Property tax pitch comes on Day 1 for Iowa Senate Republicans

DES MOINES — Cities’ and counties’ general property tax rate increases would be constrained, and the state’s assessment rollback system would be replaced with a 50 percent homestead property tax exemption under legislation introduced by Iowa Senate Republicans on Monday, the first day of the 2026 legislative session.

Republican lawmakers, who have agenda-setting majorities in both chambers of the Iowa Legislature to go with a Republican governor, have made property tax legislation a top priority for the 2026 session.

Republicans attempted to craft a bill in 2025 but were unable to reach an agreement.

The latest bill from Senate Republicans, Senate Study Bill 3001, was introduced Monday.

Iowa Sen. Dan Dawson, a Republican from Council Bluffs who has led Senate Republicans’ efforts to compile property tax legislation, told reporters Monday that the latest proposal represents a “vision” for Iowa’s property tax system and a way to “change the conversation” about property tax legislation.

“I hope we really kind of change the conversation, not just in the (Iowa Capitol) building with the insiders, but throughout the whole state of Iowa,” Dawson said. “How do we really bring forward a property tax bill where people can see some meaningful relief in the end, not just a tweak here or a ratchet there, but ultimately how do we transform the system?”

Iowa has the 11th-highest property tax burden in the nation, according to an analysis by the Tax Foundation, a nonprofit organization that researches and advocates for simple and economic growth-driven tax policy; and the 10th-highest effective property tax rate, according to national lender Rocket Mortgage.

Property taxes are levied by local governments and school districts, and are a primary source of revenue for services like public safety, emergency response and schools.

Iowa Senate Majority Leader Mike Klimesh, a Republican from Spillville in his first session as leader, said the Senate Republican proposal overhauls Iowa’s property tax system.

“There’s two approaches: You can nibble around the edges or you can tear (down) a system that we’ve slapped Band-Aids on for 40 years and take it down to the chassis and rebuild it. Iowans expect us to take it down to the chassis and rebuild it,” Klimesh said. “And that’s what Senate Republicans have done.”

The bill, which is more than 100 pages long and contains 16 sections, would:

A fiscal impact of the legislation’s policy has not yet been calculated.

“What we have provided today in the Senate is a vision,” Dawson said. “And that vision is that when valuation or your property inflation goes up more than 2 percent, the rates automatically come down. It’s a vision that, permanently going forward, every homestead Iowan has a 50 percent taxable discount on their home.

“It’s a vision that we want good quality roads and bridges. We heard that loud and clear from our constituents over the interim,” Dawson added. “And finally, it’s a vision that, ultimately, when you pay off your home at a certain age of life, you have to be able to own your home.”

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Iowa Senate Minority Leader Janice Weiner, a Democrat from Iowa City, gave her early reaction to Senate Republicans’ proposal.

“We’re ready to work on reform that creates permanent, sustainable relief for Iowans who need it,” Weiner said in a statement to The Gazette. “As we move forward, this proposal should be part of an open, transparent conversation involving all of us — it can’t happen behind closed doors.”

Weiner noted other proposals are coming in the Iowa Capitol, or have already been introduced.

Reynolds likely will talk about property taxes on Tuesday when she delivers the annual Condition of the State Address to the Iowa Legislature.

Iowa House Democrats last week pitched their proposal, which includes a 4 percent property tax cap, rebates for homeowners and renters, and a property tax freeze for seniors.

Iowa House Majority Leader Bobby Kaufmann, a Republican from Wilton, said Monday that property tax negotiations are expected to start with competing proposals from all three branches of Republican leadership before being merged into a final package.

Kaufmann said House Republicans will unveil their bill in the coming days and weeks, creating what he described as a “smorgasbord of options” lawmakers can combine into a single plan.

Kaufmann said all three Republican proposals are expected to share a common goal: aggressive property tax relief. He said Iowans expect to see their tax bills stop rising and ultimately decline, arguing past reforms allowed local governments to “grow or assess their way out” of limits.

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"Iowans expect to see a difference in their bill. They expect, first and foremost, to see it stop continuing to go up, and then I think they expect to see it start to go down," he said. "So whatever it takes to do that."

Both Kaufmann and Rep. Carter Nordman, a Republican from Dallas Center who chairs the tax policy House Ways and Means Committee, said they had yet to review the Senate Republicans’ bill.

Gazette Deputy Bureau Chief Tom Barton contributed to this report.

Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com

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