Budget & Taxes

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 20, 2025

HF 496: A bill for an act modifying the individual and alternate income tax rates, and including applicability provisions.

This Iowa bill (HF 496) lowers the state's individual income tax rates for 2026 and beyond. It reduces the standard tax rate from 3.8% to 2.5% on taxable income, and lowers the alternate tax rate from 4.3% to 3.0% for higher-income filers. The changes apply to all Iowa residents and nonresidents with taxable income, affecting most individual income tax returns filed for tax years beginning January 1, 2026. The bill modifies existing tax calculation methods but does not change filing requirements or exemptions.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesBill reduces individual income tax rates for all filers, providing direct tax relief and lowering state revenue, aligning with tax reduction support indicators.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Business Taxes Income Tax

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in committee · Iowa · House Feb 24, 2025

HF 208: A bill for an act relating to the allocation of workforce housing tax incentives available against the individual and corporate income taxes, the franchise tax, the insurance premiums tax, and the moneys and credits tax.

HF 208 allocates $35 million in tax incentives for workforce housing projects, to be applied against individual and corporate income taxes, franchise tax, insurance premiums tax, and moneys and credits tax. It reserves $17.5 million specifically for housing projects in small cities (as defined in Iowa law) registered after July 1, 2017. The remaining funds may allocate up to one-third to projects in Iowa's two most populous counties, but only for projects registered after July 1, 2025. This bill directly affects developers and builders of workforce housing projects seeking tax credits under these specific allocation rules.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesAllocates $35M tax incentives for workforce housing via tax credits against income/corporate taxes, funding affordable housing projects as public service.90% confidence ✓ HousingSupports HousingAllocates $35M tax incentives for workforce housing projects, specifically funding affordable housing development in small cities and designated areas per bill summary.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Business Taxes Tax Incentives Affordable Housing Housing Finance

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in committee · Iowa · House Feb 24, 2025

HF 566: A bill for an act modifying individual income tax rates and providing tax credits for certain married persons filing a joint return, and including effective date and retroactive applicability provisions.

HF 566 modifies Iowa's individual income tax rates for married couples filing jointly. It sets the tax rate to 0% for couples with five or more dependents under 18 or for first/second-time joint filers, and creates a $1,000 per dependent tax credit (up to 10 dependents under 18) for these couples. Any excess credit is refundable or can be applied to future tax bills. The bill takes effect immediately upon enactment and applies retroactively to tax years beginning January 1, 2025.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesProvides tax relief via 0% rate and $1,000 per dependent credit for qualifying families, reducing tax burden on middle/lower income.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Income Tax Tax Credits

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in committee · Iowa · House Feb 24, 2025

HF 568: A bill for an act excluding interest income earned from banks and credit unions from the calculations of Iowa net income for purposes of the individual income tax, and including effective date and retroactive applicability provisions.

HF 568 removes interest income earned from banks and credit unions from Iowa's calculation of individual income tax. This directly affects Iowa taxpayers who earn interest on savings accounts, certificates of deposit, or similar deposits at qualifying financial institutions. The bill defines "bank" broadly (including credit unions and savings associations) and specifies that the change applies retroactively to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2025. It does not change other tax rules but reduces taxable income for affected individuals starting in 2025.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesBill provides tax relief by excluding interest income from taxable income for Iowa taxpayers, reducing individual tax burden on savings/CD interest.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Income Tax

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in committee · Iowa · House Feb 28, 2025

HF 634: A bill for an act relating to forest and fruit-tree reservations, and providing for a fee.

HF 634 establishes an annual fee for landowners who maintain forest and fruit-tree reservations that currently qualify for property tax exemptions under Iowa law. Starting January 1, 2026, fees will be paid by September 1 each year to the county treasurer and deposited into the county general fund. The fee amount depends on location: $2 per acre if the reservation is in the same county as the owner's homestead, $3 per acre if in a contiguous county, and a calculated rate based on county property taxes and corn ratings for all other reservations (including those within city limits). This replaces the current tax exemption with a location-based fee structure, directly affecting landowners with designated forest or fruit-tree reservations.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesCreates new fee revenue for county general fund by replacing property tax exemptions, directly increasing local government budget resources.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Tax Incentives

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in committee · Iowa · House Feb 28, 2025

HF 659: A bill for an act relating to housing in the state by establishing an Iowa housing tax credit program, establishing a neighborhood renovation grant program, and increasing first-time homebuyer tax incentives, and including effective date and applicability provisions.

