The Polk County, Iowa property tax rate is a consolidated figure that currently runs from about $33 to $46 per $1,000 of taxable value, depending on which city and school district cover your address. For 2024 assessed valuations (taxes payable September 2025 and March 2026), a Des Moines home in the Des Moines Public Schools district sits at roughly $42.32 per $1,000, while suburbs like Ankeny, West Des Moines, and Johnston fall anywhere from the mid-$34s to the high $30s. Your actual bill depends on three layered numbers: the assessor’s value, Iowa’s statewide rollback, and the combined levies of every taxing authority that serves your parcel.
Current Consolidated Rates by City and School District
The Polk County Auditor publishes the consolidated rate for each taxing district every year, bundling the county, city, school, community college, and other levies into one number per $1,000 of taxable value.1Polk County Iowa. Consolidated Tax Rates A few representative combinations from the most recent published rates:
- Des Moines / Des Moines Schools: $42.32 per $1,000
- Des Moines / Southeast Polk Schools: $43.14 per $1,000
- Des Moines / Urbandale Schools: $45.65 per $1,000
- Ankeny / Ankeny Schools: $36.68 per $1,000
- West Des Moines / WDM Schools: $34.12 per $1,000
- Johnston / Johnston Schools: $37.16 per $1,000
- Urbandale / Urbandale Schools: $38.75 per $1,000
- Clive / WDM Schools: $32.86 per $1,000
- Grimes / Dallas Center–Grimes Schools: $39.00 per $1,000
Des Moines properties split across different school districts can see rates swing by more than $3 per $1,000, which works out to about $300 a year on a home with $100,000 in taxable value. Several Des Moines neighborhoods also carry Self-Supported Municipal Improvement District (SSMID) surcharges that push rates above $44.1Polk County Iowa. Consolidated Tax Rates If you are not sure which district you are in, the Polk County Auditor’s office keeps a lookup tool on its website.2Polk County Iowa. Tax Rate and Valuation Information
How the Rate Turns Into Your Tax Bill
Assessed Value
Iowa law requires assessors to value all property at 100 percent of fair market value.3Iowa Legislature. Iowa Code 441.21 – Actual, Assessed, and Taxable Value Real property is reassessed every odd-numbered year, with adjustments allowed in even years when conditions warrant. Assessment notices go out by April 1 so you can review the new figure before the protest window opens.4Iowa Department of Revenue. Iowa Property Tax Overview
The Rollback
You do not pay the levy rate on your full assessed value. Iowa applies a statewide “rollback” that reduces assessed value to a lower taxable value, keeping bills from spiking every time the housing market jumps. For the 2024 assessment year the residential rollback is 47.4316 percent, so you pay taxes on less than half your home’s market value.5Iowa Legislature. Iowa Property Tax Rollback Adjustments The percentage changes each year based on statewide growth in assessed values, so check the current figure when your notice arrives.
Commercial and industrial properties use a different formula. The first $150,000 of value is rolled back at the residential rate, and value above that is rolled back to a fixed 90 percent. A commercial property assessed at $500,000 has its first $150,000 treated like a home and the remaining $350,000 taxed at 90 percent.
A Worked Example
Say you own a home in Des Moines in the Des Moines Public Schools district, assessed at $250,000. Applying the 2024 residential rollback of 47.4316 percent gives a taxable value of roughly $118,579. Multiply by the consolidated rate of $42.32 per $1,000 and the annual tax comes to about $5,018 before any credits. Three inputs do all the work: assessed value, rollback percentage, and the levy rate for your district.
Why Rates Vary Across the County
Your consolidated rate is the sum of levies set by every government body that serves your property. The Polk County Board of Supervisors controls the county share of the budget.6Polk County Iowa. Polk County Supervisors Take Final Step Toward Approving FY 26/27 Budget Your city council sets municipal levies for services like police and fire. The local school district is usually the largest single piece of the bill, followed by the city and then the county. Other layers include Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) and the Broadlawns Medical Center levy.
Each body certifies its own levy after public budget hearings, so your total rate can shift even when one entity holds steady, if another raises its own. That is why two homes a few miles apart in Polk County can face meaningfully different tax bills.
