Property tax is a tax levied or assessed on the owner of property—often real property (real estate)—that is based on the property’s appraised value. Local governments often impose property taxes to finance their school districts, police departments, fire departments, and municipal projects such as construction and maintenance of streets and roads.

Most local government authorities (often counties) allow citizens to dispute or challenge the appraised value of their property through an administrative process initiated with the tax assessor or appraisal district.

In Iowa, property tax is primarily a local government revenue source used to fund services such as education, law enforcement, fire protection, and infrastructure maintenance. Property taxes are assessed based on the appraised value of real property, which includes land and any structures on it. The county assessor is responsible for valuing property for tax purposes annually. Property owners in Iowa have the right to challenge the assessed value of their property if they believe it is incorrect. This is typically done by filing a protest with the local board of review, which is an appeal process that occurs at the county level. The board of review is in session during the month of May, and property owners must file their protests between April 2nd and April 30th. If the property owner is dissatisfied with the decision of the board of review, they may appeal to the Property Assessment Appeal Board or to district court.