Frequently Asked Questions

Find Property Value

No, you only have to sign again for homestead if you move from the current home that has homestead into another home.

Your DD214 - discharge papers need to be recorded in our Recorder's Office, then sign the military exemption form in the Assessor's Office.

According to State Law, foreclosures are not considered to be "good" sales and are not used to determine the assessed value. They are considered to be a "forced" sale, in which the bank was forced to sell the home. If the foreclosed property was not left in normal condition, you may consider notifying the Assessor's Office so that an appraiser may walk through the home to determine the value.

Several factors can change the value of your assessment. Home improvements, such as building a garage, building a deck, kitchen or bathroom remodeling, finishing the basement, etc., may change the assessed value of the home. Supply and demand may also change the value.

Market value of a property is an estimate of the price that it would sell for on the open market on January 1 of the year of assessment. This is sometimes referred to as the “arms-length transaction” or “willing buyer/willing seller” concept.

Market value is defined as the most probable price which a property should bring in a competitive and open market under all conditions requisite to a fair sale, the buyer and seller, each acting prudently, and assuming the price is not affected by undue stimulus. Implicit in this definition is the consummation of a sale as of a specified date and the passing of title from seller to buyer under conditions whereby:

• Buyer and seller are typically motivated;
• Both parties are well informed or well advised and both acting in what they consider their own best interest;
• A reasonable time is allowed for exposure in the open market;
• Payment is made in terms of cash in U.S. dollars or in terms of financial arrangements comparable thereto; and
• The price represents the normal consideration for the property sold unaffected by special or creative financing or sales concessions granted by anyone associated with the sale.

Understanding Your Property's Assessment

The Assessor generally uses three approaches, Market Approach, Cost Approach, and Income Approach.

Market Approach

Market approach is to find properties that are comparable to yours that 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.

Cost Approach

Cost approach 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 at the total estimate of value.

Income Approach

Income approach is 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.

Understanding Your Property's Assessment

The State of Iowa requires that all real property be reassessed every two years on the odd-numbered year. At that time, studies of current market value, sales ratios, and economic trends of the local market will determine whether your assessment should change. If your property has any other change it may be reassessed more often. For example, if you build a new garage, it will be assessed for the following year whether it is an odd number year or not.

No, the Assessor raises or lowers the values of property according to the market value of real estate or in the case of agricultural land, according to productivity and CSR.

Assessments are set on January 1st of each year, while the tax levies (tax rates) on these assessments are not set until July of the following year. (For example, the assessment notices from April 2011 were for the January 1, 2011 assessment. Tax levies for these values will be set in June of 2012 based on what the different taxing authorities budget in March and April 2012 for the next fiscal year of July 2012 - June 2013.)

The taxing authorities you pay property taxes to are listed at the bottom of your tax statement each year, along with their budget information and a breakdown of how much you are paying to each taxing body.

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.

Credits & Exemptions List

Filing is required on the following, if provisions have been made for exemptions as required:

Annually:

• Native Prairies -Wetlands
• Open Prairies
• River and Stream Banks
• Impoundment Structures
• Forest Cover
• Wildlife Habitat

Permanent: 

• Disabled Veterans Homestead Credit
• Family Farm Credit
• Forest Reservations
• Pollution Control
• Fruit Tree Reservations – 8 years

Other:

• Industrial Partial 427B
• Urban Revitalization

Visit our Credits & Exemptions page for more information.

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 properties 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.

Visit our Dates to Remember page for important deadlines and dates to note.

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 the similar properties in the neighborhood?

If you have any questions about the assessment of your property, feel free to come in and discuss it with the assessor.

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.

If you are not satisfied with the decision of the Board of Review you may appeal to the property assessment appeal board or to the district court within twenty days after adjournment of said Board, or twenty days after May 31st whichever is latest.

If there is any change to the assessed value of your property, you will receive an assessment notice on or before April 2nd of the year of the change. The taxes on the new assessment will not be reflected until September of the following year.

Before protesting your value, ask yourself these two questions:

1. What is the actual market value of my property? 
2. How does the value of my property compare to similar properties? 

After asking these questions, if you still do not agree, you are able to protest the value. You have two options.  First, there is an informal period from April 2 – April 25th where you can contact the Assessor’s office and ask for an informal review.  The office may request an inspection of the property based on the request. The Assessor’s office is not required to do an informal review, each request is looked at individually.  The second option is to file a protest to the Jasper County Board of Review. 

During protest times, are available in the Assessor’s Office or can be found here. To access the protest form online, please select your property, and then scroll to the link for the protest.  Again, protests may only be filed April 2 – April 30th with the Assessor’s office so links to the forms will not be active for the rest of the year.  The Board of Review will then review your assessment and determine whether the assessed value is fair. If, after review, you still do not agree with the assessed value, you may choose to appeal the case by filing in district court or with the Property Assessment Appeal Board.

Agricultural land and buildings are not assessed on market value. Corn Suitability Ratings (CSRs) are used to set agricultural land value along with productivity, which includes grain prices, yields, and land owners' estimated expenses. This is done county-wide on a five-year average based on data from USDA and Iowa State University. For example, the years used for the 2023 assessment are 2017-2021. Based on this information, the Iowa Department of Revenue informs the counties what percentage adjustments are needed for agricultural land and buildings.

• Assessed value and taxable value are not synonymous terms.
• Property is assessed as of January 1st.
• 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 1st, 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 and Finance each year on the several classes of property where the total value increase statewide, exceeds three percent for each class of property.

The percentages so determined by the Director of Revenue and Finance 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 Revenues and Finance 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 and Finance in odd numbered years on or about August 15, and October 1 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.

This information was prepared by the Public Relations Committee of the Iowa State Association of Assessors