Dubuque County Assessor

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Dubuque County Assessor Appraising/assessing real estate in Dubuque County

Our primary responsibility is to estimate the value of all real estate in Dubuque County (excluding the City of Dubuque), Iowa in each odd numbered year. We also are the receiving office for filing many credits and exemptions, like the Homestead Credit and Military Exemption.

Are we enjoying the future, yet? It recently came to my attention that there is a new video making the rounds about a m...
08/06/2026

Are we enjoying the future, yet? It recently came to my attention that there is a new video making the rounds about a made-up change to federal law regarding age-related property taxes. The video states that Congress "slipped in" a change on a spending bill that freezes or eliminates property taxes for the elderly. This is an example of disinformation--false information give on purpose. It is also a nice jumping off point on the importance of being media literate.

A version of this legislative concept actually was considered by the Iowa Legislature this session but failed to gain enough votes for passage. While the legislature did make some changes to property taxes, including increasing the homestead tax exemption, there is not a senior assessment freeze in place in Iowa. For seniors that are low income, there is an Elderly and Disabled Property Tax Credit that is handled by the treasurer's office but requires a very low income level. Additionally, Iowa has a 65+ homestead exemption, on top of the regular homestead available to those who own and occupy their home as Iowa residents, regardless of age.

We know that there is a ton of slop on social media, including the very site you are reading right now. As AI continues to get better and more cost effective, that is only going to get worse. So let's take a second and talk about social media literacy.

In the case of this video, there are some pretty big red flags that the information being presented is false. The first one (besides the fact that lawmakers aren't crowing about this all over the place) is that the video comes from a random uploader, only active since May of 2026, done via voice-over with what appears to be AI-generated cartoons.

The second big flag is that the video does not name the bill that created the change--typically something like this would give the name of the bill to assist people in researching the change. For example, the property tax bill passed this spring in Iowa was Senate File 2472.

Another big red flag is that the video references an application form that doesn't exist. The form, called a "SR-1098" , is not a real thing. While there actually is a "1098" form, that is a tax form that mortgage companies send out for those who have paid in enough mortgage interest to deduct from their taxes--but it has nothing to do with your assessment. So like most things, there is just a hint of fact to make this seem like it might be legit, but it is not.

As always, if you have questions or concerns, please feel to reach out to your local assessor. As we navigate the choppy waters that are social media, do your best to keep your head on a swivel and, as Red Green says, your stick on the ice.

As part of the changes involved in the property tax reform bill this spring, the Iowa Department of Revenue ("IDR") has ...
06/11/2026

As part of the changes involved in the property tax reform bill this spring, the Iowa Department of Revenue ("IDR") has created a supplemental form to accompany Declarations of Value--the form that buyers and sellers fill out when a property transfers. While this form is new at the state level, most assessors do some form of this already, especially when a sale is drastically higher or lower than the current assessment. This new form will start rolling out with DOVs soon for those buying or selling property. Just what everyone was asking for when finalizing a real estate transaction, right, more documents to sign? :)

So why is this important? Well, sales data is what drives the changes that assessors make in odd years to meet state code-required accuracy standards. We review the relationship between sales and the existing assessments to determine what the real estate market is doing in order to better reflect market value (aka, your assessment). When we, along with the IDR, review sales it is important to remove sales that do not reflect market value for one reason or another.

By removing sales such as those between family members, sales to or from exempt entities, or sales that occurred as part of a business exchange, we are better able to accurately adjust values to the most likely statistical sales price for your property were it to sell. For those gluttons-for-punishment that can't get enough of this sort of thing, the IDR website has a very readable breakdown on how the process works at the link below:

https://revenue.iowa.gov/taxes/tax-guidance/property-tax/iowa-property-tax-overview

It's food truck season again at the West Campus! Stop out for a nosh today if you are in the area. Weather reports mak...
06/11/2026

It's food truck season again at the West Campus! Stop out for a nosh today if you are in the area. Weather reports make it look like a great day for a duck, but maybe it's a great day for a (hot) dog, too? Thanks as always to Tina and the ladies down in Public Health for lining up these great vendors.

We have taken a couple calls in reference to a story in the Dyersville paper this week about a presentation from the Iow...
05/28/2026

We have taken a couple calls in reference to a story in the Dyersville paper this week about a presentation from the Iowa Attorney General's Office. The presentation was about the possibility of scammers replacing a property's owners via recorded documents. While I am not aware of anything like that happening here, it did prompt me to make a few calls--one to the Attorney General's Office clarification, and one to Dubuque County Recorder Ann Sweeney about owner notifications regarding changes to their property.

Ann passed along that Dubuque County does have a notification process for those that are interested:

"Dubuque County currently provides a free tool to assist with property fraud protection, which is accessed from the county website. This tool called PropertyCheckTM is an enhancement to the records management software from Cott Systems used by the recorder’s office. PropertyCheckTM is a 24/7 service designed to protect residents from potential property fraud by automatically notifying property owners when records with matching property information are recorded in Dubuque County.

Users can opt-in to receive alerts via email or text message when official documents are recorded that match their specified name, property address, or property parcel number. This service works seamlessly in the background of the recorder’s office records management software. It is a free service available by creating an account through the recorder’s office web page on the Dubuque County website.

PropertyCheckTM does not prevent documents from being recorded and cannot stop fraudulent activity. Rather, it is an alert and monitoring service. If an alert is triggered, the record owner is directly notified by the method of choice. Property owners are responsible for taking action upon receiving an alert through PropertyCheckTM."

