State Tax Laws > Property Taxes > Iowa (Summary)

Tax Type: Current Use or Exemption

Description: Agricultural real estate is valued at its current use, permanent forest or fruit tree reservations are exempt.

Law: Forest Reserve Iowa State Codes, Chap. 427C, Sec. 427C.1-427C.13

Objective: To reduce or eliminate property taxes to induce landowners to hold their poorer lands in timber not only as a source of farm income but also for erosion control, watershed protection and game cover.

Forest Tax Program Requirements

Min/Max Acreage: 2

Min. Stocking Growth: 200 trees/acre, not more than 1/5 of trees may be harvested in any one year.  If the number of trees falls below 200 per acre, the landowner must restore the area to at least 200 trees per acre within 1 year.

Forest Management Plan: N/A

Duration of Enrollment: Must enroll every 8 years

Penalties for Use Change: Tax or 5 years will be paid if land does not continue in the program, unless they have been enrolled more than 10 years.

Program Administration

State: Department of Forestry administers the rules.

County Tax Assessor and Commissioner: Application with local conservation board doing inspections

University: N/A

Landowner: Must certify that there are no livestock on the land

For a more in depth discussion of Iowa property taxes click here!