What
are the
Assessor's duties?
General
Misconceptions about the Assessors work
General Information
About the Assessor
What is Market
Value?
How
Does the Assessor Estimate Market Value?
Why Values Change
Tax Levies and Assessed
Values
Exemptions and Credits
Dates to Remember
Things to Remember
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The
Assessor's duties and what they mean to you
What are
the Assessor's duties?
The Assessor is charged with several administrative and statutory
duties; however, the primary duty and responsibility is to cause
to be assessed all real property within their jurisdiction except
that which is otherwise provided by law. This would include
residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural classes
of property. Real property is revalued every two years.
The effective date of the assessment is January First of the
current year. The assessor determines a full or partial
value of new construction, or improvements depending upon the
state of completion as of January First.
General
Misconceptions About the Assessor's Work
The Assessor does not:
 collect
taxes.
calculate
taxes.
determine
tax rate.
set
policy for the Board of Review.
The Assessor is concerned with value, not taxes. Taxing
jurisdictions such as schools, cities, and townships, adopt
budgets after public hearings. This determines the tax
levy, which is the rate of taxation required to raise the money
budgeted. The taxes you pay are proportionate to the value
of your property compared to the total value of the taxing district
in which your property is located.
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General
Information About the Assessor
Assessors are appointed to their position by a Conference
Board consisting of the members of the Board of Supervisors,
the Mayors of all incorporated cities and a member from each
school district within the jurisdiction. A city with a
population of ten thousand or more may elect to have their own
assessor. Assessors are required, by statute, to pass
a state examination and complete a Continuing Education Program
consisting of 150 hours of formal classroom instruction with
90 hours tested and a passing grade of 70% attained. The
latter requirement must be met in order for the assessor to
be reappointed to the position every six years. The Deputy
Assessor also must pass a state examination as well as successfully
complete 90 hours of classroom instruction of which at least
60 hours are tested. The Conference Board approves the
assessor's budget and after a public hearing acts on adoption
of same. The assessor is limited, by statute, depending
upon the value of the jurisdiction, to a levy limitation for
his budget.
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What is Market Value?
Market value of a property is an estimate of the price
that it would sell for on the open market on January First of
the year of assessment. This is sometimes referred to
as the "arms length transaction" or "willing
buyer/willing seller" concept.
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How
Does the Assessor Estimate Market Value?
To estimate the market value of your property, the
Assessor generally uses three approaches. The first approach
is to find properties that are comparable to yours which have
sold recently. Local conditions peculiar to your property
are taken into consideration. The assessor also uses sales
ratio studies to determine the general level of assessment in
a community, in order to adjust for local conditions.
This method generally referred to is the MARKET APPROACH and
usually considered the most important in determining the value
of residential property. The second approach is the COST
APPROACH and is an estimate of how many dollars at current labor
and material prices it would take to replace your property with
one similar to it. In the event improvement is not new
appropriate amounts for depreciation and obsolescence would
be deducted from replacement value. Value of the land
then would be added to arrive to the total estimate of value.
The INCOME APPROACH is the third method used if your property
produces income such as an apartment or office building.
In that case, your property could be valued according to its
ability to produce income under prudent management; in other
words, what another investor would give for a property in order
to gain its income. The income approach is the most complex
of the three approaches because of the research, information
and analysis necessary for an accurate estimate of value.
This method requires thorough knowledge of local and national
financial conditions, as well as any developmental trends in
the area of the subject property being appraised since errors
or inaccurate information can seriously affect the final estimate
of value.
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Why Values Change
State law requires that all real property be reassessed
every two years. The current law requires the reassessment
to occur in odd numbered years. Changes in market value
as indicated by research, sales ratio studies and analysis of
local conditions as well as economic trends both in and outside
the construction industry are used in determining your assessment.
If you disagree with the assessor's estimate of value, please
consider these two questions before proceeding, as outlined
below:
- What is the actual market value of my property?
- How does the value compare to similar properties in the
neighborhood?
A. If you have any questions about the assessment of
your property, feel free to come in and discuss it with the
assessor.
