糖心vlog Investigates: Property tax forms, intended to be clear, cause some confusion
An upset Ankeny man attended a recent public hearing by the Polk County Board of Supervisors. He approached the podium with a mailing in hand, asking why his property taxes were going up 6.7 percent.
They weren't, he was told.
The form he'd been mailed was a two-page notice required to be sent to all property owners. It uses a hypothetical situation of a $100,000 home's tax rate going up by 10 percent.
The supervisors helped explain.
"You're telling me my property taxes won't go up, and I'll actually see a slight reduction?" the Ankeny man confirmed.
"That's right," said Supervisor Matt McCoy.
The state-mandated two-page notice has been landing in mailboxes for the last few weeks. The goal, according to Iowa Department of Management policy analysts, is to keep taxpayers informed.
But it's not working quite as intended.
Cities and counties across the state are taking steps to clarify the form.
Waukee city staff to clear up some of the confusion.
"There's just a lot that goes into it that if you're not in it on a daily basis it's very hard to understand it," said Brad Deets, Waukee's city administrator.
Residents can contact city hall if they have questions, he said.
"I think you'd find for most cities, we welcome the participation in the process and just ask questions," Deets said.
The Iowa Department of Management explained the notice is to standardize the information across the state.
There are a few specific parts to look at:
- The form shows the dollars for three different taxing authorities 鈥 city, council and school district. Those three make up about 90% of a tax bill.
- Each of those three taxing authorities will hold a different public hearing for your input. The place, date and time are on the notice.
- The hearings are not mandatory.
- The forms show the numbers and tax rate for the city, county and school district. This is not an individual property notice.
- The form shows the property taxes the taxing authority is getting this year and what's being proposed for next year. The hypothetical $100,000 property is there for an example.
The department's website has an extensive website on property taxes.
Some tax experts say there needs to be a change because Iowa's form is too complicated. Iowans for Tax Relief points to Minnesota's version.
"What we've always advocated for is for that to say how much more am I going to spend once this budget passes. Give me a dollar amount. In the Minnesota form that we've used as an example it clearly lists that in the state of Minnesota, when your city or your county is passing a new budget, you can get a form in the mail that says you pay $200 more next year because of this budget," said Chris Hagenow, president of Iowans for Tax Relief.
"That's a number that Iowans care about," he said.
It would be up to lawmakers to make a change. So far this legislative session, there's been no proposal to change that tax form.
WATCH: Don't be confused by your property tax notifications