Property Tax
Due Dates
- Property taxes may be paid in full in September each year or split into two installments:
- The first half is due September 1 and becomes delinquent October 1;
- The second half is due March 1 of the following year and becomes delinquent April 1;
Delinquent parcels are assessed an interest penalty that accrues each month the parcel remains delinquent.
Payment Methods
- In office with cash, check or debit/credit card (cards accepted for an additional fee)
- Online
Pay your property taxes online with an eCheck for only .25 cents (which is less than a postage stamp!) or you can pay with a debit or credit card for 2.25% of the total amount due.
Accepted Credit Cards (cards accepted for an additional fee)
- MasterCard
- Visa
- Discover
Partial & Scheduled Payments
Tama County allows partial payments of currents property taxes. By law, you cannot make a partial payment on a tax sale or special assessment. If, at any time, you want to pay towards your property taxes, we will accept any amount of partial payment.
You can make partial payments directly to our office. Or, if you prefer, you are able to schedule automatic payments from your bank account either by e-check or card. The scheduled payments will be handled through the Iowa Treasurer's website by creating an account and setting up the schedule. To do this, you will need to follow these steps:
- Add the property or properties you want to pay on the automatic schedule,
- Set up payment account or enter your banking information,
- Set up schedule. You can set up the schedule to pay monthly, weekly, bi-weekly or on a set date.
Here, you can also click "auto amount" or choose to pay a set amount each month.
By selecting the auto amount, the system automatically calculates the number of payments you've selected and the amount needed by the due date (September 30 and/or March 30) and then will automatically pull that amount.
If you choose to pay a set dollar amount each month, you need to be aware that the amount chosen may not cover the full amount of property taxes by the due date. If this happens, you could incur late fees and/or additional interest.
Notice of Delinquent Taxes
The law requires:
- A notice be sent to property owners who have outstanding taxes as of November 1 and May 1.
- A notice of the annual tax sale shall be mailed not later than May 1 to the person in whose name the parcel subject to sale is taxed
- Payments for redemption from tax sales must be paid by guaranteed funds. The rate of interest required by Iowa law to be paid on a redemption is 2% per month.
Delinquent taxes as of May 1 are assessed a publication fee and must be advertised for sale at the annual tax sale in June.
Tax Sale Registration
If you would like to register to bid at the Tama County Tax Sale
The Tama County Treasurer is responsible for the administration of the Annual Tax Sale and must offer for sale, in an open competitive bidding process (Iowa Code Chapter 446), parcels in which taxes have become delinquent. The purpose of the tax sale is to collect unpaid taxes. The Annual Tax Sale takes place in June of each year.
Delinquent taxes on a parcel subject to sale will be advertised in June in the Tama-Toledo News Chronicle Properties are listed in parcel number order and have a sequence number for bidding purposes. Copies of the list are available at the Tama County Treasurer's Office. In addition, a printout of those parcels may also be purchased.
The investor is responsible for all research on parcels available for auction.
Please contact the Tama County Treasurer's Office at (641) 484-3141 for information concerning tax sale redemption funds.
