(Iowa Capital Dispatch) House Republicans released their property tax plan Wednesday, starting down the path toward finding a compromise with the governor and the GOP Senate majority on one of their top session priorities.
House Speaker Pat Grassley and Rep. Carter Nordman, who chairs the House Ways and Means committee, unveiled House Study Bill 596 Wednesday. It joins the list of property tax bills to be considered this year, alongside Gov. Kim Reynolds’ proposal announced in her 2026 Condition of the State address and Senate Republicans’ proposal released last week, Senate Study Bill 3001.
Nordman said House GOP lawmakers crafted their legislation with a focus on “real, tangible relief for all homeowners.”
“While there may be three different proposals out there right now, I am confident that we’ll be able to find common ground and accomplish property tax reform this year,” Nordman said. “… This plan prioritizes the taxpayer over the taxing entities. It brings simplicity, it brings transparency, and most importantly, it brings relief.”
There are some similarities between the House proposal and the governor’s plan, such as a 2% revenue cap for local governments outside of new construction, with exemptions for school funding and the debt levy. Both bills also call for a focus on finding local government efficiencies and ways for local entities to cut spending.
There are also several differences. While the governor’s bill includes a $10 million pot of one-time money for localities to finance consolidation and shared service agreements, the House bill does not have a funding mechanism to support this effort. Instead, it tasks the Iowa Councils of Government (COGs) to provide assistance with “coordination, planning and technical assistance for local government entities for the purpose of consolidating, sharing or regionalizing services.”
Grassley said COGs have already worked extensively with local governments on economic development, and said these boards were identified as a good “conduit” for working with local governments across a larger region on consolidation efforts. He also said he believes there is not necessarily a need for the fiscal backing included in Reynolds’ bill, as these changes will be driven by the revenue cap.
“Some communities have done really good with efficiency, so I’m not just blaming them in this conversation, but I’m saying with the ability to continue to collect more and more revenue, the incentive to find efficiencies, I don’t think is always taken as seriously as (it should be),” Grassley said. “So I think with that revenue gap, it will just naturally lead to more efficiencies. ”
Both the governor’s and Senate’s proposals also include a measure specifically lowering property taxes for seniors. Reynolds’ bill proposes freezing property taxes for seniors age 65 and older in homes valued at $350,000 or less, while the Senate bill goes further, eliminating most property taxes for Iowans over age 60 who no longer pay a mortgage for their home.
The House bill takes a different approach, proposing a new $25,000 exemption for all residential properties. This provision, which would mean all properties are not taxed for the first $25,000 in assessed home value, will help Iowans at all stages in their life, Nordman said.
“It gives relief to seniors, it gives relief to the working families, it gives relief to young couples who are buying a new home,” Nordman said. “So rather than just looking at one section, we’re given relief to everyone.”
The House proposal also requires bonds payable through property taxes to receive a 60% vote of approval to pass, in addition to adding new requirements on information sent to property taxpayers explaining how the tax money is used.
This bill does not include any of the measures related to changing Iowa’s “rollback” system of calculating property taxes which appeared in the Senate GOP proposal, as well as property tax plans introduced by legislative leaders in 2025. Grassley said the House Republicans’ goal was to introduce a “simplified” property tax plan in comparison to previous discussions, which is why the caucus settled on advocating a 2% revenue cap.
Grassley said as the conversation on property taxes progresses, he does not see any specific points in the House bill as “deal breakers” if they are not included in a final draft. Negotiations are ongoing, he said. He added that he did not know how a consensus will be reached, but the fact that the House and Senate GOP’s and governor’s proposals are all out early in session shows that all three parties are serious about taking action on the issue this session.
“Ultimately, regardless of what the process is, our goal is to find a situation where we can find certainty for the taxpayer,” Grassley said. “So however we get there, I’m not as concerned about. But we are already engaged in those conversations.”
Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley and Rep. Carter Nordman, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, held a news conference Jan. 21, 2026 unveiling House Republicans’ property tax proposal. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
