437A.8 Return and payment requirements — rate adjustments.

1. Each taxpayer, on or before March 31 following a tax year, shall file with the director a return including, but not limited to, the following information:

a. The total taxable kilowatt-hours of electricity delivered by the taxpayer to consumers within each electric competitive service area during the tax year, and the total taxable therms of natural gas delivered by the taxpayer to consumers within each natural gas competitive service area during the tax year.

b. The total kilowatt-hours of electricity consumed by the taxpayer within each electric competitive service area during the tax year subject to tax under section 437A.4, subsection 2, and the total therms of natural gas consumed by the taxpayer within each natural gas competitive service area during the tax year subject to tax under section 437A.5, subsection 2.

c. The total taxable kilowatt-hours of electricity generated by the taxpayer in Iowa during the tax year.

d. The total taxable pole miles of electric transmission lines in Iowa, by kilovolt, owned or leased by the taxpayer on the last day of the tax year.

e. The tentative replacement taxes imposed by section 437A.4, subsection 1, paragraph “a”, section 437A.4, subsection 2, section 437A.5, subsection 1, paragraph “a”, section 437A.5, subsection 2, and sections 437A.6 and 437A.7, due for the tax year.

f. For purposes of a municipal utility which is a member of a municipal electric cooperative association, the occurrence on or before September 1 of the preceding calendar year of an event described in section 437A.4, subsection 9, paragraph “a” or “b”, and the date on which the one-hundred-eighty-day requirement under such paragraph was met.

2. Each taxpayer subject to a municipal transfer replacement tax, on or before March 31 following a tax year, shall file with the chief financial officer of each city located within an electric or natural gas competitive service area served by a municipal utility as of January 1, 1999, a return including, but not limited to, the following information:

a. The total taxable kilowatt-hours of electricity delivered by the taxpayer within each electric competitive service area described in section 437A.4, subsection 4, during the tax year and the total taxable therms of natural gas delivered by the taxpayer within each natural gas competitive service area described in section 437A.5, subsection 4, during the tax year.

b. For a municipal utility taxpayer, the total transfers made by the taxpayer under section 384.89 within each competitive service area during the preceding calendar year, allocated between electric-related transfers and natural gas-related transfers and total credits described in section 437A.4, subsection 5, and section 437A.5, subsection 5.

c. The transfer replacement taxes imposed by section 437A.4, subsection 1, paragraph “b”, and section 437A.5, subsection 1, paragraph “b”, due for the tax year.

3. A return shall be signed by an officer, or other person duly authorized by the taxpayer, and must be certified as correct and in accordance with forms and rules prescribed by the director in the case of a return filed pursuant to subsection 1, and in accordance with forms and rules prescribed by the chief financial officer of the city in the case of a return filed pursuant to subsection 2.

4. a. At the time of filing the return required by subsection 1 with the director, the taxpayer shall calculate the tentative replacement tax due for the tax year. The director shall compute any adjustments to the replacement tax required by subsection 7 and by section 437A.4, subsection 8, and section 437A.5, subsection 8, and notify the taxpayer of any such adjustments in accordance with the requirements of such provisions. The director and the department of management shall compute the allocation of replacement taxes among local taxing districts and report such allocations to county treasurers pursuant to section 437A.15. Based on such allocations, the treasurer of each county shall notify each taxpayer on or before August 31 following a tax year of its replacement tax obligation to the county treasurer. On or before September 30, 2000, and on or before September 30 of each subsequent year, the taxpayer shall remit to the county treasurer of each county to which such replacement tax is allocated pursuant to section 437A.15, one-half of the replacement tax so allocated, and on or before the succeeding March 31, the taxpayer shall remit to the county treasurers the remaining replacement tax so allocated. If notification of a taxpayer’s replacement tax obligation is not mailed by a county treasurer on or before August 31 following a tax year, such taxpayer shall have thirty days from the date the notification is mailed to remit one-half of the replacement tax otherwise required by this subsection to be remitted to such county treasurer on or before September 30. If a taxpayer fails to timely remit replacement taxes as provided in this subsection, the county treasurer of each affected county shall notify the director of such failure.

b. If a distribution electric cooperative member or a municipal utility purchasing member subject to section 437A.15, subsection 3, paragraph “b”, does not make timely payment of the correct amount of replacement tax to the generation and transmission electric cooperative, the generation and transmission electric cooperative shall notify the director in writing within ten days after September 10. The director shall then notify the generation and transmission electric cooperative in writing within five days after delivery of notice to the director of the paid amount to be remitted to the appropriate county treasurer and shall also notify the county treasurer. The generation and transmission electric cooperative shall remit the amount determined by the director to the appropriate county treasurer by September 30. If the generation and transmission electric cooperative timely notifies the director and timely remits to the county treasurer the amounts of replacement tax, as determined by the director, the generation and transmission electric cooperative shall not be liable for that unpaid replacement tax due from the distribution electric cooperative member or municipal utility purchasing member. The generation and transmission electric cooperative shall also not be liable for a special utility property tax levy, if any, and shall not be entitled to a tax credit, if any, attributable to the unpaid replacement tax. The county treasurer and the director shall enforce payment of the replacement tax against the appropriate distribution electric cooperative member or municipal utility purchasing member pursuant to sections 437A.9 through 437A.13. The county treasurer shall enforce payment of the special utility property tax levy, if any, against the appropriate distribution electric cooperative member or municipal utility purchasing member. For purposes of this paragraph:

(1) Written notice to the director must be either delivered to the director by electronic means, United States postal service, or a common carrier, by ordinary, certified, or registered mail directed to the attention of the director, be personally delivered to the director, or be served on the director by personal service during business hours. If the notice is mailed, a notice is considered delivered on the date of the postmark. If a postmark date is not present on the mailed article, the date of receipt of notice shall be considered the date of the mailing. A notice is considered delivered on the date personal service or personal delivery to the office of the director is made.

