Costs shall be recovered by the successful against the losing party.

 The losing party, however, shall not be assessed with the cost of mileage of any witness for a distance of more than one hundred miles from the place of trial, unless otherwise ordered by the court at the time of entering judgment.

 Where the party is successful as to a part of the party’s demand, and fails as to part, unless the case is otherwise provided for, the court on rendering judgment may make an equitable apportionment of costs.

 In actions where there are several plaintiffs or several defendants, the costs shall be apportioned according to the several judgments rendered; and where there are several causes of action embraced in the same petition, or several issues, the plaintiff shall recover costs upon the issues determined in the plaintiff’s favor, and the defendant upon those determined in the defendant’s favor.

 All costs accrued at the instance of the successful party, which cannot be collected of the other party, may be recovered on motion by the person entitled to them against the successful party.

 The necessary fees paid by the successful party in procuring copies of deeds, bonds, wills, or other records filed as a part of the testimony shall be taxed in the bill of costs.

 Postage paid by the officers of the court, or by the parties, in sending process, depositions, and other papers being part of the record, by mail, shall be taxed in the bill of costs.

 The fees of shorthand reporters for making transcripts of the notes in any case or any portion thereof, as directed by any party thereto, shall be taxed as costs, as shall also the fees of the clerk for making any transcripts of the record required on appeal, but such taxation may be revised by an appellate court on motion on the appeal, without any motion in the lower court for the retaxation of costs.

 When a pleading contains as a defense matter which arose after the commencement of the action, whether such matter of defense is pleaded alone or with other matter of defense which arose before the action, the party affected by such matter may confess the same, and shall be entitled to the costs of the action to the time of such pleading.

 When a plaintiff dismisses the action or any part thereof, or suffers it to abate by the death of the defendant or other cause, or where the action abates by the death of the plaintiff, and the plaintiff’s representatives fail to revive the same, judgment for costs may be rendered against such plaintiff or representative, and, if against a representative, shall be paid as other claims against the estate.

 Coparties against whom judgment has been recovered are entitled, as between themselves, to a taxation of the costs of witnesses whose testimony was obtained at the instance of one of the coparties and inured exclusively to a coparty’s benefits.

 Where an action is dismissed from any court for want of jurisdiction the costs shall be adjudged against the party attempting to institute or bring up the same.

 The clerk shall tax in favor of the party recovering costs the allowance of the party’s witnesses, the fees of officers, the compensation of referees, the necessary expenses of taking depositions by commission or otherwise, and any further sum for any other matter which the court may have awarded as costs in the progress of the action, or may allow.

 In actions in which the cause of action shall, by assignment after the commencement thereof, or in any other manner, become the property of a person not a party to the action, such party shall be liable for the costs in the same manner as if the person were a party.

 Any person aggrieved by the taxation of a bill of costs may, upon application, have the same retaxed by the court, or by a referee appointed by the court in which the application or proceeding was had, and in such retaxation all errors shall be corrected.

 If the party aggrieved shall have paid any unlawful charge by reason of the first taxation, the clerk shall pay the costs of retaxation, and also to the party aggrieved the amount which the party may have paid by reason of the allowing of such unlawful charges.

 In cases of appeals from a trial court, the supreme court clerk, if judgment is rendered in the supreme court or court of appeals or both, shall make a complete bill of costs in that court which shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the trial court and taxed with the costs in the action therein.

 When the costs accrued in the appellate courts and the trial court are paid to the clerk of the trial court, the clerk shall pay them to the persons entitled thereto.

 Except for an action brought pursuant to chapter 668, when the judgment is for the recovery of money, interest from the time of the verdict or report until judgment is finally entered shall be added to the costs of the party entitled to the costs.

 If action is commenced and the claim paid off before return day, the amount shall be one-half of the sum above provided, and if it is paid after the return day but before judgment, three-fourths of said sum; but no fee shall be allowed in any case if an action has not been commenced, or expense incurred, nor shall any greater sum be allowed, any agreement in the contract to the contrary notwithstanding.

 The attorney fee allowed in sections 625.22 and 625.23 shall not be taxed in any case unless it appears by affidavit of the attorney that there is not and has not been an agreement between the attorney and the attorney’s client or any other person, express or implied, for any division or sharing of the fee to be taxed. This limitation does not apply to a practicing attorney engaged with the attorney as an attorney in the cause. The affidavit shall be filed prior to any attorney fees being taxed. When fees are taxed, they shall be only in favor of a regular attorney and as compensation for services actually rendered in the action.

 No such attorney fee shall be taxed if the defendant is a resident of the county and the action is not aided by an attachment, unless it shall be made to appear that such defendant had information of and a reasonable opportunity to pay the debt before action was brought. This provision, however, shall not apply to contracts made payable by their terms at a particular place, the maker of which has not tendered the sum due at the place named in the contract.

 As used in section 625.29, unless the context otherwise requires: