The latest tally shows the State of Iowa collected $10.6 billion in taxes and fees during the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2021. That’s $619 million above the estimate officials made in March.
One reason the current surplus is so much higher than predicted is because officials had expected the state would pay out “considerably” more in tax refunds according to Jeff Robinson of the Legislative Services Agency, but he warns the state is still due to send some local option sales tax money to local school districts and other calculations are still being made.
“While Fiscal Year 2021 ended June 30 and refunds processed and charged to ’21 ended August 31, some transactions related to Fiscal Year 2021 will continue to be processed into the second half of September,” Robinson said.
In July and August, the first two months of the current state fiscal year, net tax revenue fell more than 11% compared to the same two months last year. “The decrease was concentrated in individual and corporate income tax deposits,” Robinson said. “This situation was expected and is not a cause for concern as July and August corporate and individual income tax receipts last year were unusually high due to tax due dates that were delayed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.”
State officials moved the traditional April 30 deadline for filing Iowa income taxes to July 31 last year.