Military Tax Exemption

Any property owner who has been involved in full-time active duty during a war or conflict, has been honorably discharged and lives in Iowa qualifies for a military exemption. The applicable times of either a war or conflict are spelled out in Section 427.3 of the Code of Iowa. Though the wars date back to 1846, the ones generally in use now begin with World War I. The amount of the exemption in taxable value for the most often used exemptions is $2,778 for WWI and $1,852 for any others after that.

It is the responsibility of each person who qualifies for and wishes to receive a military exemption, to make application with the Assessor and also have their discharge papers (DD214) recorded in the appropriate county. Application is to be made prior to July 1 of the claim year.

National guardsmen and reserves are not eligible for the exemption if their only active duty was for training purposes. On some rare occasions there were guardsmen and reserves who were called into active duty other that training. In these cases the person is eligible for the exemption. See the Code of Iowa Chapter 426A

WAR	SERVICE MUST HAVE BEEN BETWEEN FOLLOWING DATES	AMOUNT OF EXEMPTION
World War I	Declared April 6, 1917 Terminated November 11, 1918	$2,778.00
World War II	Declared December 7, 1941 Terminated December 31, 1946	$1,852.00
Korean Conflict	June 25, 1950 to January 31, 1955	$1,852.00
Vietnam Conflict	February 28, 1961 to May 7, 1975	$1,852.00
Persion Gulf War	August 2, 1990 to Present	$1,852.00
Lebanon/Granada	August 24, 1982 to July 31, 1984	$1,852.00
Panama	December 20, 1989 to January 31, 1990	$1,852.00
Anyone who served in the National Guard or Reserves for 20 years after January 28, 1973, and is now retired/discharged, now qualifies for an exemption.		$1,852.00
TO GET COPY OF DD214: (If not recorded in County Records)	National Personnel Records Center, GSA (Military Personnel Records) 9700 Page Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63132