Linn County property owners are receiving their 2023 assessments and many have had questions regarding the increase from 2021 assessments. Here is what you need to know:
Iowa code requires residential property to be valued (assessed) at market value in odd numbered years. The market value is determined by what buyers are paying for houses –the Assessor’s Office sets values based on what the market has done. Almost all residential properties will see increases in market value in the 2023 assessment. These increases are part of a nationwide trend and represent the market change over a two-year period from January 2021 through December 2022. The 2023 assessed values in Linn County are based on sales of residential property that occurred in Linn County in 2022. If city and county assessors do not adjust assessed values as required by state law, the Iowa Department of Revenue would make the adjustments this fall anyway.
Linn County valuation (assessment) increases are similar or slightly higher than the projected state average.
It’s important to know that assessed value is not the same as taxable value. Assessed value is the actual market value of a property, according to sales in that market. Taxable value is the portion of a property’s assessed value that is subject to property tax. The taxable value is determined by the State’s assessment limitation (also called the rollback) that limits the taxable value of a property.
This means that property taxes do not increase by the same percentage as assessments. In fact, as assessed values go up, the assessment limitation drops to limit the taxable value increase.
Assessed value and the assessment limitation (rollback) are two of the three factors that determine what a property owner pays in property taxes. The third factor is the levy rates; each individual taxing jurisdiction (school districts, cities, county, townships, etc.) set their own levy rates.
The Linn County Assessor’s Office created two videos to help explain the assessment process and how property taxes are determined.
Property located within the City of Cedar Rapids is assessed by the Cedar Rapids City Assessor. All other property in Linn County is assessed by the Linn County Assessor’s Office.
As stated in letters mailed by the Linn County Assessor's Office to property owners within its jurisdiction, a property owner can request a review of the 2023 assessment as soon as they receive their assessment notice. A property owner can request an informal review of the 2023 assessment between April 2 through April 30 (pursuant to Iowa Code section 441.37). Since April 30 falls on a Sunday in 2023, the date to request an informal review this year is extended to May 1, 2023.
Please contact the Linn County Assessor's Office with questions by calling 319-892-5220 or by emailing the Assessor's Office.