Linn County has created a new online tool that provides increased transparency for the county’s property tax collection and distribution process.
The new website includes interactive maps, a dashboard, and charts that show countywide property tax statistics, the tax bill cycle, property tax levy rates for all taxing jurisdictions in the county, where property tax dollars are going, and the last three years of an individual property’s tax bill.
Taxpayers can use the site to look up their property and see how their tax bill compares to other like properties in their area; compare their current property tax bill to the last three years; and see how their property taxes are distributed among the different taxing jurisdictions, such as their city of residence, school district, and county.
Entering an address in the mapping tool will display a pie chart with the exact dollar amount and percentage of taxes going to each taxing jurisdiction.
“A detailed breakdown by percentage and actual dollar amount of how your individual property taxes are distributed has been available on the property tax bills for years, but this new tool provides an easy way to find the information without having your tax bill in hand,” Linn County Treasurer Brent Oleson said in a release. “It also allows property owners to look at their property tax history over the last three years. Having this information in one place is more convenient.”
The new tool uses information that is available through public records.
“There’s a common misconception out there that Linn County gets more property tax funding than it does because residents pay their entire property tax bill to the County,” Mr. Oleson said. “County treasurers collect property taxes on behalf of all jurisdictions in the county and then distribute the taxes collected to the other jurisdictions, including the property owner’s city of residence, school district, and other taxing bodies like townships and community colleges. We encourage residents to go online and explore this tool and see exactly how their property taxes are distributed among all of the jurisdictions. I think people will be surprised at the percentages they see.”
The new interactive mapping tool is available on Linn County’s website at LinnCountyIowa.gov.
The deadline to pay the spring installment of property taxes is March 31. Payments can be made online; by phone, drop box, or mail (postmarked by March 31); or in person.
