Property tax in Madison County, Iowa
In Madison County, the property tax bill comes from the Madison County Treasurer. You can look up and pay the bill on the county's own payment page. Taken from Madison County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Madison County, Iowa is $3,624 a year, which is about 1.48% of the county's median home value of $245,100. That effective rate is higher than the typical Iowa county (1.32%) and higher than the national median (0.81%). These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024); your own bill depends on your home's assessed value and any exemptions.
Who sends the property tax bill in Madison County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the Madison County Treasurer. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Madison County Assessor, which is who to ask if the value looks wrong. For how to look up and pay the bill, go to the county's own payment information.
The 2026 tax bills are late. At the end of August 2026 the county posted an update saying bills would go out later than expected and that the due dates would be adjusted, and no new dates had been posted when this page was checked; call the Treasurer's office at 515-462-1542 to confirm your dates. Iowa law says that when the tax list reaches the Treasurer late, the first half does not become delinquent until 30 days after it arrives, or October 1 if that is later. In a normal year the first half is payable without interest through September 30 and the second half through March 31, and interest after that is 1.5% a month. The county accepts partial payments at any time. Statements go to the owner only, not to an escrow company, and an escrowed owner does not need to notify the office. Online payments cost $0.25 by e-check or 2.25% by card. The Madison County Assessor values property in the county, and protests go to the county Board of Review; a Board of Review decision can be appealed to the state Property Assessment Appeal Board.
When are property taxes due in Madison County?
Iowa bills for a fiscal year running July 1 to June 30 and you pay the county treasurer in two halves, the first by September 30 and the second by March 31. The statute technically says pay before September 1 and March 1, but nothing goes delinquent and no interest accrues until October 1 and April 1, which is why counties advertise the end of September and March as the real deadlines. If the last day lands on a weekend you have until the second business day of the following month.
Madison County does not publish the due dates for its bill on its own pages (checked September 23, 2026), so we do not print any here. The dates on your statement are the ones that bind you; who sends which bill is covered above.
Estimate the property tax on a home in Madison County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Madison County's average effective rate of 1.48% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $3,627 / year
Property tax in Madison County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $3,624 |
| Median home value | $245,100 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.48% |
| Typical Iowa county rate | 1.32% |
| National median county rate | 0.81% |
Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.
How does Madison County compare in Iowa?
Among Iowa's 99 counties, Madison County has the 16th highest effective property-tax rate: 15 rank higher and 83 rank lower. That is on the higher side for Iowa. Nationally, it ranks 362nd of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Iowa county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Madison County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Madison County's 5,366 owner-occupied homes, 60.6% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 77.3% pay at least $2,000, and 4.6% pay under $800. Another 2.6% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 246 | 4.6% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 385 | 7.2% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 453 | 8.4% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 894 | 16.7% |
| $3,000 or more | 3,250 | 60.6% |
| No property tax paid | 138 | 2.6% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $3,602 and owners without one pay $3,678. That is within 10% either way, so in Madison County paying off the house does not go with a noticeably different bill. Census table B25103.
How does the Madison County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $3,624 is about 3.6% of the median income of Madison County homeowner households, $99,847 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 80.1% of Madison County's occupied homes are lived in by their owners; renters pay property tax too, just folded into rent.
Have property taxes gone up in Madison County?
Yes. The median bill went from $2,832 in 2015-2019 to $3,624 in 2020-2024, a 28% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 38.1%, from $177,500 to $245,100. Bills rose more slowly than values, which is what assessment caps and falling millage rates do: the county is taxing a smaller share of each home's worth.
Two Census ACS 5-year periods with no survey years in common, in each period's own dollars. A change counts only if it exceeds the combined 90% margin of error.
Property tax in counties next to Madison County
Madison County borders 7 counties.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Union County, IA | 1.8% | $2,197 | $122,000 |
| Polk County, IA | 1.68% | $4,396 | $262,100 |
| Clarke County, IA | 1.6% | $2,578 | $161,100 |
| Madison County, IA (this county) | 1.48% | $3,624 | $245,100 |
| Warren County, IA | 1.43% | $3,865 | $269,600 |
| Dallas County, IA | 1.41% | $5,001 | $355,600 |
| Adair County, IA | 1.28% | $2,050 | $160,400 |
| Guthrie County, IA | 1.22% | $2,199 | $180,100 |
How is a home assessed in Madison County?
Iowa sets the assessment rules and Madison County applies them. How Iowa assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Madison County?
Yes. From the 2026 assessment year Iowa exempts 10% of a homestead's taxable value, never less than $5,500 or more than $20,000. File form 54-028 with your assessor by July 1. That is the Iowa rule, and it applies in Madison County. Iowa's exemptions and relief programs in full.
Madison County does not add relief programs of its own beyond the Iowa ones (checked September 23, 2026).
How to appeal your Madison County property assessment
In Madison County you appeal to the Madison County Board of Review. The deadline: File a written protest with the Board of Review from April 2 through April 30 of the assessment year. Before that, from April 2 through April 25, you can ask the assessor for an informal review. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against the official appeal rules.
How Iowa's appeal process works, including the next level if the first one turns you down.
Iowa rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the Iowa page.
Work out your own numbers
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How much house can I afford?
Your income, debts and down payment against the 28/36 rule lenders actually use, with Madison County's tax rate to hand.
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Mortgage calculator
Monthly payment with principal, interest, tax and insurance, plus what an extra payment saves you.
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Iowa income tax
Brackets, standard deduction and what Iowa actually taxes.
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Sales tax in Madison County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Madison County, Iowa: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020-2024), tables B25103, B25077, B25102, B25119 and B25003; the five-year comparison uses the 2015-2019 estimates. Neighboring counties: Census county adjacency file.