Assessor

Any property owner in the State of Iowa who lives in the property can receive a homestead tax credit. To be eligible, a homeowner must occupy the homestead any six months out of the year, but must reside there on July 1. The current credit is equal to the actual tax levy on the first $4,850 of actual value. See Code of Iowa Chapter 425

Eligible claimants who are 65 years of age or older on or before January 1 of the assessment year are eligible for an additional homestead tax exemption for $6,500 of taxable value. If the claim for the exemption is successful, the exemption will be applied in successive years without needing to file again.

Please contact the Emmet County Assessor's office for more information.

 

It is the responsibility of each person who qualifies for and wishes to receive a military exemption, to make application with the city or county assessor and also have their discharge papers (DD214) recorded in the appropriate county. Application is to be made prior to July 1 of the claim year.

Iowa residents who meet one of the following service requirements are eligible for the exemption:

• Honorably discharged veteran who served for a minimum aggregate of eighteen months.
• Honorably discharged veteran who served fewer than eighteen months because of a service related injury.
• Honorably discharged former member of Reserve Forces or Iowa National Guard who served at least 20 years.
• Member of Reserve Forces or Iowa National Guard who have served at least 20 years and continue to serve.
• Honorably discharged former member of the Armed Forces if any portion of their term of enlistment would have occurred within the Korean Conflict but who opted to serve 5 years in the reserve forces as allowed by Federal law.
• Honorably discharged veteran who served in an eligible service period (Iowa Code Chapter 35)

Application must be made with the Assessor on or before July 1 of the year the exemption is first claimed. The military certificate of satisfactory service, order transferring to inactive status, reserve, retirement, order of separation from service or honorable discharge must be recorded in the office of the county recorder. Members of the Reserve Forces or Iowa National Guard who have served at least 20 years and continue to serve shall record the veteran’s retirement points accounting statement issued by the armed forces of the United States, the state adjutant general, or the adjutant general of any other state. The exemption from taxation is $2,778 for WWI veterans and $1,852 for all other service periods. If the qualified veteran does not claim the exemption the spouse, unmarried widow(er), minor child or widowed parent may be eligible to claim the exemption. (Refer to Iowa Code Chapter 426A)

Iowa residents who are an owner of a homestead property, and meet one of the following eligibility criteria are eligible for this credit which is equal to 100% of the actual tax levy.

• A veteran of any of the military forces of the United States, who acquired the homestead under 38 U.S.C. §21.801, 21.802, or 38 U.S.C. §2101, 2102.
• A veteran as defined in Section 35.1 with a permanent service-connected disability rating of 100%, or a permanent and total disability rating based on individual unemployability that is compensated at the 100% disability rate.
• A former member of the National Guard of any state who otherwise meets the service requirements of Iowa Code section 35.1, subsection 2, paragraph “b”, subsection (2) or (7), with a permanent service-connected disability rating of 100%, or a permanent and total disability rating based on individual unemployability that is compensated at the 100% disability rate.
• An individual who is a surviving spouse or a child who is receiving dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) pursuant to 38 U.S.C. §1301 et seg.

To get this credit, the applicant needs to file an application with the Assessor on or before July 1 of the year the credit is first claimed, along with a DD214 and a current Benefits Paid letter issued within 12 months of the application date. Once the application is approved, reapplication for successive years is not required as long as the property is owned by someone who falls under one of the four categories of ‘owner’ listed in Iowa Code section 425.15, and used as a homestead by that person on July 1 of each of those successive years.

A surviving spouse of a veteran receiving the disabled veteran homestead tax credit also continues to receive the credit, as long as the spouse lives in the homestead and does not remarry.

Written notification must be provided to the assessor if the circumstances change which would result in a taxpayer being ineligible for the credit, or conveyance of this property, or its discontinued use as your homestead.

The Veteran who qualifies for the Disabled Veteran Homestead Tax Credit may not claim a military service tax exemption on any property located in Iowa.

This is a tax credit on agricultural tracts of land 10 acres or more that are farmed by the owner or designated family members (this includes spouse, parent, grandparent, great grandparent, child, grandchild, great grandchild, stepchild, brother, sister uncle, aunt, niece, nephew; does NOT include cousin.) Applications are filed in the Assessor’s Office.

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Family Farm One-Time Filing

If a claim for the family farm credit is filed by November 1, and approved, further filing is not required provided the claimant owns the property on July 1 of subsequent years and the designated person actively engaged in farming the property remains the same. A claim filed after November 1 shall be considered as a claim filed for the following year.

If the ownership changes, the new owner must re-file for the credit and if the “designated person” changes, the owner must re-file for the credit.
The owner must notify the Assessor in writing of a change in the “designated person”. Failure to do so will result in a penalty.

Contact the Assessor’s office for more information on the complexities of this law. (Refer to Iowa Code Chapter 425A)

Any person who establishes a forest or fruit-tree reservation as provided in Iowa Code Chapter 427C shall be entitled to the tax exemption as provided by law.

Reservations

On any tract of land in the state of Iowa, the owner or owners may select a permanent forest reservation or reservations, each not less than two acres in continuous area, or a fruit-tree reservation or reservations, not less than one nor more than ten acres in total area, or both, and upon compliance with the provisions of this chapter, such owner or owners shall be entitled to the benefits provided by law.