(2) Written notice to a generation and transmission electric cooperative must be delivered to the cooperative by electronic means, United States postal service, or a common carrier, by ordinary, certified, or registered mail, directed to the attention of the manager of the cooperative, be personally delivered to the manager of the cooperative, or be served on the manager of the cooperative by personal service during business hours. For the purpose of mailing, a notice is considered delivered on the date of the postmark. If a postmark date is not present on the mailed article, the date of receipt of notice shall be considered the date of the mailing. A notice is considered delivered on the date personal service or personal delivery to the office of the manager of the cooperative is made.

c. If a generation and transmission electric cooperative, after notice, does not timely pay the correct amount of replacement tax or special utility property tax levy attributable to the excess property tax liability to the appropriate county treasurer, after receiving the required payment from the distribution electric cooperative member or municipal utility purchasing member, such replacement tax shall be enforced solely against the generation and transmission electric cooperative under sections 437A.9 through 437A.13, and shall not be enforced against the paying distribution electric cooperative member or municipal utility purchasing member, and the special utility property tax levy shall be enforced solely against the generation and transmission electric cooperative.

d. Notwithstanding paragraph “a”, a taxpayer who owns or leases a new electric power generating plant and who has no other operating property in the state of Iowa except for operating property directly serving the new electric power generating plant as described in section 437A.16 shall pay the replacement generation tax associated with the allocation of the local amount to the county treasurer of the county in which the local amount is located and shall remit the remaining replacement generation tax, if any, to the director according to paragraph “a” for remittance of the tax to county treasurers. The director shall notify each taxpayer on or before August 31 following a tax year of its remaining replacement generation tax to be remitted to the director. All remaining replacement generation tax revenues received by the director shall be deposited in the property tax relief fund created in section 426B.1, and shall be distributed as provided in section 426B.2.

If a taxpayer has paid an amount of replacement tax, penalty, or interest which was deposited into the property tax relief fund and which was not due, all of the provisions of section 437A.14, subsection 1, paragraph “b”, shall apply with regard to any claim for refund or credit filed by the taxpayer. The director shall have sole discretion as to whether the erroneous payment will be refunded to the taxpayer or credited against any replacement tax due, or to become due, from the taxpayer that would be subject to deposit in the property tax relief fund.

5. At the time of filing the return required by subsection 2, the taxpayer shall calculate the municipal transfer replacement tax due for the tax year. Municipal transfer replacement taxes shall be paid to the chief financial officer of the city to which the taxes are allocated at such time and place as directed by the city council.

6. Notwithstanding subsections 1 through 5, a taxpayer shall not be required to file a return otherwise required by this section or remit any replacement tax for any tax year in which the taxpayer’s replacement tax liability before credits is three hundred dollars or less, provided that all electric companies, electric cooperatives, municipal utilities, and natural gas companies shall file a return, regardless of the taxpayer’s replacement tax liability.

7. Following the determination of electric and natural gas delivery tax rates by the director pursuant to section 437A.4, subsection 3, and section 437A.5, subsection 3, if an adjustment resulting from a taxpayer appeal is made to taxes levied and paid by a taxpayer with respect to any of the assessment years 1993 through 1997 used in determining such rates, the director shall recalculate the delivery tax rate for any affected electric or natural gas competitive service area to reflect the impact of such adjustment as if such adjustment had been reflected in the initial determination of average centrally assessed property tax liability allocated to electric or natural gas service pursuant to section 437A.4, subsection 3, paragraph “a”, and section 437A.5, subsection 3, paragraph “a”. Rate recalculations shall be made and published in the Iowa administrative bulletin by the director on or before March 31 following the calendar year in which a final determination of the adjustment is made. Taxpayers shall report to the director any increase or decrease in the tentative replacement tax required to be shown to be due pursuant to subsection 1, paragraph “e”, for any tax year with the return for the year in which the recalculated tax rates which gave rise to the adjustment are published in the Iowa administrative bulletin. The director and the department of management shall redetermine the allocation of replacement taxes pursuant to section 437A.15 for each affected tax year. If a taxpayer has overpaid replacement taxes, the overpayment shall be reported by the director to such taxpayer and to the appropriate county treasurers and shall be a credit against the replacement taxes owed by such taxpayer for the year in which the recalculated rates which gave rise to the overpayment are published in the Iowa administrative bulletin. If a taxpayer has overpaid centrally assessed property taxes for assessment years prior to tax year 1999, such overpayment shall be a credit against replacement taxes owed by such taxpayer for the year in which the overpayment is determined. Unused credits may be carried forward and used to reduce future replacement tax liabilities until exhausted.

98 Acts, ch 1194, §9, 40; 2000 Acts, ch 1114, §7, 17, 18; 2001 Acts, ch 145, §5 – 8, 13; 2003 Acts, ch 106, §10, 15; 2010 Acts, ch 1161, §5, 11

Referred to in §437A.4, 437A.5, 437A.9, 437A.14, 437A.15, 437A.16, 437A.16A, 437A.17B, 437A.24