House File 124 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 124 BY PETTENGILL , HEARTSILL , ALONS , HUSEMAN , SHEETS , HEATON , HESS , and HAGENOW A BILL FOR An Act establishing a property tax exemption for a principal 1 residence owned by a totally disabled individual or certain 2 elderly individuals and including applicability provisions. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 1334YH (6) 85 md/sc

H.F. 124 Section 1. Section 427.1, Code 2013, is amended by adding 1 the following new subsection: 2 NEW SUBSECTION . 39. Disabled or elderly principal 3 residence. A disabled or elderly principal residence shall be 4 exempt from taxation. 5 a. “Disabled or elderly principal residence” means a dwelling 6 owned and actually used as a home for a minimum of six months 7 during the most recent full calendar year by an individual 8 who is either completely disabled or an individual who is 9 sixty-five years of age or older and whose annual income is 10 seven thousand five hundred dollars or less. A disabled or 11 elderly principal residence shall also include so much of the 12 land surrounding the dwelling, including one or more contiguous 13 lots or tracts of land as is reasonably necessary for use of 14 the dwelling as a home not to exceed three acres, and may 15 consist of a part of a multidwelling or multipurpose building 16 and a part of the land upon which it is built. A disabled or 17 elderly principal residence does not include personal property 18 except that a manufactured or mobile home may be a disabled or 19 elderly principal residence. When a person is confined in a 20 nursing home, extended-care facility, or hospital, the person 21 shall be considered as occupying or living in the disabled or 22 elderly principal residence if the individual is the owner and 23 does not lease, rent, or otherwise receive profits from other 24 persons for the use of the residence claimed as a disabled or 25 elderly principal residence. 26 b. An application for this exemption shall be filed with the 27 assessor not later than February 1 of each year for which the 28 exemption is requested, on forms provided by the department of 29 revenue. 30 c. The application shall include all of the following, if 31 applicable: 32 (1) Proof of total disability of the claimant, if 33 applicable, on January 1 of the year in which the claim is 34 filed. Proof of total disability may be but is not limited to 35 -1- LSB 1334YH (6) 85 md/sc 1/ 3

H.F. 124 the written certification of such total disability by any two 1 physicians licensed to practice in this state. For purposes of 2 this subsection, “totally disabled” means as defined in section 3 425.17. 4 (2) Proof of age, if applicable. 5 (3) Evidence of income. For purposes of this subsection, 6 “income” means as defined in section 425.17. 7 (4) Legal description of the real estate for which the 8 claimant is seeking an exemption. 9 (5) Any additional information required by the director and 10 necessary to support a claim. 11 Sec. 2. IMPLEMENTATION OF ACT. The provisions in section 12 25B.7, relating to the obligation of the state to reimburse 13 local jurisdictions for property tax credits and exemptions, do 14 not apply to this Act. 15 Sec. 3. APPLICABILITY. This Act applies to assessment years 16 beginning on or after January 1, 2014. 17 EXPLANATION 18 This bill establishes a property tax exemption for disabled 19 or elderly principal residences. The bill defines “disabled 20 or elderly principal residence” as a dwelling owned and 21 actually used as a home for a minimum of six months during 22 the most recent full calendar year by an individual who 23 is either completely disabled or an individual who is 65 24 years of age or older and whose annual income is $7,500 or 25 less. The bill also provides that a disabled or elderly 26 principal residence includes so much of the land surrounding 27 the dwelling, including one or more contiguous lots or tracts 28 of land as is reasonably necessary for use of the dwelling 29 as a home not to exceed three acres, and may consist of a 30 part of a multidwelling or multipurpose building and a part 31 of the land upon which it is built. A disabled or elderly 32 principal residence does not include personal property except 33 that a manufactured or mobile home may be a disabled and 34 elderly principal residence. The bill specifies that when a 35 -2- LSB 1334YH (6) 85 md/sc 2/ 3

H.F. 124 person is confined in a nursing home, extended-care facility, 1 or hospital, the person shall be considered as occupying or 2 living in the disabled or elderly principal residence if the 3 individual is the owner and does not lease, rent, or otherwise 4 receive profits from other persons for the use of the disabled 5 or elderly principal residence. 6 The bill requires applications for the exemption to be filed 7 with the assessor not later than February 1 of each year for 8 which the exemption is requested, on forms provided by the 9 department of revenue. The bill specifies what information is 10 required in each application for the exemption. 11 The bill provides that the provisions in Code section 25B.7, 12 relating to the obligation of the state to reimburse local 13 jurisdictions for property tax credits and exemptions, does not 14 apply to the exemption in the bill. 15 The bill applies to property tax assessment years beginning 16 on or after January 1, 2014. 17 -3- LSB 1334YH (6) 85 md/sc 3/ 3