluctuation.
Regardless of when and how much your home assessment is, if you disagree with the value you can contest it in April. There are also other programs like the homestead credit, disabled veteran’s homestead credit, military exemptions and business property tax credits that can help with tax costs.
If you have any questions, I’m always happy to help!
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