The attached photo shows where the link is to start this process at the website below. If you are having trouble signing up, Ann said that they have already helped numerous people that were struggling, so don't hesitate to call. Their phone number is 563-589-4488.

https://cotthosting.com/iadubuque/LandRecords/protected/SrchQuickName.aspx

Well, that last post sure got some feedback, huh? While it would be easy to get frustrated with the amount of bad info ...
04/28/2026

Well, that last post sure got some feedback, huh? While it would be easy to get frustrated with the amount of bad info that is being passed along regarding our reappraisal project, I instead will try to utilize this platform for it's one good purpose--educational outreach.

Attached are two items--the first is the postcard that we send out to an area to notify the owners that we will be in their neck of the woods. The second is an example of the listing sheet that our reappraisers utilize to list a property for this project. Let's go over some things from both of them.

The first thing to note on the postcard is that it is from the County Assessor's Office, not the City Assessor's Office--so for the people that are getting upset within city limits, this has no direct bearing on you. I would say the same thing to those people that this postcard states to our jurisdiction: if you live in the city and have questions or concerns, please call their office. They will be happy to go over their process as well.

Next, I want to point out three lines for those that believe that this project is an over-reach or an invasion of privacy: a) "The listers will be asking to inspect properties"; b) "If you do not wish to have staff on your property, please call us to go over other options--while this project is a vital part of setting accurate assessments, we do not wish to cause conflict that could potentially put anyone at risk."; and c) "While you are not required to allow an inspection of your home, Iowa Code 441.19 requires you to assist the assessor in setting an appropriate value."

That code section actually allows for assessors to apply a 100% penalty for non-assistance and not complying is, technically, a misdemeanor. You'll note that we are not pursuing either of those options, as all we are trying to do with this project is get better data so we can be more accurate with our assessments. We are a customer service entity first-and-foremost and one of our functions in that realm is being accurate with our data to ensure accurate assessments. Our data is used by realtors, insurers, emergency services, and even property owners for the appeals process or determining the value of their property. At the end of the day, we have made a conscious effort to balance owner privacy while still meeting our statutory duties to accurately list and value property.

The second photo is the listing sheet used by our reappraisal staff. The items on the sheet are the ones that, historically, are most likely to influence a sales price for a property. And before anyone thinks that we are just out there to raise values, we also are looking at things that lower value such as if there is a no bedroom on the main floor, or if a deteriorated condition of the property exists. As it had been 20 years since we had done one of these when we started in 2019, there are many homes that have not had regular maintenance--in those cases we will lower the value as needed.

I understand the frustrations that people are expressing on Facebook. We are all being pressed, with our dollars going less and less far. We have seen government bodies act in unethical manners and, frankly, we often expect the worst. While it would be easier to just turn off comments here and pretend those frustrations don't exist, I don't think that is what best serves the people that we serve. As always, if you have questions or concerns give our office (or the city office) and talk with us--our goal is to make this process as transparent and accessible as possible.

One last thing that I just can't let go unaddressed... we do not look in windows. Our staff is explicitly trained to not do so, as that completely undermines the trust we want to establish by doing things the way we do. If you find one of my staff with their faces pressed up against a window, please give our office a call so we can address it. Thanks, Billie

Joyce and Bobby Jo with our office will be heading back in the field to continue our ongoing residential/ag dwelling rea...
04/27/2026

Joyce and Bobby Jo with our office will be heading back in the field to continue our ongoing residential/ag dwelling reappraisal project, now focusing on rural areas.

Postcards have been mailed out to the areas we have designated as the NE Dubuque Map Area (Bobby Jo) and the Mosalem Map Area (Joyce). Our listers will be in those areas starting next week and will be in the vicinity for some time, reviewing exteriors of homes and doing interior inspections.

Additional info on the project can be found on the postcards, along with on our website, linked below. If you have questions or concerns. please give us a call at 563-589-4432.

https://www.dubuquecountyiowa.gov/159/Assessor---Dubuque-County

Updated 2026 Assessments are now live on the Beacon website. As 2026 is not a state-mandated revaluation year for all p...
04/02/2026

Updated 2026 Assessments are now live on the Beacon website. As 2026 is not a state-mandated revaluation year for all properties, there were only around 3,500 changes made this year in the county. The city office had another 1,500 or so changes. The bulk of the changes made are related to our ongoing Residential reappraisal, new construction, or review work done in preparation for an upcoming Commercial reappraisal project in the county.

Changes made for this assessment cycle will first be seen in the taxes due in September of 2027 and March of 2028. On that subject, the projected taxes discussed in the recent letters from auditors are based on the 2025 Assessment, not the current assessment.

From the date of an assessment (January 1st), your value works through the county auditor's office, Iowa Department of Revenue (taxable amount calculation, October). then back down to the auditor's office (calculating final taxes, following July) before being passed along to the county treasurer's office who sends out the taxes (August or September). In all, the process takes around 18 months from the date used to set the value to when owners pay taxes.

Quick heads up that if you are calling our office today--or many of the other county offices in the next couple of weeks...
03/20/2026

Quick heads up that if you are calling our office today--or many of the other county offices in the next couple of weeks--we, as a county, are in the process of changing over to a new phone environment.

And it is... going... well...?

We ask for patience if you call our office today and the next few days as our IT Department fine tunes things, and our staff gets more familiar with the new system.

Thank you.

The Dubuque County Conference Board will be having their second meeting this Thursday, March 19th, following the Dubuque...
03/17/2026

The Dubuque County Conference Board will be having their second meeting this Thursday, March 19th, following the Dubuque City Conference Board meeting at 3pm. The county version is likely to start around 3:30pm and the board will finalize discussion and vote on the 2026-27 budget for the county assessor's office.

Address

1225 Seippel Road
Dubuque, IA
52002

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 8am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 8am - 4:30pm
Thursday 8am - 4:30pm
Friday 8am - 4:30pm

Telephone

(563) 589-4432

Website

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