Travis Bunn

Founder, AppealDesk · Published February 28, 2026 · Updated August 22, 2026

Iowa Property Tax Appeal Deadline: Protests Due April 2 to April 30

Updated August 2026

Iowa gives you exactly 29 days to protest an assessment: April 2 through April 30 of the assessment year (Iowa Code 441.37). The window is statewide and statutory, it does not move from county to county, and it does not extend for late notices, the one exception being a county under a declared disaster, where filing runs to June 5. The local board of review then sits in May to decide the protests it received. Many sources, including earlier versions of this page, describe the May board session as the filing window. It is not. By May 1, filing is over.

The Iowa Timeline, in Order

• January 1: the valuation date. Everything is valued as of this day.
• By April 1: assessors mail assessment notices in years the value changes. Odd years are the statewide reassessment years, so most notices arrive in odd years.
• April 2 to April 25: informal review with the assessor (Iowa Code 441.30). You can ask the assessor to look again and agree on a corrected value without a protest. This is worth doing first; many corrections happen here.
• April 2 to April 30: the protest window. File a written protest with the local board of review. Electronic filing is available in counties that have authorized it.
• May 1 to May 31: the board of review sits, holds hearings, and issues decisions. This is when you present, not when you file.
• Within 20 days of the board's decision: appeal to the Property Assessment Appeal Board (PAAB) in Des Moines or to district court if the board did not give you what the evidence supports.

What a Protest Has to Say

Iowa protests are ground-based. Iowa Code 441.37 lists the grounds, and your protest should state at least one of them and the evidence behind it:

• The assessment is not equitable compared with similar properties in the district. Name the comparable properties and their assessments.
• The property is assessed for more than its actual value. State what you believe the actual value is and how you arrived at it, usually recent sales of similar homes.
• The property is not assessable, is exempt, or is misclassified (residential vs. agricultural is the common one).
• There is an error in the assessment: wrong square footage, wrong lot size, a structure that no longer exists.
• The assessment is fraudulent (rare, and not the ground to lead with).

Overvaluation and inequity are the two grounds that win residential cases, and both are proven the same way: recent sales of genuinely similar nearby homes, adjusted for the differences, laid out so the board can follow the math.

Where Iowa Assessments Go Wrong

• Odd-year reassessment jumps. Because values reset statewide in odd years, a two-year market move lands in one notice. The board will still want sales evidence, not the size of the jump.
• Flood-plain and river-adjacent properties in eastern Iowa carry risk the mass-appraisal model does not see. Documentation of flood history, insurance cost, and any FEMA designation is real evidence.
• Acreages and rural residences are often valued with too few comparable sales. Pull your own from the county's sales list and the neighboring county if the market crosses the line.
• Record errors. Check the assessor's property card before anything else. A finished-basement or square-footage error is the cleanest win available and needs no argument about the market.

Using the 29 Days Well

1. Before April 2: pull the property card, pull comparable sales, and decide whether you have a case. If the sales put your home at or above the assessment, do not file.
2. April 2 to April 25: take the evidence to the assessor for an informal review. If the assessor agrees, you are done without a hearing.
3. By April 30: if not, file the written protest with the board of review, stating the ground and attaching the evidence. Do not wait for the last day; a late postmark is a missed year.
4. May: present at the hearing if your county holds them, or let the written protest stand. Lead with the strongest comparable, answer the questions asked, state the exact value you are asking for.
5. After the decision: if the board ignored the evidence, the PAAB appeal is free to file and decided on the record; the 20-day clock starts at adjournment or the decision letter, whichever applies.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I file a protest in May?

No. The board of review sits in May to decide protests filed in April. The filing window is April 2 to April 30, and the only statutory extension is to June 5 in a county under a declared disaster.

I did not get a notice. Can I still protest?

Yes, the right to protest does not depend on receiving a notice, and the window is the same. Check your assessment online with your county assessor in early April whether or not anything arrives in the mail.

What is the October protest period I have read about?

Iowa has a second, narrower period beginning October 9 that applies only when the Department of Revenue issues an equalization order raising values county-wide. It is not a second chance on an ordinary April assessment.

Does a protest have to go to a hearing?

No. Many boards decide on the written protest and attachments. If you want to appear, say so on the form; a clear packet does most of the work either way.