Forest Reservation

A forest reservation shall contain not less than two hundred growing forest trees on each acre. If the area selected is a forest containing the required number of growing forest trees, it shall be accepted as a forest reservation under this chapter provided application is made or on file on or before February 1st of the exemption year. If any buildings are standing on an area selected as a forest reservation under this section or a fruit-tree reservation under section 427C.7 one acre of that area shall be excluded from the tax exemption. However, the exclusion of that acre shall not affect the area’s meeting the acreage requirement of section 427C.2.

Removal Of Trees

Not more than one-fifth of the total number of trees in any forest reservation may be removed in any one year, excepting in cases where the trees die naturally.

Forest Trees

The ash, black cherry, black walnut, butternut, catalpa, coffee tree, the elms, hackberry, the hickories, honey locust, Norway and Carolina poplars, mulberry, the oaks, sugar maple, cottonwood, soft maple, Osage orange, basswood, black locust, European larch and other coniferous trees, and all other forest trees introduced into the state for experimental purposes, shall be considered forest trees within the meaning of this chapter. In forest reservations which are artificial groves, the willows, box elder, and other poplars shall be included among forest trees for the purposes of this chapter when they are used as protecting borders not exceeding two rows in width around a forest reservation, or when they are used as nurse trees for forest trees in such forest reservation, the number of such nurse trees not to exceed one hundred on each acre; provided that only box elder shall be used as nurse trees.

Groves

The trees of a forest reservation shall be in groves not less than four rods wide except when the trees are growing or are planted in or along a gully or ditch to control erosion in which case any width will qualify provided the area meets the size requirement of two acres.

Fruit-Tree Reservation – Duration Of Exemption

A fruit-tree reservation shall contain on each acre, at least forty apple trees, or seventy other fruit trees, growing under proper care and annually pruned and sprayed. A reservation may be claimed as a fruit-tree reservation, under this chapter, for a period of eight years after planting provided application is made or on file or before February 1st of the exemption year.

Fruit Trees

The cultivated varieties of apples, crabs, plums, cherries, peaches, and pears shall be considered fruit trees within the meaning of this chapter.

Replacing Trees

When any tree or trees on a fruit-tree or forest reservation shall be removed or die, the owner or owners of such reservation shall, within one year, plant and care for other fruit or forest trees, in order that the number of such trees may not fall below that required by this chapter.

Restraint Of Livestock And Limitation On Use

Cattle, horses, mules, sheep, goats, ostriches, rheas, emus, and swine shall not be permitted upon a fruit-tree or forest reservation. Fruit-tree and forest reservations shall not be used for economic gain other than the gain from raising fruit or forest trees.

Penalty

If the owner or owners of a fruit-tree or forest reservation violate any provision of this chapter within the two years preceding the making of an assessment, the assessor shall not list any tract belonging to such owner or owners, as a reservation within the meaning of this chapter, for the ensuing two years.

Application – Inspection – Continuation Of Exemption – Recapture Of Tax

It shall be the duty of the assessor to secure the facts relative to fruit-tree and forest reservations by taking the sworn statement, or affirmation, of the owner or owners making application under this chapter; and to make special report to the county auditor of all reservations made in the county under the provisions of this chapter.

The board of supervisors shall designate the county conservation board or the assessor who shall inspect the area for which an application is filed for a fruit-tree or forest reservation tax exemption before the application is accepted. Use of aerial photographs may be substituted for on-site inspection when appropriate. The application can only be accepted if it meets the criteria established by the natural resource commission to be a fruit-tree or forest reservation. Once the application has been accepted, the area shall continue to receive the tax exemption during each year in which the area is maintained as a fruit-tree or forest reservation without the owner having to refile. If the property is sold or transferred, the seller shall notify the buyer that all, or part of, the property is in fruit-tree or forest reservation and subject to the recapture tax provisions of this section. The tax exemption shall continue to be granted for the remainder of the eight-year period for fruit-tree reservation and for the following years for forest reservation or until the property no longer qualifies as a fruit-tree or forest reservation. The area may be inspected each year by the county conservation board or the assessor to determine if the area is maintained as a fruit-tree or forest reservation. If the area is not maintained or is used for economic gain other than as a fruit-tree reservation during any year of the eight-year exemption period and any year of the following five years or as a forest reservation during any year for which the exemption is granted and any of the five years following those exemption years, the assessor shall assess the property for taxation at its fair market value as of January 1 of that year and in addition the area shall be subject to a recapture tax. However, the area shall not be subject to the recapture tax if the owner, including one possessing under a contract of sale, and the owner’s direct antecedents or descendants have owned the area for more than ten years. The tax shall be computed by multiplying the consolidated levy for each of those years, if any, of the five preceding years for which the area received the exemption for fruit-tree or forest reservation times the assessed value of the area that would have been taxed but for the tax exemption. This tax shall be entered against the property on the tax list for the current year and shall constitute a lien against the property in the same manner as a lien for property taxes. The tax when collected shall be apportioned in the manner provided for the apportionment of the property taxes for the applicable tax year.

Report To Department Of Natural Resources

The county assessor shall keep a record of all forest and fruit-tree reservations in the county and submit a report of the reservations to the department of natural resources not later than June 15 of each year. See Code of Iowa Chapter 427C.

Provides an exemption for certain pollution control and recycling property. Exemption is limited to market value of property used primarily for pollution control or recycling. Must be certified as eligible by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Application must be filed with the assessor no later than February 1. See Code of Iowa Chapter 427.