Buena Vista County

Buena Vista County 2017 Agricultural Assessments

Enclosed is the assessment notice for agricultural classed property you own in Buena Vista County. This letter is included to explain the various changes that have been incorporated into the new assessment. These valuations are for the 2017 assessment year and will show up on tax bills payable in the fall of 2018 and spring of 2019.

Productivity Factor (Land) The agricultural value per acre changes every two years, and the county-wide value is calculated by the Iowa Department of Revenue (IDR). Agricultural property values are based on productivity and net earning capacity, not market value. The productivity formula is a five-year average (from crop years 2011-2015) and is specific to each county. Buena Vista County’s assessed value per acre decreased by 14%.

CSR2 Through administrative rules, the IDR is also requiring assessors to convert to CSR2 ratings (from CSR) when establishing assessed values. According to Iowa State University, our area of the state will see noticeable increases, as the rainfall adjustment factor was dropped from CSR2.

Non-cropland Adjustment Another new administrative rule we are required to incorporate involves the assessment of non-cropland. Our previous method of assessing resulted in a much lower assessment than the new method. This rule makes a clear distinction between crop and non-cropland in arriving at assessments. The result of the rule will provide more uniform assessments across the state but will cause some non-cropland assessments to be sharply higher than previous assessments.

Ag Factor (Farm Buildings) The agricultural building value changes every two years, and the “ag factor” is determined by the Iowa Department of Revenue (IDR). That factor will result in a decrease of assessed value for farm buildings by 25%.

Ag Dwelling Agricultural dwellings are assessed at market value. The assessed value for farm dwellings was determined by reviewing the selling prices of rural acreages. Farm dwelling assessed values increased an average of 4.5%.

Drainage Ditch Easements New technology has allowed us to more accurately determine the area used for drainage right-of-ways. If parcels you own adjoin a drainage ditch, it is possible that your assessed acres were revised. This was not done arbitrarily; acres were only changed after the Board of Supervisors contracted with ISG (Drainage Engineers) to research county records to create a highly accurate digital map layer of the drainage ditch and associated easements. Drainage Ditch Easements are excluded from taxation much like roads. Like a road easement, you still own the land and acres under the easement but are not assessed any taxes on those acres.

For a more in depth explanation about the valuation of agricultural real estate see: Iowa Administrative Code (IAC) 701—71.3

Additional information is also available at the following: County Website: www.bvcountyiowa.com Property Record Search: buenavista.iowaassessors.com

Kathy A. Croker, Buena Vista County Assessor (712) 749-2543