A city may certify taxes to be levied by the county on all
taxable property within the city limits, for all city government
purposes. However, the tax levied by a city on tracts of land and
improvements thereon used and assessed for agricultural or horticultural
purposes, shall not exceed three dollars and three-eighths cents per thousand
dollars of assessed value in any year. Improvements located on such
tracts of land and not used for agricultural or horticultural purposes and all
residential dwellings are subject to the same rate of tax levied by the city on
all other taxable property within the city. A city's tax levy for the
general fund shall not exceed eight dollars and ten cents per thousand dollars
of taxable value in any tax year, except for the levies authorized in section 384.12.
[C97,
§616, 890; S13, §616; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §6210; C46, 50, §404.4; C54,
58, 62, 66, 71, 73, §404.1, 404.2, 404.15; C75, 77, 79, 81, §384.1]
89
Acts, ch 296, §39
441.21
Actual, assessed and taxable value.
1. a. All property
subject to taxation shall be valued at its actual value which shall be entered
opposite each item, and, except as otherwise provided in this section, shall be
assessed at one hundred percent of its actual value, and the value so assessed
shall be taken and considered as the assessed value and taxable value of the
property upon which the levy shall be made.
b. The actual value of all
property subject to assessment and taxation shall be the fair and reasonable
market value of such property except as otherwise provided in this
section. "Market value" is defined as the fair and
reasonable exchange in the year in which the property is listed and valued
between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither being under any
compulsion to buy or sell and each being familiar with all the facts relating
to the particular property.
The actual value of special purpose tooling, which is subject to
assessment and taxation as real property under section 427A.1, subsection 1, paragraph "e",
but which can be used only to manufacture property which is protected by one or
more United States or foreign patents, shall not exceed the fair and reasonable
exchange value between a willing buyer and a willing seller, assuming that the
willing buyer is purchasing only the special purpose tooling and not the patent
covering the property which the special purpose tooling is designed to
manufacture nor the rights to manufacture the patented property. For
purposes of this paragraph, special purpose tooling includes dies, jigs,
fixtures, molds, patterns, and similar property. The assessor shall not
take into consideration the special value or use value to the present owner of
the special purpose tooling which is designed and intended solely for the
manufacture of property protected by a patent in arriving at the actual value
of the special purpose tooling.
c. In assessing and
determining the actual value of special purpose industrial property having an
actual value of five million dollars or more, the assessor shall equalize the
values of such property with the actual values of other comparable special
purpose industrial property in other counties of the state. Such special
purpose industrial property includes, but is not limited to chemical
plants. If a variation of ten percent or more exists between the actual
values of comparable industrial property having an actual value of five million
dollars or more located in separate counties, the assessors of the counties
shall consult with each other and with the department of revenue to determine
if adequate reasons exist for the variation. If no adequate reasons
exist, the assessors shall make adjustments in the actual values to provide for
a variation of ten percent or less. For the purposes of this paragraph,
special purpose industrial property includes structures which are designed and
erected for operation of a unique and special use, are not rentable in existing
condition, and are incapable of conversion to ordinary commercial or industrial
use except at a substantial cost.
d. Actual value of property
in one assessing jurisdiction shall be equalized as compared with actual value
of property in an adjoining assessing jurisdiction. If a variation of
five percent or more exists between the actual values of similar, closely
adjacent property in adjoining assessing jurisdictions in
e. The actual value of
agricultural property shall be determined on the basis of productivity and net
earning capacity of the property determined on the basis of its use for
agricultural purposes capitalized at a rate of seven percent and applied
uniformly among counties and among classes of property. Any formula or
method employed to determine productivity and net earning capacity of property
shall be adopted in full by rule.
f. In counties or townships
in which field work on a modern soil survey has been completed since
g. Notwithstanding any other
provision of this section, the actual value of any property shall not exceed
its fair and reasonable market value, except agricultural property which shall
be valued exclusively as provided in paragraph "e" of this
subsection.
h. The assessor shall
determine the value of real property in accordance with rules adopted by the
department of revenue and in accordance with forms and guidelines contained in
the real property appraisal manual prepared by the department as updated from
time to time. Such rules, forms, and guidelines shall not be inconsistent
with or change the means, as provided in this section, of determining the
actual, market, taxable, and assessed values.
i. If the department finds that a city or county
assessor is not in compliance with the rules of the department relating to
valuation of property or has disregarded the forms and guidelines contained in
the real property appraisal manual, the department shall notify the assessor
and each member of the conference board for the appropriate assessing
jurisdiction. The notice shall be mailed by restricted certified
mail. The notice shall specify the areas of noncompliance and the steps
necessary to achieve compliance. The notice shall also inform the
assessor and conference board that if compliance is not achieved, a penalty may
be imposed.
