HF718 Mailing to County Taxpayers

A press release from Hancock County Auditor Michelle Eisenman says that a recent law change requires county auditors to mail a statement to county taxpayers by March 20 with state-specified information related to proposed local government budgets and proposed property tax rates. (Iowa Code 24.2A) 

The information is for taxes payable in September 2024 and March 2025. You should receive a statement if you expect to receive a property tax bill in September. 

The statement is not a property tax bill. It includes data for proposed city, school district and county budgets but does not include proposed budgets for smaller taxing authorities, such as the community college, assessor’s office, townships, hospital, and agricultural extension service. 

The purpose of the statement is to provide taxpayers with information about the proposed city, school district and county budgets in time for the taxpayers to address the proposals at public hearings held before the budgets are approved. The date, time and location of the hearings are included in the statements. The budgets may be lowered after the hearings but not raised. 

Included on the statement is the impact of the proposed city, school and county property tax rates on both a $100,000 residential property and $100,000 commercial property. The actual impact of the tax rates on your property could be quite different than the examples in the statement, which do not factor any possible change in the assessed value. If your property value was recently reassessed to a higher amount, the example on the statement will not accurately reflect the effect of your valuation increase on your property taxes. 

Taxpayers owning more than one property may receive multiple letters if those properties are in different tax districts. 

For further information, contact Auditor Michelle Eisenman at 641-923-3163.