Des Moines, Iowa — The Iowa legislature has approved a compromise bill designed to limit future property tax increases.
Many Iowans saw the assessed value of their home or farmland rise dramatically this spring. Those assessments will impact property taxes due in September of 2024. Senator Dan Dawson, a Republican from Council Bluffs, says the bill includes a formula that requires cities and counties to lower property tax levies next year.
The bill is projected to save Iowa property owners about 100 million dollars.
The bill hikes the homestead credit for property owners who are 65 and older, providing relief for an estimated 200-thousand Iowans. More than 100-thousand Iowa veterans will get a property tax exemption that’s double the current homestead credit for veterans. Representative Bobby Kaufmann, a Republican from Wilton, says those are big moves for veterans and older Iowans.
The bill passed the Senate yesterday (Tuesday) morning unanimously. Senator Pam Jochum, a Democrat from Dubuque, says it will slow the growth of property taxes.
The bill passed the House yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon on a 94-to-one vote. Representative Elinor Levin, a Democrat from Iowa City, was the only no-vote in the legislature. All other House Democrats, like Representative Sharon Steckman of Mason City, voted for it, but say they prefer the proposals in the original House version of the bill rather than the final compromise.
Representative Dave Jacoby, a Democrat from Coralville, says despite its flaws, the bill is a move in the right direction.
Governor Reynolds says the package provides much-needed property tax relief and lays the groundwork for more reform in the future.
