This week, Iowa House Republicans in the Ways and Means Committee passed House Study Bill 596, our property tax bill. The committee amended the bill to reflect the feedback we’ve gotten from Iowans and it includes pieces from the Senate Republicans’ and the Governor’s property tax proposals.

There are several major components of the updated bill. There is a cap on revenue growth at 2%, with new construction revenue not included in that limit, ensuring that cities and counties are still incentivized to grow. This component includes exceptions for schools and the debt levy.

The bill delivers immediate relief to every homeowner by creating a 10 percent exemption on residential property with a $25,000 limit. By creating this exemption for every residential property, we are delivering immediate tax relief to every single homeowner in Iowa. This means every senior citizen on a fixed income, every young couple buying their starter home, and every middle-class family working hard for their children — will all see relief.

We are also revamping the informational mailer sent to every property taxpayer to increase transparency and give taxpayers a better idea of where their money is going and how it’s being spent. The current format of the mailer is confusing, it was well-intentioned, but it’s not working.

The bill is also introducing some common-sense fiscal responsibility practices in local government, like limiting reserve accounts to 35 percent to ensure tax dollars aren’t sitting in stagnant accounts while residents struggle to pay their tax bills. It also increases the business property tax exemption from $150,000 to $350,000. This will provide some much-needed relief to Iowa’s small businesses, the backbone of our economy.

Another important change is limiting Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts to 20 years, ensuring this economic tool is used for its intended purpose–temporary development–rather than becoming permanent drains on the tax base. The bill also shifts the burden of proof on the assessor when valuation increases by 10 percent or more, so that the government must justify why your bill is going up rather than force the homeowner to justify why it shouldn’t.

The bill also creates a $10 million government efficiency grant program to help local governments find smarter, leaner ways to operate without sacrificing quality services. And last, it creates a First Home Iowa program modeled after Iowa’s 529 accounts, to help Iowans save for their first home.

One thing I want to be clear on, this bill is not about protecting the status quo for taxing entities; it is about creating predictability and protecting the bank accounts of hardworking Iowans. We’ve heard plenty from local government elected officials about their wanting to avoid limits on property tax growth, but we’ve heard far more from property taxpayers who are fed up with rising property taxes. For too long, the property tax system has put certainty for government budgets over the certainty of family budgets. With this proposal, House Republicans are flipping that script. I fully understand the difficulty this will place on our local governments, a 2% cap on revenue growth will impact some local governments more than others, and I understand their concerns. But I also must listen to the taxpayers who are feeling the pain of rising property taxes and take action on their behalf. The House Republicans will continue to work on bringing this bill to the Floor and sending it over to the Senate.

As always, I look forward to seeing you at the Capitol or in the district.

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Contact Dean Fisher at

dean.fisher@legis.iowa.gov