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1. Do railroads and utility companies pay real estate taxes?

Yes, except that utilities defined as gas & electric utilities pay excise taxes. Railroad and utility values are included in the tax base for the respective Levy Authorities, and both real estate and excise taxes are paid to those Levy Authorities. For more information, please call the Auditor's Office at 563-245-1106.

2. Where do my taxes go?

Your taxes are apportioned by the county treasurer to Levy Authorities such as the school district, city or township, and county in which your real estate parcel is located. If your property is in a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Area, most of your taxes are probably apportioned to a TIF Authority, such as a city. You can see the distribution of your taxes on your tax bill. For more information, please call the Auditor's Office at 563-245-1106.

3. What is Taxable Value?

Taxable Value is the value used to calculate taxes and on which the tax askings of the various Levy Authorities are based. For more information, please call the Auditor's Office at 563-245-1106.

4. What is an “ag dwelling”, and why do I get a separate tax bill for it?

An ag dwelling is a residence that sits on land classified as agricultural, such as a house on a 40-acre tract of farmland. Iowa law requires the value of the house to be taxed as residential property, while the value of the farmland is taxed as agricultural property. For certain tax administrative purposes, many counties create a separate tax parcel for an ag dwelling. In the case of an ag dwelling within city limits, this allows the county to apply the regular (full) city tax rate to the ag dwelling and the city ag (lower) tax rate to the land. For more information, please call the Auditor's Office at 563-245-1106.

5. What offices at the county are involved in the assessment and taxation of real estate?

The assessor, county auditor, and county treasurer are part of the tax cycle in that, in general, each has various administrative responsibilities for a given assessment year. In addition, the county recorder records various real estate documents, including subdivision plats, mortgages, surveys, and conveyances such as deeds, etc. For more information, please call the Auditor's Office at 563-245-1106.

6. How can I change the address where my tax bill is mailed?

The procedure for changing the mailing addresses for tax bills will vary from county to county. Contact your county treasurer to determine what you need to do. For more information, please call the Auditor's Office at 563-245-1106.

7. How is Taxable Value calculated?

Taxable Value for most property is calculated by multiplying the Rollback Rate for the correct property class by the equalized 100% Actual Value. Taxable Value for gas & electric utility property is calculated by the Iowa Department of Revenue. One exception is agricultural land within an incorporated city. City ag land is subject to a different Tax Levy Rate limit than other Property classes within a city, and ag land parcels are assigned to a separate city ag Tax District. The result is that the various ag parcels within a city ag Tax District do not have to be geographically contiguous. For more information, please call the Auditor's Office at 563-245-1106.

8. What is a Tax District?

Generally, a Tax District is a geographically contiguous area defined by boundaries of schools, townships, and cities when overlaid with one another. As such, it is a contiguous area within which the Tax Levy Rates are the same for all parcels. For more information, please call the Auditor's Office at 563-245-1106.