Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 701 - Revenue Department › Title I - Administration › Chapter 80 - Property Tax Credits and Exemptions › Rule 701-80.1 - Homestead Tax Credit

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
(1)
Application for credit.
a.
				No homestead tax credit shall be allowed unless the first application for
				homestead tax credit is signed by the owner of the property or the owner's
				qualified designee and filed with the city or county assessor on or before July
				1 of the current assessment year. Once filed, the claim for credit is
				applicable to subsequent years and no further filing shall be required provided
				the homestead is owned and occupied by the claimant or the claimant's spouse on
				July 1 of each year and, in addition, the claimant or the claimant's spouse
				occupies the homestead for at least six months during each calendar year in
				which the fiscal year for which the credit is claimed begins. It is not a
				requirement that the six-month period of time be consecutive. If the credit is
				disallowed and the claimant failed to give written notice to the assessor that
				the claimant ceased to use the property as a homestead, a civil penalty equal
				to 5 percent of the amount of the disallowed credit shall be assessed against
				the claimant in addition to the amount of credit allowed. The assessor, county
				auditor, and county board of supervisors shall act on the claim in accordance
				with Iowa Code section
				425.3.
				A claim filed after July 1 of any calendar year applies to the following
				assessment year.
b. In the event
				July 1 falls on either a Saturday or Sunday, applications for the homestead tax
				credit may be filed the following Monday.
c. In the event July 1 falls on either a
				Saturday or Sunday, applications submitted by mail shall be accepted if
				postmarked on the following Monday.
d. An assessor may not refuse to accept an
				application for homestead tax credit. If it is the opinion of the assessor that
				a homestead tax credit should not be allowed, the assessor shall accept the
				application for credit and recommend disallowance.
e. If the owner of the homestead is on active
				duty in the armed forces of this state or of the United States, or is 65 years
				of age or older or is disabled, the application for homestead tax credit may be
				signed and delivered by a member of the owner's family or the owner's guardian,
				conservator or designated attorney-in-fact. For purposes of this rule, any
				person related to the owner by blood, marriage or adoption shall be considered
				a member of the owner's family.
f.
				If a person makes a false application for credit with fraudulent intent to
				obtain the credit, the person is guilty of a fraudulent practice and the claim
				shall be disallowed. If the credit has been paid, the amount of the credit plus
				a penalty equal to 25 percent of the amount of the disallowed credit and
				interest shall be collected by the county treasurer.
g. For purposes of the homestead tax credit
				statute, the occupancy of the homestead may constitute actual occupancy or
				constructive occupancy. However, more than one homestead cannot be
				simultaneously occupied by the claimant and multiple simultaneous homestead tax
				credits are not allowable. Generally, a homestead is occupied by the claimant
				if the premises constitute the claimant's usual place of abode. Once the
				claimant's occupancy of the homestead is established, such occupancy is not
				lost merely because the claimant, for some valid reason, is temporarily absent
				from the homestead premises with an intention of returning thereto.