Completed Modeling for Your City

HSB 313 and SSB 1208 are currently under consideration by the Iowa Legislature, which would result in significant changes to the property tax system. Below you will find completed modeling for your city based on a standard set of inputs. Click on the link below that corresponds to the range where your city’s name falls to download a folder containing your city’s specific PDF.

Please note: This is a draft modeling assumption and changes to the bill are expected. If you want to get more in the weeds, cities can access the full 2025 City Property Tax Reform – ACGFL Model.

This model is only representative of the city portion of the proposed legislation. This model does not include counties or the state’s planned $426 million investment to reduce school levy rates, which may offset tax increases to residents.

Key Observations: 

• Shift in tax burden from Commercial/Industrial and to Residential is notable and should be understood by legislators.
• Different Cities will see different results compared to current legislation based on property tax mix, use of TIF and new growth assumptions. 
• Under the current update, it appears the ACGFL will never be allowed to increase which may become problematic for Cities that are not growing to pay competitive wages and keep up with general inflation. It will likely cause a systematic reduction to services provided.
• TIF has been complicated to evaluate. Each City should work through the mechanics of their TIF separately. A general consensus is that if the tax rates decrease and the valuations do not increase enough to offset the reduction to the rates (and they won’t) then TIF revenues will not be available to pay TIF obligations. The TIF obligations that are backed by the debt service levy will cause an increase to those taxes. The TIF obligations that are paid under certain agreements may not be sufficient to live up to the intentions of the original agreement.

Assumptions:

• If a City’s existing valuation grows above 2% then the ACGFL rate will be decreased to cap revenue growth from existing valuation at 2%. If a City’s growth from existing valuation is below 2% then the ACGFL rate will remain at the prior year. 
• Cities have the ability to change the revaluation percent in odd assessment years. Revaluation for even assessment years is assumed to be 0%. The model populates an example county Assessment Year 2025 (FY 2026-2027) based on recent County data. Then for Assessment Year 2027 (FY 2028-2029) Residential revaluation is equal to 4.00%. This is the 30-year average excluding AY 2023 and aligns with statewide assumptions used by DOM.
• The number of homestead and military exemptions are assumed to be equal to the number of exemptions on 1-1-2024.
• The rollback for Gas and Electric Utilities is not mentioned in the bill and has been left unchanged.
• TIF sunsets and releases are not considered “new valuation”.
• This model does not address the loss of the Business Property Tax Credit and that needs to be considered in addition to the ACGFL impacts.
• Maximum tax revenue is calculated as (Prior Year Tax Dollars x 102%) + (New Value x Calculated New Year Levy Rate).
• Between July 1, 2026 and July 1, 2031, all cities will grow revenues 2% due to the phasing out of the rollback.
• On or after July 1, 2031, if a City’s growth from existing valuation is below 2% then the ACGFL rate will remain at the prior year. This is currently how DOM is interpreting the proposed legislation.
• Residential Rollback Assumptions used to compare proposed legislation to current legislation

2025 City Property Tax Reform – ACGFL Model

This tool helps you compare the financial impact of the proposed legislation (HSB 313 / SSB 1208) against the current property tax system (HF 718 / SF 2442). It accounts for key provisions, including the new $25,000 homestead exemption for residential property owners. 

Note: This model is only representative of the city portion of the proposed legislation. This model does not include counties or the state’s planned $426 million investment to reduce school levy rates, which may offset tax increases to residents.

Step-by-step instructions are included in the download above to help you understand how to navigate and operate the model. To ensure a smooth process, please gather the following information before starting the model:

What You’ll Need Before You Begin

• FY25-26 Adjusted City General Fund Levy
  • (From the DOM’s budget form – must match official records)
• Growth Rate Estimates for Assessed Valuation by Property Class
• TIF Increment Values
• New Construction Valuation Projections by Property Class
  • For both non-TIF and TIF areas from FY26-36
• Expected TIF Capture from New Valuation

We expect further revisions to the legislation in response to feedback from stakeholders. Your city’s data is vital for helping lawmakers understand the real-world impact of individual communities. We encourage you to use the model as a starting point—tweak it to reflect your city’s specific assumptions. The goal is to determine how the proposed changes would affect your operations and your ability to deliver essential services to residents. We are committed to advocating for smart, workable policy, but we need your help to do it.