(Radio Iowa) – The legislature has approved a plan lawmakers say will reduce property taxes for Iowa homeowners by about four BILLION dollars over the next six years. After almost five months of negotiations, the bill was approved Sunday in the closing hours of the 2026 Iowa legislative session. Senator Dan Dawson, a Republican from Council Bluffs, is chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
“This General Assembly came here with a purpose and the unified purpose with the Iowa governor, the Iowa House and the Iowa Senate was to provide property tax relief to Iowans,” Dawson said. “Today, we deliver on that promise.” Iowa homeowners will get a homestead tax exemption of up to 20-thousand dollars and the plan shifts 175 million dollars in state funding to public schools. That move will also reduce taxes on all classes of property.
There’s a two percent limit on annual property tax revenue growth in cities and counties, although the cap would not apply to paying debts or employee benefits and buying liability insurance. Republican Representative Carter Nordman of Dallas Center is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. “I firmly believe this legislation puts the Iowa property taxpayer first,” Nordman said. “This is significant reform that delivers real tangible relief and certainty for the Iowa taxpayer.”
All but one Democrat in the Senate supported the plan, but a couple of Republicans and 20 Democrats in the House voted against it. House Democratic Leader Brian Meyer says it’s another bandaid on a broken property tax system. “I don’t think it’ll do much to actually lower property taxes,” Meyer said. “I don’t think people will see actual results.” Representative Aime Wichtendahl, a Democrat from Hiawatha, called it a Frankenstein bill. “If you are a renter in Iowa, which 40% of Iowans are, you lose under this bill,” Wiochtendahl said.
Multi-family units have been taxed like single-family homes for over a decade and the plan will gradually raise property taxes on apartment and condo buildings to six percent within three years. Supporters of the move say unlike a home, multi-family buildings are owned by people who’re aiming to make a profit. The House and Senate convened early Saturday morning to begin their quest to complete the 2026 legislative session. There were long periods of inactivity in public as key lawmakers met privately — sometimes with the governor — to hammer out a property tax plan.
And legislators grew weary as Saturday night became Sunday morning. “I know it’s late, but this is your final opportunity to speak on both the amendment and the bill we have before us,” Sinclair said. Bousselot replied: “It’s so late, it’s early, Madam President.” And sleep deprived lawmakers nudged their colleagues to keep plugging away. “We don’t always get everything we want, but this bill, I think, is pretty close.” The Iowa House completed its work at 6:11 p.m. Sunday. The Senate adjourned nearly an hour later, at 7:07.