The conference board shall respond to the department within
thirty days of receipt of the notice of noncompliance. The conference
board may respond to the notice by asserting that the assessor is in compliance
with the rules, guidelines, and forms of the department or by informing the
department that the conference board intends to submit a plan of action to
achieve compliance. If the conference board responds to the notification
by asserting that the assessor is in compliance, a hearing before the director
of revenue shall be scheduled on the matter.
A plan of action shall be submitted within sixty days of receipt
of the notice of noncompliance. The plan shall contain a time frame under
which compliance shall be achieved which shall be no later than January 1 of
the following assessment year. The plan of action shall contain the
signature of the assessor and of the chairperson of the conference board.
The department shall review the plan to determine whether the plan is
sufficient to achieve compliance. Within thirty days of receipt of the
plan, the department shall notify the assessor and the chairperson of the
conference board that it has accepted the plan or that it is necessary to
submit an amended plan of action.
By January 1 of the assessment year following the calendar year
in which the plan was submitted to the department, the conference board shall
submit a report to the department indicating that the plan of action was
followed and compliance has been achieved. The department may conduct a
field inspection to ensure that the assessor is in compliance. By January
31, the department shall notify the assessor and the conference board, by
restricted certified mail, either that compliance has been achieved or that the
assessor remains in noncompliance. If the department determines that the
assessor remains in noncompliance, the department shall take steps to withhold
up to five percent of the reimbursement payment authorized in section 425.1 until the director of revenue
determines that the assessor is in compliance.
If the conference board disputes the determination of the
department, the chairperson of the conference board may appeal the
determination to the state board of tax review.
The department shall adopt rules relating to the administration
of this paragraph "i".
2. In the event market value of the property being
assessed cannot be readily established in the foregoing manner, then the
assessor may determine the value of the property using the other uniform and
recognized appraisal methods including its productive and earning capacity, if
any, industrial conditions, its cost, physical and functional depreciation and
obsolescence and replacement cost, and all other factors which would assist in
determining the fair and reasonable market value of the property but the actual
value shall not be determined by use of only one such factor. The
following shall not be taken into consideration: Special value or use
value of the property to its present owner, and the goodwill or value of a
business which uses the property as distinguished from the value of the
property as property. However, in assessing property that is rented or
leased to low-income individuals and families as authorized by section 42 of
the Internal Revenue Code, as amended, and which section limits the amount that
the individual or family pays for the rental or lease of units in the property,
the assessor shall use the productive and earning capacity from the actual
rents received as a method of appraisal and shall take into account the extent
to which that use and limitation reduces the market value of the
property. The assessor shall not consider any tax credit equity or other
subsidized financing as income provided to the property in determining the
assessed value. The property owner shall notify the assessor when
property is withdrawn from section 42 eligibility under the Internal Revenue
Code. The property shall not be subject to section 42 assessment
procedures for the assessment year for which section 42
eligibility is withdrawn. This notification must be provided to
the assessor no later than March 1 of the assessment year or the owner will be
subject to a penalty of five hundred dollars for that assessment year.
The penalty shall be collected at the same time and in the same manner as
regular property taxes. Upon adoption of uniform rules by the department
of revenue or succeeding authority covering assessments and valuations of such
properties, the valuation on such properties shall be determined in accordance
with such rules and in accordance with forms and guidelines contained in the
real property appraisal manual prepared by the department as updated from time
to time for assessment purposes to assure uniformity, but such rules, forms,
and guidelines shall not be inconsistent with or change the foregoing means of
determining the actual, market, taxable and assessed values.
3. "Actual value", "taxable
value", or "assessed value" as used in other sections
of the Code in relation to assessment of property for taxation shall mean the
valuations as determined by this section; however, other provisions of the Code
providing special methods or formulas for assessing or valuing specified
property shall remain in effect, but this section shall be applicable to the
extent consistent with such provisions. The assessor and department of revenue
shall disclose at the written request of the taxpayer all information in any
formula or method used to determine the actual value of the taxpayer's
property.
The burden of proof shall be upon any complainant attacking such
valuation as excessive, inadequate, inequitable or capricious; however, in
protest or appeal proceedings when the complainant offers competent evidence by
at least two disinterested witnesses that the market value of the property is
less than the market value determined by the assessor, the burden of proof
thereafter shall be upon the officials or persons seeking to uphold such
valuation to be assessed.
