Missouri homeowners pay an average effective property tax rate of roughly 0.88% of their home’s market value, which is below the national average.1Tax Foundation. Missouri Tax Rates and Rankings But if you’re asking how much property tax is in Missouri for your specific situation, the answer depends on three numbers: what your property is worth, the assessment percentage the state assigns to that type of property, and the combined local tax levy where the property sits. Missouri also taxes vehicles and other tangible personal property, so most residents receive two separate bills each year.
What Fraction of Your Property’s Value Is Actually Taxed
Missouri does not apply the tax levy to your property’s full market value. The county assessor first multiplies the market value by a fixed assessment percentage set in state law, and only that reduced figure — the assessed value — is taxable.2Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes Title X Chapter 137 Section 137-015 – Classification of Property
For real property, the assessment percentages are:3Missouri Revisor of Statutes. RSMo Section 137.115 – Assessment Percentages
- Residential property: 19% of market value
- Agricultural property: 12% of market value
- Commercial, industrial, and utility property: 32% of market value
Tangible personal property is generally assessed at 33.3% of market value. Several subclasses are lower: livestock, farm machinery, and poultry at 12%; grain and unprocessed crops at 0.5%; historic motor vehicles and certain qualifying aircraft at 5%; and solar energy equipment installed before August 9, 2022, also at 5%.3Missouri Revisor of Statutes. RSMo Section 137.115 – Assessment Percentages
How to Calculate Your Bill
Missouri property tax follows a two-step formula. Multiply market value by the assessment percentage to get assessed value. Then apply the local levy, which is quoted as a dollar amount per $100 of assessed value.4Missouri State Tax Commission. How Property Tax Bills Are Calculated
Here is a full worked example for a $250,000 home in a jurisdiction with a combined levy of $5.70 per $100:
- Market value: $250,000
- Residential assessment rate: 19%
- Assessed value: $250,000 × 0.19 = $47,500
- Total levy: $5.70 per $100
- Annual tax: $47,500 ÷ 100 × $5.70 = $2,707.50
The same math works for personal property. Two vehicles worth a combined $15,000 have an assessed value of $4,995 at the 33.3% rate. At a $5.70 levy, the personal property bill comes to about $285.5StoneCo-Mo.us. The Property Tax in Missouri
Why Two Missouri Homes of the Same Value Pay Different Amounts
The levy is the piece of the calculation that changes most from one address to the next. Your total levy is the sum of rates charged by every taxing jurisdiction covering your property: usually a school district, county government, road district, library district, fire protection district, and sometimes a city or special district. School districts typically account for the largest share.
Two homes with identical market values in different parts of the state can therefore produce very different bills. Areas with voter-approved bonds for school construction or expanded emergency services carry higher levies. One small piece of every levy is uniform statewide: the Missouri Constitution requires three cents per $100 of assessed value dedicated to the Blind Pension Fund, and that line appears on every property tax bill in the state.6Missouri Senate. Fiscal Note – Perfected SS for SJR 46
Missouri’s Hancock Amendment also caps how much total revenue local taxing jurisdictions can pull from existing property. When reassessments push overall assessed values up, taxing authorities must roll their levy rates back so revenue from existing property grows by no more than the rate of inflation or 5%, whichever is lower. The rollback is automatic. It does not, however, cap your individual bill: if your property’s value climbed more than the average in your jurisdiction, your share of the total rises even after the rollback.
Personal Property: The Second Bill Most Residents Get
Missouri taxes tangible personal property annually, and every resident who owns taxable items — vehicles, boats, trailers, farm equipment, or business assets — must file a declaration with the county assessor each year. The declaration lists everything you owned as of January 1, including the vehicle identification number for each vehicle.7St. Louis County Government. File Personal Property Declaration Ownership on January 1 controls the bill for the whole year, whether you later sell the item or not.
The declaration deadline is March 1. Miss it and the county adds a late-filing penalty to your bill, typically tiered by total assessed value and often ranging from $15 to $105. Forms received after April 1 can trigger an additional 10% penalty on the assessed amount.8City of St. Louis. Personal Property Tax Department
Your paid personal property receipt matters beyond the tax office. The Missouri Department of Revenue requires it to renew license plates or register a new vehicle. Without a current receipt or a Statement of Non-Assessment (a tax waiver), the license office will not process the registration.
Credits That Can Reduce Your Bill
The Missouri Property Tax Credit, commonly called the circuit breaker, provides a direct credit to residents age 65 and older and to individuals who are 100% disabled, including disabled veterans with a 100% rating. The maximum credit is $1,100 per year for homeowners and $750 for renters, and eligibility is based on total household income.9Missouri Department of Revenue. Property Tax Credit You claim it by filing Form MO-PTC with the Missouri Department of Revenue.
Several categories of property are fully exempt: property owned by government entities, nonprofit cemeteries, and property used exclusively for religious worship, education, or charitable purposes.5StoneCo-Mo.us. The Property Tax in Missouri Ordinary owner-occupied homes are not exempt in Missouri; the residential 19% assessment rate is the main built-in break for homeowners.
When Bills Are Due and What Late Payment Costs
Real estate and personal property tax bills are mailed in the fall, and payment is due by December 31. Most counties accept online payments, mailed checks, and in-person payment at the collector’s office. Credit card payments typically carry a processing fee set by the vendor.
If your mortgage lender collects taxes through escrow, the lender normally requests the bill directly from the collector before October 1 and you will not receive a bill at home. If a bill does arrive, forward it to your mortgage company right away. You remain responsible for making sure taxes are paid on time even when a servicer handles it.
Taxes paid or postmarked after December 31 are subject to interest of up to 18% per year plus a 2% penalty under state law.10Missouri Revisor of Statutes. RSMo Section 139.100 – Delinquent Tax Penalty Additional interest accrues on the first of each month from January through September for every year the balance remains unpaid.8City of St. Louis. Personal Property Tax Department
Real property left unpaid for three years can be foreclosed on by the county. After a judgment of foreclosure, the property goes to a delinquent land tax auction, usually in August. The owner can stop the sale by paying all back taxes, penalties, and court costs before the auction, or by entering a payment agreement after judgment. If the court confirms the sale and no appeal is filed within 20 days, the buyer receives a deed and the former owner loses the property.1116th Circuit Court of Jackson County. Delinquent Land Tax Sale Overview
If Your Assessed Value Looks Too High
Since assessed value drives the bill, challenging the value is how you challenge the amount. Missouri has a three-step appeal process with firm deadlines. Start with an informal appeal at the county assessor’s office; that window generally opens around May 1 and closes in late June. Comparable sales data, a recent appraisal, or photos of condition issues carry the most weight.
If that does not resolve it, file a formal appeal with the county Board of Equalization, which convenes on the first Monday in July, with appeals typically due by the second Monday in July. From there, you can appeal to the Missouri State Tax Commission by filing a Complaint for Review of Assessment. The commission’s deadline is September 30 of the assessment year or 30 days after the Board of Equalization decision, whichever is later, and these deadlines are statutory and cannot be extended.12Missouri State Tax Commission. File An Appeal A successful appeal in an odd-numbered reassessment year carries into the following even-numbered year.
One protection worth knowing before an appeal: an assessor cannot raise a residential property’s assessed value by more than 15% from the prior reassessment without conducting a physical exterior inspection and notifying the owner.3Missouri Revisor of Statutes. RSMo Section 137.115 – Assessment Percentages If your notice shows a jump above that threshold, you can request an interior inspection before accepting the new value.