Scope
Iowa Administrative Code rules 701-215.12 and 701-215.13 (Department of Revenue; chapter version dated 5 February 2025; ARC 8160C, effective 28 August 2024) implement the data center sales and use tax exemption in Iowa Code section 423.3(95) and the data center refunds in section 423.4(7) and (8). Rule 215.12 says a data center business that fails the statutory investment qualification loses the right to claim the exemption and must pay the taxes on purchases previously claimed exempt, plus penalty and interest, and that items are exempt only when used in operating or maintaining the data center business. Rule 215.13 sets refund tiers by investment amount and construction type and requires compliance with the sustainable design and construction standards in 661-Chapter 310.
- Geographic scope
- Iowa
- Jurisdiction
- State
- Authority type
- Government agency
- Issuing authority
- Iowa Department of Revenue
Dates
- Adopted
- No adoption day is recorded
- Effective
- 28 August 2024
- Scheduled expiration
- See completion condition
- Ended
- Not recorded as ended
- Completion condition
- The rules state no expiration.
- Source document
- 5 February 2025
- Last checked
- 23 September 2026 (earlier than tracker date 5 October 2026; not an automatic status change)
Summary
The Iowa Department of Revenue rules 701-215.12 and 701-215.13 implement the state sales and use tax exemption and refunds for data center businesses. They say a business that misses the statutory investment requirement loses the exemption and owes the tax it did not pay, with penalty and interest; limit exempt purchases to items used to operate or maintain the data center business; and set out refund tiers by investment amount and whether the building is new or rehabilitated. The rules took effect on 28 August 2024 and were published in the chapter version dated 5 February 2025. They predate the 2025 duration limits on the fuel and electricity exemptions.
What this does not establish
- The rules were last amended in 2024, before 2025 Iowa Acts chapter 148 limited the duration of the backup-fuel and electricity exemptions for new construction on or after 6 June 2025. The rules do not restate those limits; the statute controls where the two differ.
- Rule 215.13(6)(b) states a 6 percent cap on refunds, while the current Code text of section 423.4 states five percent. The record does not resolve that difference.
- The effective day stored is the ARC 8160C effective date printed after each rule. The Department adoption day is not printed, so no adoption day is stored.
- The Department of Revenue guidance page for data centers (dated 3 November 2025) is a supporting source, not the rule.
Unresolved questions
- Whether the Department has proposed rule changes to reflect 2025 Iowa Acts chapter 148 was not checked in the Iowa Administrative Bulletin.
Relationships
Supersession means a later instrument replaces the earlier legal effect. Repeal links identify the repeal instrument and the measure it ends. A later implementation or related letter is not treated as a replacement unless the record says so.
- Related, not a replacement Data center business sales tax exemption (In effect)
Sources
https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/701.215.pdf
- Iowa Department of Revenue: Data Center Sales and Use Tax Incentives Agency guidance naming rules 701-215.12 and 215.13 and describing registration and annual reporting · 3 November 2025