4. For valuations established as of
5. For valuations established as of January 1, 1979,
commercial property and industrial property, excluding properties referred to
in section 427A.1, subsection 8, shall be assessed
as a percentage of the actual value of each class of property. The
percentage shall be determined for each class of property by the director of
revenue for the state in accordance with the provisions of this section.
For valuations established as of
6. Beginning with valuations established as of
7. For the purpose of computing the debt limitations for
municipalities, political subdivisions and school districts, the term "actual
value" means the "actual value" as determined by
subsections 1 to 3 of this section without application of any percentage
reduction and entered opposite each item, and as listed on the tax list as
provided in section 443.2 as "actual value".
Whenever any board of review or other tribunal changes the
assessed value of property, all applicable records of assessment shall be
adjusted to reflect such change in both assessed value and actual value of such
property.
8. a. Any normal
and necessary repairs to a building, not amounting to structural replacements
or modification, shall not increase the taxable value of the building.
This paragraph applies only to repairs of two thousand five hundred dollars or
less per building per year.
b. Notwithstanding paragraph "a",
any construction or installation of a solar energy system on property
classified as agricultural, residential, commercial, or industrial property
shall not increase the actual, assessed and taxable values of the property for five
full assessment years.
c. As used in this
subsection, "solar energy system" means either of the
following:
(1) A system of equipment capable of collecting and
converting incident solar radiation or wind energy into thermal, mechanical or
electrical energy and transforming these forms of energy by a separate
apparatus to storage or to a point of use which is constructed or installed
after January 1, 1978.
(2) A system that uses the basic design of the building to
maximize solar heat gain during the cold season and to minimize solar heat gain
in the hot season and that uses natural means to collect, store and distribute
solar energy which is constructed or installed after
In assessing and valuing the property for tax purposes, the assessor
shall disregard any market value added by a solar energy system to a
building. The director of revenue shall adopt rules, after consultation
with the department of natural resources, specifying the types of equipment and
structural components to be included under the guidelines provided in this
subsection.
9. Not later than November 1, 1979, and November 1 of each
subsequent year, the director shall certify to the county auditor of each
county the percentages of actual value at which residential property,
agricultural property, commercial property, industrial property, and property
valued by the department of revenue pursuant to chapters 428, 433, 434, 437, and 438 in each assessing jurisdiction in
the county shall be assessed for taxation. The county auditor shall
proceed to determine the assessed values of agricultural property, residential
property, commercial property, industrial property, and property valued by the
department of revenue pursuant to chapters 428, 433, 434, 437, and 438 by applying such percentages to the
current actual value of such property, as reported to the county auditor by the
assessor, and the assessed values so determined shall be the taxable values of
such properties upon which the levy shall be made.
10. The percentage of actual value computed by the
director for agricultural property, residential property, commercial property,
industrial property and property valued by the department of revenue pursuant
to chapters 428, 433, 434, 437, and 438 and used to determine assessed
values of those classes of property does not constitute a rule as defined in
section 17A.2, subsection 11.
11. Beginning with valuations established on or after
January 1, 1995, as used in this section, "residential property"
includes all land and buildings of multiple housing cooperatives organized
under chapter 499A and includes land and buildings
used primarily for human habitation which land and buildings are owned and
operated by organizations that have received tax-exempt status under section
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and rental income from the property is
not taxed as unrelated business income under section 422.33, subsection 1A.
12. Beginning with valuations established on or after
[C97,
§1305; S13, §1305; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §7109; C46, §441.4; C50, 54, 58,
§441.13; C62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §441.21; 81 Acts, ch
144, §1; 82 Acts, ch 1100, §22, ch
1159, §1 - 3, ch 1186, §4, 5]
83 Acts,
ch 202, §22, 23; 84 Acts, ch
1223, §1; 88 Acts, ch 1116, §1; 89 Acts, ch 176, §1; 89 Acts, ch 296, §63;
95 Acts, ch 83, §28; 95 Acts, ch
157, §1; 96 Acts, ch
1034, §40; 97 Acts, ch
23, §51; 99 Acts, ch
114, §28; 2001 Acts, ch
119, §1; 2002 Acts, ch
1150, §13; 2002 Acts, ch 1153, §1, 2; 2003 Acts, ch
145, §286; 2004 Acts, ch 1073, §29; 2005 Acts, ch 150, §124, 125
441.21A Reserved.