Current as of November 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice.
Iowa did not adopt the Uniform Trust Code. Its own Iowa Trust Code, Chapter 633A, requires an annual accounting for trusts created on or after July 1, 2002, and ties that accounting directly to the trustee's protection: a trustee who fails to provide it cannot rely on the one-year limitation period.
Who must provide an accounting in Iowa
Section 633A.4213 requires the trustee of an irrevocable trust to keep the qualified beneficiaries reasonably informed about the administration and the material facts they need to protect their interests.
The trustee tells each qualified beneficiary of the right to an annual accounting and a copy of the trust instrument, how to obtain them, and whether the beneficiary will receive an annual accounting without taking any action. That notice goes out within a reasonable time after the administration begins, after the trustee learns of a new qualified beneficiary or a representative, after the trust becomes irrevocable, or once no one but the trustee can change the beneficiaries.
The trustee then provides an accounting every year to each adult beneficiary, and the representative of any minor or incompetent beneficiary, who may receive a distribution of income or principal during the period, unless the accounting has been waived for that period. Where the settlor can still change the beneficiaries, or someone holds a presently exercisable general power of appointment, the trustee reports only to that person.
The section applies to trusts created on or after July 1, 2002, unless the settlor specifically waives it in the trust instrument. A waiver does not bar a beneficiary's common law right to an accounting.
What an Iowa trust accounting must contain
The format and content are within the trustee's discretion, so long as the accounting is sufficient to reasonably inform the beneficiary of the trust's condition and activities during the period. On request, it must include the beginning and ending balances.
Income and principal allocation in Iowa
Allocation is governed by Iowa's Uniform Principal and Income Act, Chapter 637.
Filing an accounting with the Iowa court
Under section 633A.6101, the district court sitting in probate has exclusive jurisdiction of proceedings concerning a trust's internal affairs, and any interested party may invoke it. Unless the trust is under continuous court supervision, it is not subject to the probate court's jurisdiction and the court does not issue letters.
If a trustee refuses, after a written request, to provide a required accounting or notice, the court may order compliance and assess costs, including attorney fees, against the trustee personally.
When an Iowa accounting is contested
Section 633A.4504 bars a claim for breach of trust against a beneficiary who received an accounting under section 633A.4213, or another report, that adequately disclosed the claim, unless a proceeding begins within one year after receipt. A report includes a letter delivered by or for the trustee. An accounting or report discloses adequately if it gives enough information that the beneficiary knows of the claim or reasonably should have inquired into it.
Receipt is defined: an adult who can understand the accounting must receive it personally; otherwise it goes to the adult's legal representative, or to a minor's guardian, conservator or a parent without a conflict of interest.
Under section 633A.4213, apart from a court order on request, the only consequence of failing to provide the required accounting or notice is that the trustee cannot rely on this one-year bar.
How T.E.A. Fiduciary helps
We prepare Iowa annual accountings under section 633A.4213 that disclose enough to start the section 633A.4504 one-year period, and the opening notices of beneficiaries' rights. We work alongside your attorney and your tax preparer; we do not prepare tax returns.
This page provides general information about Iowa fiduciary accounting requirements and is not legal or tax advice. Statutes and court rules change. Verify the current text before relying on any of it, and consult counsel on questions of legal interpretation.
More: the uniform framework · all state pages · our services
Primary source: Iowa Code Chapter 633A (Iowa Trust Code), Iowa Legislature.
Written by Christina Gutman, C.P.A. — Founder and Principal of T.E.A. Fiduciary. Christina is licensed as a Certified Public Accountant by the State of California and has specialized exclusively in fiduciary accounting for over a decade, preparing trust, estate, and conservatorship accountings for law firms, professional fiduciaries, trust companies, family offices, and individual trustees nationwide. She has also served as a forensic consultant in contested accounting matters. More about Christina