Credits and Exemptions That Lower the Bill
Several state-authorized programs reduce taxable value before the levy is applied. To claim any of them for the first time, file an application with the Polk County Assessor’s office on or before July 1 of the year you want the credit to begin.7Iowa Department of Revenue. Homestead Tax Credit and Exemption Most credits renew automatically once approved, as long as you continue to qualify.
- Homestead Tax Credit, available to any owner-occupant of a primary residence. The credit equals the levy on the first $4,850 of actual value.8Iowa Legislature. Iowa Code 425 – Homestead Tax Credits, Exemptions, and Reimbursement
- Age 65 or Older Homestead Exemption, for owner-occupants who are 65 or older by January 1 of the assessment year. It exempts up to $6,500 in taxable value on top of the regular homestead credit, at the $6,500 level beginning with the 2024 assessment year.8Iowa Legislature. Iowa Code 425 – Homestead Tax Credits, Exemptions, and Reimbursement
- Disabled Veteran Tax Credit, for veterans with a permanent 100 percent service-connected disability rating from the VA. The credit equals the entire property tax bill on the homestead.9Iowa Legislature. Iowa Code 425.15 – Disabled Veteran Tax Credit
- Military Service Tax Exemption, for honorably discharged veterans, up to $4,000 in taxable value under Iowa Code Chapter 426A. The exemption also extends to unremarried surviving spouses and dependent parents of deceased veterans.10Iowa Legislature. Iowa Code 426A – Military Service Tax Exemption
- Family Farm Tax Credit, for owners of agricultural tracts of 10 acres or more actively farmed by a family member. The credit equals the school district levy rate above $5.40 multiplied by the tract’s taxable value, with land required to qualify as agricultural real estate and meet family ownership rules under Iowa Code Chapter 425A.11Cornell Law Institute. Iowa Code r. 701-110.11 – Family Farm Tax Credit
Because these reductions come off taxable value before the levy applies, dollar savings scale with your local rate. A $4,000 reduction saves about $169 in the Des Moines / DM Schools district versus about $137 in West Des Moines / WDM Schools.
If Your Assessment Looks Too High
When the April notice arrives and the value looks off, you can protest to the Polk County Board of Review. The filing window runs from April 2 through April 30 of the assessment year, and missing it means waiting for the next cycle.12Property Assessment Appeal Board. How Do I Protest to the Local Board of Review Properties in counties covered by a federal disaster declaration or a governor’s emergency proclamation between March 1 and May 20 get an extended deadline of June 5.
Two grounds carry most protests. The first is market value: the assessor set your property above what it would actually sell for. The strongest evidence is recent comparable sales nearby that closed below your assessed value, ideally within the last 12 months and matching your home’s square footage, lot size, age, and condition. The second is inequity: your home is assessed at a higher proportion of its actual value than comparable properties in the same taxing district.13Property Assessment Appeal Board. Appeal Grounds and Burden of Proof An inequity claim requires both the assessed and actual values of multiple comparable properties, not just a bigger percentage increase than your neighbor’s.
If the Board of Review denies your protest, you can escalate to the state Property Assessment Appeal Board (PAAB) or file a petition in district court.
Payment Deadlines and Penalties
Polk County collects taxes in two installments. The first half is due by September 30, the second by March 31 of the following year.14Polk County Iowa. Property Tax You can pay online through the Polk County Treasurer’s portal, by mail, or in person. Paying the full year in one lump sum by September 30 earns no discount, but it takes the March deadline off your calendar.
Miss a deadline and interest begins immediately at 1.5 percent per month on the unpaid balance, accruing on the first of each month the payment remains outstanding.14Polk County Iowa. Property Tax That is 18 percent annualized, which makes a late property tax bill one of the more expensive debts a homeowner can carry. If you are struggling to pay, contact the Treasurer’s office before the delinquency compounds; parcels with unpaid taxes are eventually offered at the county’s annual tax sale, which can ultimately cost you the property.15Iowa Legislature. Iowa Code 446 – Annual Tax Sale