We buy houses in Clinton County, IA

The Clinton County Treasurer splits the tax year in two. The first half is due September 1 and late on October 1. The second half is due March 1 and late on April 1.

Late tax costs 1.5 percent a month. Taxes still unpaid on May 1 get a publication fee and go into the June tax sale.

Iowa holds that sale on the third Monday in June (Iowa Code 446.7). The buyer gets a certificate, not your house.

You can redeem by paying the sale amount plus 2 percent a month (Iowa Code 447.1). The treasurer takes no partial payments on a tax sale.

After one year and nine months, the certificate holder can serve you a notice. You then have 90 days to redeem before a deed is issued (Iowa Code 447.9).

For taxes levied in 2025 and paid in 2026 and 2027, the county lists its own rates per $1,000:

• urban, $6.92863
• rural, $9.54348

City, school and other rates are added on top. The same table lists the residential share at 44.5345 percent, the part of a home's value that is taxed.

The homestead credit equals the tax on the first $4,850 of actual value. New claims go to the Assessor by July 1, and the credit lasts until you sell.

If you are 65 or older by January 1, you also get an exemption of up to $6,500 of taxable value (Iowa Code 425.1A).

Veterans who qualify can claim a military exemption of $1,852 of taxable value, also by July 1.

The groundwater hazard statement asks what you know about the land. It covers:

• private burial sites and where they are
• wells and their status
• hazardous waste sites and underground tanks (Iowa Code 558.69)

If the house has a private septic system, a certified inspector must check it before the sale. An inspection stays good for two years (Iowa Code 455B.172).

Some sales skip that inspection, such as a sale by an estate's executor or a buyer who plans to tear the house down (Iowa Code 455B.172).

A mobile home outside a park becomes real estate once it sits on a permanent foundation. If a lender is noted on the title, it must consent or take a mortgage on the land (Iowa Code 435.26).

Any building work in Zone A of the county's flood map needs a floodplain permit first. That covers farm and non-farm land alike.

Land in the Mississippi River and Wapsi River floodplains may also need approval from the Iowa DNR and the Corps of Engineers.

The permit asks for the 100-year flood level, set by a land surveyor, and the height of the lowest floor. You can view the flood map at the county Planning and Zoning Office.