B. You may 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.
C. 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.
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Levies and Assessed Values
There are a number of different taxing districts in
a jurisdiction, each with a different levy. Each year
the County Auditor determines for that district a levy that
will yield enough money to pay for schools, police and fire
protection, road maintenance and other services budgeted for
in that area. The tax levy is applied to each $1,000 of
a property's taxable value. The value determined by the
assessor is the assessed value and is the value indicated on
the assessment roll. The taxable value is the value determined
by the auditor after application of state-ordered "rollback"
percentages for the various classes of property and is the value
indicated on the tax statement. When comparing the value
of your property with other properties always compare with the
value on the assessment roll or the assessor's property record
cards and not the value indicated on the tax
statement.
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Exemptions and Credits
Iowa law provides for a number of exemptions and credits, including
Homestead Credit and Military Exemption. It is the property
owner's responsibility to apply for these as provided by law.
If the property you were occupying as a homestead is sold, or
if you cease to use the property as a homestead you are required
to report this to the assessor in whose jurisdiction the property
is located.
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DATES TO REMEMBER
January 1 - Effective date of current assessment.
April 16 through May 5 inclusive - Protest
of assessment period for filing with the local Board of Review.
May 1 through adjournment - Board of Review
meets each year.
October 16 through October 25 inclusive - Protest
period for filing with Board of Review on those properties affected
by changes in value as a result of the Director of Revenue Equalization
Orders (odd numbered years).
January 1 through December 31 - Period for filing for
Homestead Credit and Military Exemption. One time filing
is provided, by statute, unless the property owner is (1) filing
for Military or Homestead Credit the first time; (2) has purchased
a new or used home and is occupying the property as a homestead
as of July 1st; or (3) owner was using as a homestead but did
not previously file.
If the home qualifies and the property owner files on or before
July 1, the exemption will go into effect for the current assessment
year. If the property owner files after July 1, the exemption
will go into effect the year following the sign up.
Filing is required on the following, if provisions have been
made for exemptions as required:
* Family Farm Credit
* Forest Reservations
* Fruit Tree Reservations - 8 years
- Impoundment Structures
- Native Prairies
- Open Prairies
- Forest Cover
- River and Stream Banks
- Recreational Lake
* Pollution Control
- Disabled Veterans Homestead Credit
* Wildlife Habitat
- Wetlands
+ Urban Revitalization
+ Industrial Partial 427B
- Annual
* Permanent
+ Other
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Things To Remember
- Assessed value and taxable value are not synonymous terms.
- Property is assessed as of January First.
- Property is reassessed every two years.
- Taxes are levied on a value determined by the auditor by
applying a "roll back" percentage to the assessed
value and deducting any applicable exemptions or credits.
The "roll back" percentages vary each year.
On values determined as of January First, one does not start
to pay taxes until eighteen months later. The "roll
back" is the percentage of actual value that is determined
by the Director of Revenue each year on the several classes
of property where the total value increase STATEWIDE,
exceeds four percent for each class of property. The percentage
so determined by the Director of Revenue are certified to and
applied by the local county auditor to all property in each
class effected throughout the State. Percentages determined
by the Director of Revenue are the same for all the assessing
jurisdictions in the State.
Increases in assessed value of individual parcels of property
as determined by the assessor, may exceed four percent within
a jurisdiction. Agricultural property, except agricultural
dwellings, are assessed on the basis of productivity and net
earning capacity using a five-year crop average and capitalized
at the rate set by the Legislature. The rate is currently
seven percent. Tentative and final equalization orders
are issued by the Director of Revenue in odd numbered years
on or about August 15th, and October 1st respectively.
The orders are sent to the various county auditors who apply
them to the classes of property affected, if any.
Assessors and members of the Board of Review are appointed to
their terms of office.
Assessors, in addition to completing the required 150 hours
of Continuing Education, must be approved by a majority vote
of the Conference Board in order to be reappointed.
If you desire further information, questions concerning PROPERTY
VALUES or other information relating thereto should be addressed
to the assessor's office in the respective jurisdiction and
not the Board of Supervisors or Treasurer.
The assessors of Iowa hope that the information contained herein
will be of value to the property owner and has clarified some
of these problems and issues relating to assessment and the
applicable laws.
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This information was prepared by the Public Relations Committee
of the Iowa State Association of Assessors.
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