§ 441.37 — Protest of assessment — grounds

Iowa § 441.37

• Jurisdiction: Iowa
• Title X: FINANCIAL RESOURCES
• Ch. 441: ASSESSMENT AND VALUATION OF PROPERTY

Text

1. a. (1) Any property owner or aggrieved taxpayer who is dissatisfied with the owner’s
or taxpayer’s assessment may file a protest against such assessment with the board of review
on or after April 2, to and including April 30, of the year of the assessment. In any county
which has been declared to be a disaster area by proper federal authorities or that is the
subject of a state of disaster emergency proclamation by the governor after March 1 and
prior to May 20 of said year of assessment, the board of review shall be authorized to remain
in session until July 15 and the time for filing a protest shall be extended to and include
the period from May 1 to June 5 of such year. The protest shall be in writing on forms
prescribed by the director of revenue and, except as provided in subsection 3, signed by the
one protesting or by the protester’s duly authorized agent. The taxpayer may have an oral
hearing on the protest if the request for the oral hearing is made in writing at the time of filing
the protest. The protest must be confined to one or more of the following grounds:
(a) That said assessment is not equitable as compared with assessments of other like
property in the taxing district.
(b) That the property is assessed for more than the value authorized by law.
(c) That the property is not assessable, is exempt from taxes, or is misclassified.
(d) That there is an error in the assessment.
(e) That there is fraud or misconduct in the assessment which shall be specifically stated.
(2) If the local board of review, property assessment appeal board, or district court
decides in favor of the property owner or aggrieved taxpayer and finds that there was fraud
or misconduct in the assessment, the property owner’s or aggrieved taxpayer’s reasonable
costs incurred in bringing the protest or appeal shall be paid from the assessment expense
fund under section 441.16.
(3) For purposes of this section, “costs” include but are not limited to legal fees, appraisal
fees, and witness fees.
(4) For purposes of this section, “misconduct” means the same as defined in section 441.9.
b. The burden of proof for all protests filed under this section shall be as stated in section
441.21, subsection 3.
c. The property owner or aggrieved taxpayer may combine on one form protests of
assessment on parcels separately assessed if the same grounds are relied upon as the basis
for protesting each separate assessment. If an oral hearing is requested on more than one of
such protests, the person making the combined protests may request that the oral hearings
be held consecutively.
2. a. A property owner or aggrieved taxpayer who finds that a clerical or mathematical
errorhasbeenmadeintheassessmentoftheowner’sortaxpayer’spropertymayfileaprotest
againstthatassessmentinthesamemannerasprovidedinthissection,exceptthattheprotest
maybefiledforpreviousyears. Theboardmaycorrectclericalormathematicalerrorsforany
assessment year in which the taxes have not been fully paid or otherwise legally discharged.
b. Upon the determination of the board that a clerical or mathematical error has been
madetheboardshalltakeappropriateactiontocorrecttheerrorandnotifythecountyauditor
of the change in the assessment as a result of the error and the county auditor shall make the
correction in the assessment and the tax list in the same manner as provided in section 443.6.
c. The board shall not correct an error resulting from a property owner’s or taxpayer’s
inaccuracy in reporting or failure to comply with section 441.19.
3. For assessment years beginning on or after January 1, 2014, the board of review
may allow property owners or aggrieved taxpayers who are dissatisfied with the owner’s
or taxpayer’s assessment to file a protest against such assessment by electronic means.
Electronic filing of assessment protests may be authorized for the protest period that begins
April 2, the protest period that begins October 9, or both. Except for the requirement that
a protest be signed, all other requirements of this section for an assessment protest to the
board of review shall apply to a protest filed electronically. If electronic filing is authorized
by the local board of review, the availability of electronic filing shall be clearly indicated
on the assessment roll notice provided to the property owner or taxpayer and included in
both the published equalization order notice and the equalization order notice mailed to the
property owner or taxpayer if applicable.
35 ASSESSMENT AND VALUATION OF PROPERTY, §441.37A
4. After the board of review has considered any protest filed by a property owner or
aggrieved taxpayer and made final disposition of the protest, the board shall give written
notice to the property owner or aggrieved taxpayer who filed the protest of the action taken
by the board of review on the protest. The written notice to the property owner or aggrieved
taxpayer shall also specify the reasons for the action taken by the board of review on the
protest. If protests of assessment on multiple parcels separately assessed were combined,
the written notice shall state the action taken, and the reasons for the action, for each
assessment protested.

Legislative History

[R60, §740; C73, §831; C97, §1373; S13, §1373; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §7132; C46, 50, 54, 58, §405.22, 442.5; C62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, S81, §441.37; 81 Acts, ch 145, §2]