| Property taxes: | ||
| Closing date: | ||
| Current taxes: | ||
| Prorated taxes: | ||
| Total taxes: |
| Sale price: | ||
| Rounded up: | ||
| Exemption: | $500.00 | |
| Taxable amount: | ||
| Tax rate: | 0.0016 | |
| Transfer tax: |
The tax values provided here are estimates only. Always consult with a closing company or similar entity for final tax values due at closing.
The property tax estimator assumes that property taxes are paid on September 1st and March 1st.
Iowa property taxes are paid in arrears. That means that when paying property taxes in a given year, you're paying last year's taxes.
To further complicate matters, you're actually paying the last fiscal year's property taxes. The fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 30. Tax payments made in September of a given year actually cover the first half (July 1 through December 31) of the previous fiscal year. Tax payments made in March cover the second half (January 1 through June 30) of the previous fiscal year.
Depending on how the purchase agreement is written, sellers can be responsible not only for paying the previous fiscal year's taxes (labeled "Current taxes" in the calculator) but also for paying the current fiscal year's taxes (labeled "Prorated taxes"). The seller is paying the property taxes for the time lived at the property. The money set aside for taxes is given to the buyer in the form of a credit on the settlement statement, often placed in escrow for tax payments as appropriate.
The first half or $500 of the previous year's taxes was paid in September, and the second $500 will assumingly be paid on March 1. Since the closing date is on February 1, the "current" taxes due are $500, and the prorated taxes for the current fiscal year are calculated from July 1 through January 31 (subtracting the closing day), about $589.
In this example, the current taxes have been paid as of March 1, which means the previous fiscal year property taxes have been paid in full.
The seller would typically be responsible for the prorated taxes for the current fiscal year, calculated from July 1 through March 31 (subtracting the closing day), about $751.