Gov. Kim Reynolds says Iowans expect property tax legislation this year
Legislation designed to limit future increases in Iowa homeowners’ property taxes will get done this year, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said Wednesday as state lawmakers crossed into the home stretch of the annual legislative session.
For the second consecutive year, Iowa lawmakers have attempted to craft legislation that would slow the growth of Iowa homeowners’ property taxes. The topic was widely discussed by statehouse leaders across the state during the interim, and many legislators said it was their No.1 priority for this year’s session.
Iowa ranks among the highest-property-taxed states in the nation, with the 11th-highest property tax burden in the country, according to the Tax Foundation, and the 10th-highest effective property tax rate, according to Rocket Mortgage.
Reynolds and majority Republican leaders in the Iowa Legislature unveiled separate legislative proposals in January, early in the session. They have not yet reached agreement, and while there is no official end to the session, the date when legislators’ per diems expire — an incentive designed to encourage lawmakers to have their work completed — is April 21.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday at the Iowa Capitol, Reynolds said passing property tax legislation this year is “a priority for everyone involved.”
“Most importantly, I can tell you, it’s a priority of Iowans that are paying those taxes,” Reynolds said. “They expect us to get it across the finish line this year, and I believe that we will.”
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds discusses negotiations among Republican legislative leaders around legislation designed to limit the growth of Iowans' …
Reynolds said had a ”very positive and very productive” conversation this week with Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley and Iowa Senate Majority Leader Mike Klimesh, both Republicans.
“We’re putting in the effort that Iowans deserve, and I have every reason to believe that we’ll ultimately have a bill that will get through both chambers and to my desk and will work for Iowans.”
Reynolds and House Republicans have proposed plans centered on limiting the growth of local government revenue. Their proposals would impose a 2 percent cap on most local government revenue increases, aiming to slow the pace of rising property tax bills without restructuring the system itself.
The Senate Republicans’ proposal would take a more sweeping approach by eliminating Iowa’s long-standing property tax “rollback” system and tying revenue growth limits to inflation. Senate leaders argue that more structural changes are necessary to deliver lasting relief.
House Republicans and the governor have opted not to address the rollback system in their proposal, focusing instead on capping local revenue growth — a narrower approach than the Senate’s broader restructuring plan.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds speaks to reporters during a press conference at the Iowa Capitol in Des Moines on Wednesday, March 25, 2026.
Reynolds said every policy contained in the three different bills “is all on the table” during negotiations, and that she, Klimesh and Grassley are establishing which policies they agree on and which are their respective top priorities.
Reynolds said she also believes it will require compromise to get something signed into law.
“Of course, I’m not going to get everything I want. The Senate is not going to get everything they want. Neither is the House. And that’s the way it’s supposed to work,” Reynolds said. “When you start to get territorial and you think your idea is the best one out there, and it’s the (policy) you have to get across, that’s when things shut down and that’s when nothing gets done. And I don’t see any of that right now. Everybody seems willing to keep talking and working on it.
“So, we’ll see. You know, it’s not done until it’s done.”
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State Sen. Dan Dawson discusses moving Iowa Senate's property tax proposal during a legislative public forum in Council Bluffs on Saturday, Fe…
