The Beginning Farmer Tax Credit Program provides an Iowa tax credit for agricultural asset owners to lease their land, equipment and/or buildings to beginning farmers.
Eligibility
- Applicants must be a resident of Iowa and 18 years of age.
- Have a net worth of no more than $820,000.
- Have sufficient education, training or experience for the anticipated farm operations.
- Have access to adequate working capital, equipment and other items that are necessary to operate the farm.
- Be the owner/operator.
- There is no restriction on off-farm income.
Terms
- Lease must be for a minimum of two years but no more than five years and must include land.
- For cash rent leases, the tax credit equals 5% of the cash rent. The cash rent cannot be more than 30% above the average cash rent for the county according to the most recent ISU cropland survey.
- For crop share leases, the tax credit is 15%.
Application Process
Applications are processed on first-come/first-completed basis.
- Applications will be accepted until the deadline of August 1, 2025, or until all the tax credit allocation has been awarded – whichever comes first.
- Completed applications will be given preference over incomplete applications and will be processed first.
- Applicants submitting incomplete applications will be notified and will have 30 days to correct and/or submit all missing documents. After 30 days, the application will be withdrawn.
- Submit all materials in one packet to:
Iowa Finance Authority
Attn: Iowa Agricultural Development Division (IADD)
1963 Bell Ave.
Des Moines, IA 50315
Email Address