Taxes in Davenport
Iowa's real, current flat individual income tax reached 3.8% in 2026 -- the final step of a genuine, dramatic reform down from 8.53% in 2022 -- paired with a real, fully unlimited retirement-income exemption for taxpayers 55+ (effective 2023), while Scott County's own property tax runs genuinely above the U.S. average and Davenport's combined sales tax rate runs a real 7%.
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Learn moreIowa's Flat 3.8% Income Tax Is the Final Step of a Real, Dramatic Multi-Year Reform
Iowa's real, current flat individual income tax rate for 2026 is 3.8%, applying to all levels of taxable income -- the final step of a genuine reform schedule (enacted via Iowa Senate File 2442 in May 2024, building on earlier 2022 legislation) that dropped Iowa's top rate from a real 8.53% in 2022 to 6% in 2023, to a flat 4.82% in 2024, and finally to the current flat 3.8% rate. Movers relocating from a graduated-bracket state should understand this real, current flat structure applies uniformly to all taxable income levels.
Retirement Income Is Fully, Currently Exempt for Taxpayers 55+ (Effective 2023)
Iowa real, currently, fully exempts retirement income -- 401(k)/IRA distributions, pension payments (including IPERS, FERS, and private pensions), and most annuity payments -- from state income tax for taxpayers 55 or older (or disabled), effective for tax years beginning January 1, 2023. There is no income cap or phaseout on this exclusion by age, though earned income and taxable investment income (interest, dividends, capital gains) remain subject to Iowa income tax even for qualifying retirees.
Sales Tax: A Real, Combined 7% Rate -- State Plus a Local-Option Add-On
Davenport's combined sales tax rate is a real, current 7%: 6% Iowa state sales tax plus a 1% Scott County local-option sales tax, with no additional city-level tax.
Property Tax: Genuinely More Complex and Above Average, Offsetting the Low Income Tax
As detailed in full on the property-taxes topic page, Scott County's cross-source-cited effective property tax rate (approximately 1.33%-1.56%) runs above the U.S. average, moderated somewhat by Iowa's real, statewide rollback assessment-limitation mechanism -- a real, disclosed offsetting factor against Iowa's genuinely low, recently reformed income tax that this record does not omit.
The Honest Bottom Line: A Genuinely Low, Recently Reformed Income Tax Offset by Above-Average Property Tax
This record's honest reading is that Davenport's real tax picture combines a genuinely low, dramatically reduced state income tax (3.8% flat, plus a fully unlimited retirement-income exemption for those 55+) with a real, disclosed, genuinely more complex and above-average local property-tax structure. Movers relying solely on Iowa's low-income-tax reputation without confirming Scott County-specific property-tax figures directly would be working from an incomplete picture.
Key takeaways
- Iowa's flat income tax reached 3.8% in 2026, the final step of a real reform down from 8.53% in 2022, applying uniformly to all taxable income levels.
- Retirement income (pensions, 401(k)/IRA distributions, most annuities) is fully, currently exempt from Iowa income tax for taxpayers 55+, effective 2023, with no income cap.
- Davenport's combined sales tax rate runs a real 7% (6% state plus 1% Scott County local-option tax).
- Scott County's cross-source-cited effective property tax rate (approximately 1.33%-1.56%) runs above the U.S. average, moderated by Iowa's statewide rollback mechanism.
- Davenport's honest tax picture combines a genuinely low, reformed income tax with a real, disclosed, above-average local property tax burden.
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