HF 659 creates a state-administered Iowa Housing Tax Credit Program to support affordable housing development. It allows developers of qualifying low-income housing projects to claim tax credits against certain state taxes, with a $15 million annual cap (plus carryover from previous years). The bill also establishes neighborhood renovation grants and increases tax incentives for first-time homebuyers. These provisions directly affect housing developers, low-income residents, and homebuyers by providing financial tools to build and purchase housing in Iowa.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesCreates tax credits for affordable housing development and homebuyers, providing targeted tax relief and funding for housing programs within budget constraints.92% confidence ✓ HousingSupports HousingCreates tax credits for low-income housing development, neighborhood grants, and increased homebuyer incentives - all directly funding affordable housing initiatives.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Tax Incentives Affordable Housing Homeownership Housing Finance

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in committee · Iowa · House Feb 28, 2025

HF 678: A bill for an act concerning county budgets including employee contracts.

HF 678 requires Iowa counties to include dedicated funds for employee contracts (negotiated under Chapter 20) in their annual budgets. It mandates that any raises for these employees must be accounted for in the certified budget before taking effect, and such raises cannot begin until after the new fiscal year starts. This bill directly affects county governments as they prepare budgets, ensuring compensation changes align with budgeted timelines. The key change prevents counties from authorizing raises outside the formal budget process.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesMandates counties budget employee raises in advance, promoting fiscal responsibility and preventing unauthorized spending within budget timelines.90% confidence

Sub-Topics State Budget

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in committee · Iowa · Senate Feb 26, 2025

SSB 1137: A bill for an act imposing a tax on certain products containing nicotine or nonnicotine substances, and including effective date and applicability provisions.

This bill imposes taxes on specific nicotine and nonnicotine products sold at retail in Iowa. It charges $1.15 per vapor cartridge, $0.068 per nicotine pouch, and 15% of the retail price for vapor products requiring e-liquids or separately sold e-liquids. All tax revenue flows to the new Iowa Cancer Research Fund, managed by the Department of Health and Human Services, and cannot be used before July 1, 2026, for cancer research funding only. The tax applies to products defined in the bill, including e-liquids, nicotine pouches, and vapor cartridges, and is in addition to existing state taxes.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesImposes excise taxes on nicotine products to fund Iowa Cancer Research Fund, directly allocating tax revenue to a public health program per bill's revenue flow provisions.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Revenue

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in committee · Iowa · Senate Mar 3, 2025

SF 64: A bill for an act relating to budget adjustments by school districts affected by a natural disaster.

SF 64 allows Iowa school districts impacted by federally or state-declared natural disasters to receive an additional budget adjustment. If a disaster occurred in the base year or the year before, the district qualifies for an extra adjustment equal to the amount they received in their base year. This extends an existing budget adjustment policy (which normally covers a 1% cost difference) to include disaster recovery needs. The bill directly affects school districts in Iowa that meet the disaster declaration criteria, providing them with an additional year of funding to cover unexpected costs.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesProvides additional budget flexibility for disaster-affected school districts, strengthening fiscal support for essential public education services within state budget management.95% confidence ✓ EducationSupports EducationProvides additional budget adjustments for Iowa school districts affected by natural disasters, ensuring continued funding for educational operations and recovery needs.95% confidence

Sub-Topics State Budget School Funding School Safety Tags Emergency Management

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in committee · Iowa · House Mar 3, 2025

HSB 236: A bill for an act relating to the sales tax imposed on amusement devices.

This bill amends Iowa's sales tax code to exempt the portion of revenue from amusement devices that will be paid out as prizes. It applies to operators of pinball machines, bowling alleys, slot machines, and similar games where prizes are awarded, such as raffles or card tournaments. The 6% sales tax will now only apply to the net revenue after prize amounts are subtracted, not the full sales price. This change directly affects businesses operating these devices by reducing their taxable income. The bill does not legalize any currently prohibited games or devices.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesExempts prize revenue from sales tax, reducing taxable income for amusement device operators, providing direct tax relief per bill's explicit amendment to tax code.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Sales Tax

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