Rollback Rate & Levies
Rollback Rate Information
The rollback rate is a statewide rate set annually for each property class by the Iowa Department of Revenue. More than 20 years ago, residential property values were rising quickly. To help cushion the impact of high inflation, the Legislature passed an assessment limitation law called rollback. Increases in assessed values for residential and agricultural property are subject to this assessment limitation formula. If the statewide increase in values of homes and farms exceeds 3% due to revaluation, their values are "rolled back" so that the total increase statewide is 3%. Rollback is also available for industrial and commercial property when necessary. This does not mean that the assessment on your home will increase by only 3%. The rollback is applied on a class of property, not an individual property. This means that the statewide total taxable value can increase by only 3% due to revaluation.
Tax Levy Rates
There are a number of different taxing districts in a jurisdiction, each with a different levy rate. Each year the county auditor determines for that district a levy rate that will yield enough money to fund the different entities in that district. The entities include local schools, counties, cities, townships, community colleges, local assessors, and others. Since more than one taxing authority is calculating a tax rate for the property, all the rates are added together, resulting in a single tax levy called a consolidated levy. This consolidated levy is always the result of two or more tax rates established by different government entities.
