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Iowa Probate Accounting
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Iowa Probate Accounting

Iowa probate accounting for the personal representative: the 120-day report and inventory, interim reports, and the final report under Iowa Code 633.477.

By Settled Editorial

Iowa probate accounting is how you show the district court what came into the estate and where it went. As personal representative, you keep a running record of receipts and disbursements, file a report and inventory early, and end with a final report that accounts for every dollar before the court discharges you. This guide walks each filing in order and points to the Iowa statute behind it.

Use this guide with the Iowa executor duties guide, the Iowa creditor claims guide, the Iowa probate timeline, and the Iowa probate guide. For the office where you file, see the Iowa district court directory.

Why the Accounting Matters

The accounting duty comes from your role as a fiduciary. You hold the estate's money and property for the people entitled to it, so Iowa asks you to prove, on the record, what you received and what you paid out.

A clean accounting also protects you. It shows the court and the beneficiaries that you paid valid claims in the right order, handled taxes, and distributed only what the estate could support. When your records reconcile and every payment has a voucher behind it, you close the estate with far less friction. When they do not, you are open to a claim that you mismanaged estate funds, and a personal representative who mixes estate money with personal money or pays out too early can end up personally liable.

Iowa has no separate probate court. You file with the clerk of the district court in the county where the person lived, and the district court reviews and approves your reports.

Your First Accounting: The Report and Inventory

Before any final numbers are due, you file a report and inventory with the clerk. You file it within 120 days after you qualify, unless the court grants more time, under Iowa Code section 633.361. The 2026 legislature extended this deadline from 90 days, effective July 1, 2026 (House File 2532). You verify the report under penalty of perjury.

The report and inventory is the opening balance of the estate ledger. Under section 633.361, it lists:

  • The decedent's Iowa real estate, with legal descriptions and estimated values
  • Any real estate the decedent owned outside Iowa
  • Personal property that is exempt from execution, with estimated values
  • All other personal property of the decedent, with estimated values
  • Items subject to Iowa inheritance tax (for deaths before January 1, 2025) or federal estate tax

Court costs of two-tenths of one percent (0.2%) are figured on the probate assets you list here, under section 633.31, so the inventory sets both the ledger and the court cost. Value each asset as of the date of death, and pull the number from a statement, title, deed, or appraisal rather than memory. Every later report traces back to these figures, so accuracy now saves rework at closing.

Interim Reports During Administration

Some estates run for a year or more while claims, taxes, or a property sale work themselves out. Iowa lets you report progress along the way.

You can file an interlocutory accounting at any time to show the condition of the estate, its debts and property, the money you received, and how you handled the assets, under Iowa Code section 633.469. The court can also order one on its own motion or at the request of any interested party, and it can direct further accountings as the estate moves along.

Interim reports keep the court and the beneficiaries current and reduce surprises at the end. They matter most when administration stretches past a year, when the estate holds a business or rental property, or when a beneficiary asks what is happening with their share.

What the Final Report Must Contain

The estate closes on a final report, and section 633.477 sets what it holds. The final report is where your bookkeeping becomes a formal accounting. It must set forth:

  • A description of any real estate the decedent owned that you did not sell and convey
  • Whether the decedent died with a will or without one
  • The surviving spouse, and in intestate estates the heirs, or in testate estates the devisees, with their addresses and relationship
  • Whether any distributee is under a legal disability, and the conservator or trustee for that person
  • An accounting of all property that came into your hands, with a detailed accounting of every cash receipt and disbursement
  • A statement that the tax requirements are met, including federal estate tax and, for deaths before January 1, 2025, Iowa inheritance tax
  • A statement that the claims requirements are met and that claims and charges have been paid
  • On request, an itemization of the attorney's services, time, and responsibilities

The accounting in that fifth item is the heart of the report. You can omit the detailed accounting only if all interested parties waive it, and a distributee who is an adult under no legal disability may waive the accounting under section 633.470.

The Accounting Itself: Receipts and Disbursements

Whether it is an interim or a final report, the accounting follows the same shape. Everything ties back to a voucher, statement, or receipt.

Beginning balance. The starting point: the value from the report and inventory for a first accounting, or the ending balance carried forward from an earlier report.

