County Valuation Process

Valuation Reports

Per Iowa Code (Ch. 331.510), the auditor is responsible for the annual valuation report due to both the Department of Management and the governing body of each taxing district by January 1 of each year. The report contains the valuations used for determining the levy rates necessary to fund the budgets of the taxing districts for the following fiscal year.

Contact the appropriate auditor for the latest version of a county’s valuation report.

The Iowa Department of Management maintains state-wide information about valuations.

Rollback

Rollback is the common name for statewide limitations on the annual growth of property assessments. First enacted by the State of Iowa in 1977 to counter the effects of inflation, the current provisions have been in place since the 1980 assessment year. Under the formula, growth is limited to 4% annually (8% for utilities) as applied to statewide aggregate property values. In addition, residential and agricultural property values are linked; if annual growth in one class outstrips that of the other, it may only increase at the lower rate. In other words, if agricultural value grows by 2%, residential property increases are limited to 2%. If agricultural land value decreases, allowable growth for residential property is zero.

Each November, the Iowa Department of Revenue certifies the limitation percentages to the county auditors. The rollback percentage is multiplied by the actual (assessed) value to obtain the value of the property that is subject to taxation. Read the full text of the certified 2006 Assessment Limitations Order.

View Rollback Percentages by Assessment Year.