The state of Iowa provides tax relief to landowners with qualifying lands under the Native Prairie, Wetland, and Wildlife Habitat Tax Exemption. Applications must be reviewed by biologists from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources prior to submission to the county tax assessor. Portions of the property exempted under this incentive may not be used to generate a profit in the year of exemption.

Qualifying native prairie includes “lands that have never been cultivated, are unimproved, and are natural or restored grasslands wherein at least fifty percent (50%) of the plant canopy is a mixture of grass and forb species which were found originally on Iowa’s prairie lands” (IaDNR 2016). There is no minimum size requirement. Qualifying wetlands may be protected or restored and must be of 0.8 hectares or more (2 or more acres) in size. Wildlife habitat must be of 0.8 hectares or less (2 acres or less) in size (IaDNR 2016).

• Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IaDNR). 2016. Native Prairie, Wetland, and Wildlife Habitat Tax Exemption.

Amount of the Incentive
Tax exemption for qualifying lands

Keywords: tax relief