Receipts. Everything that came into the estate during the period:

  • Cash collected from bank and investment accounts in the estate's name
  • Income earned after death, such as interest, dividends, and rent
  • Proceeds from the sale of estate property
  • Refunds and other money paid to the estate

Disbursements. Every payment out of estate funds, each backed by a voucher:

  • Reasonable funeral and burial expenses
  • Valid claims and creditor payments, paid in the order Iowa sets
  • Costs of administration, such as court costs, publication, appraisals, and bond charges
  • Personal representative and attorney fees allowed by the court
  • Taxes, including the decedent's final income tax if the estate paid it

Distributions and ending balance. Amounts and assets you delivered to each beneficiary, with signed receipts, and what remains on hand. Property you did not otherwise dispose of can be distributed in kind under section 633.472. A final accounting should reconcile to zero, or near it, once distribution is done.

Closing the Estate and Getting Discharged

Distribution and closing come last, and only after the estate can support them. Before you hand anything to a beneficiary, confirm that notice to creditors ran, the four-month claim bar passed, valid claims were paid in order, and any surviving spouse elective share was addressed. The Iowa creditor claims guide and the Iowa surviving spouse rights guide cover those steps.

Final settlement is due within three years after the second publication of the notice to creditors, unless the court orders otherwise, under section 633.473. On final settlement, the court enters an order discharging you from further duties, and the order approving the final report waives any recital you left out of section 633.477, under section 633.479.

Iowa also lets a routine estate skip the formal order. If every distributee is an adult under no legal disability, each signs a waiver of notice and a statement of consent, the consents are dated within 30 days of the final report, the tax steps are done, and the required receipts are on file, then the prayer of the final report operates as the discharge and the approval without a separate court order, under section 633.479.

A chapter 635 small estate, where the probate assets are $200,000 or less, closes by a sworn closing statement served on all interested parties instead of a court-approved final report, and the personal representative's fee is capped at 3% of the gross probate assets unless services are itemized, under section 635.8. Do not make final distributions before the court has approved the accounting for that period, because paying out early can leave you liable for a later valid claim.

How the Accounting Ties to Your Fee

Your accounting also sets the timing of your pay. Iowa allows the personal representative a reasonable fee up to a statutory ceiling: 6% of the first $1,000 of the gross assets listed in the probate inventory, 4% of the amount between $1,000 and $5,000, and 2% of everything over $5,000, under section 633.197. The estate's attorney is paid on the same schedule under section 633.198.

Iowa Court Rule 7.2(4) ties payment to your filings. You can take half of the ordinary fee when the tax return is prepared, or when none is required, when the probate inventory is filed. You take the rest when the final report is filed and the costs are paid. So the two accounting milestones, the inventory and the final report, are also the two points where your fee is released.

Protecting Yourself as Personal Representative

Open a separate estate account on day one. Run every estate transaction through it, and never mix estate money with personal money. This one habit keeps your accounting clean.

Keep every voucher and receipt. The court and the beneficiaries can ask for proof behind any disbursement. Hold documentation for each dollar in and each dollar out from the first day.

Date everything. Note when you received a claim, when you paid a bill, and when you distributed. Dates settle most accounting questions.

Track the 120-day and three-year clocks. The report and inventory is due within 120 days of qualification, and final settlement within three years of the second publication of the notice to creditors.

Ask the clerk about procedure, not strategy. The clerk of the district court can explain what a filing must contain and how to submit it, but cannot advise you on your own situation. For that, a licensed Iowa attorney is the right resource.

Common Questions

When is the first accounting due in an Iowa estate?

You file the report and inventory with the clerk of the district court within 120 days after you qualify, unless the court grants more time, under Iowa Code section 633.361. The deadline moved from 90 to 120 days effective July 1, 2026.

What is the difference between an interim report and a final report?

An interim, or interlocutory, report under section 633.469 shows the estate's condition partway through administration. The final report under section 633.477 accounts for every receipt and disbursement, confirms taxes and claims are handled, and asks the court to approve the accounting and discharge you.

Can beneficiaries waive the accounting in Iowa?

Yes. A distributee who is an adult under no legal disability may waive the accounting under section 633.470, and you can omit the detailed accounting from the final report if all interested parties waive it under section 633.477.

When does an Iowa estate officially close?

The estate closes when the court approves the final report and enters an order discharging you under section 633.479. Final settlement is due within three years after the second publication of the notice to creditors under section 633.473. A chapter 635 small estate closes by a sworn closing statement instead.

This guide is general information about Iowa estates. It is not legal advice. Confirm anything that affects your situation with the clerk of the district court or a licensed Iowa attorney.

Sources:

It is not legal advice.

Information current as of July 15, 2026

Settled Estate is not a law firm, and this content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Probate laws and procedures in Iowa can change. Consult with a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation. Full disclaimer.

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