Missouri property tax reassessment happens every odd-numbered year, with county assessors setting new market values as of January 1. The next statewide reassessment takes effect January 1, 2027, and the value established then will control your tax bills for both 2027 and 2028.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 137.115 – Real and Personal Property, Assessment If the new figure looks too high when your notice arrives, you have a specific window and a specific process to challenge it.
Why One Value Controls Two Years
State law locks in the January 1 value from each odd-numbered year and carries it into the following even-numbered year without change. The only reason your value shifts in the off year is new construction or an improvement you made yourself, and even then the assessor treats the improvement as if it had been finished on January 1 of the preceding odd year.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 137.115 – Real and Personal Property, Assessment
The upside is predictability: you know what your tax basis will be for two years. The downside is that a mid-cycle market drop in 2028 will not show up on your bill until the 2029 reassessment. That makes the appeal window in the reassessment year the one real chance to correct an inflated figure before you pay on it twice.
Your Notice of Value and the June 15 Deadline
Any time the assessor increases your valuation, you must receive written notice by June 15 of the reassessment year.2Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 137.180 – Valuation Increased, Assessor to Notify Owner The notice shows the previous assessed value next to the new figure. In a general reassessment year, it also carries a projected tax liability based on the most recent levy rates from your local taxing districts.
That projection is an estimate. Levy rates can shift after the notice is mailed, and voter-approved bond issues or changes in overall county valuation can push the final rate up or down. Use the number to gauge the size of the change, not to budget to the dollar.
How Market Value Becomes Assessed Value
Missouri does not tax you on your full market value. The state constitution caps assessed value at no more than one-third of true market value and sets fixed percentages by class.3Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Constitution Article X Section 4(b) – Basis of Assessment of Tangible Property
- Residential property is assessed at 19% of market value.
- Agricultural and horticultural land is assessed at 12% of productive or market value.
- Commercial and all other real property is assessed at 32% of market value.4Missouri State Tax Commission. Definitions
If your home has a market value of $250,000, your assessed value is $47,500. Local taxing districts apply their levy rate to that $47,500, not to the full market value. To estimate the impact of your new notice, multiply the new market value by 0.19, subtract your current assessed value, and multiply the difference by your local levy rate. The result is roughly what the reassessment will add to your annual bill.
How the Assessor Came Up With the Number
Residential properties are usually valued through the sales comparison approach, which pulls recent nearby sales of similar homes close to the January 1 assessment date and adjusts for differences in square footage, lot size, condition, and features. New or specialized buildings are often valued through the cost approach: what it would take to rebuild today, minus depreciation, plus land. Rental and commercial properties are more likely to be valued through the income approach, which bases worth on the revenue the property produces. Assessors have discretion to pick the best method for the property and sometimes blend approaches.
The 15% Trigger for a Physical Inspection
When the assessor proposes to raise the assessed value of residential property by more than 15% over the prior assessment, and the increase is not from new construction, state law requires a physical inspection before the increase can take effect.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 137.115 – Real and Personal Property, Assessment A drive-by does not satisfy the statute. The inspector has to conduct an on-site review of all exterior portions of the land and buildings.
You also have the right to request an interior inspection. Once the assessor notifies you that a physical inspection is required, you have at least 30 days to ask for the interior review. That can help if the inside of your home has deferred maintenance or outdated systems the exterior does not show. If the assessor skipped the required inspection, that failure becomes a decisive argument on appeal.
Challenging the Assessment
Start With the Assessor’s Office
Call the assessor as soon as the notice arrives. Many disputes get resolved informally because the issue is a data error: wrong square footage, a bedroom count that does not match reality, or a listed improvement that was never built. Staff can pull your property record card and walk through the valuation with you, and simple corrections can be made without a formal hearing.5Missouri State Tax Commission. How to File an Appeal of Your Assessment
County Board of Equalization
If the informal conversation does not fix the problem, file with your County Board of Equalization by 5:00 p.m. on the second Monday in July of the reassessment year.6Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 138.060 – Appeals From Assessor’s Valuation Miss that date and you lose the right to challenge the value for the full two-year cycle.
Missouri’s rule here is unusually taxpayer-friendly. There is no legal presumption that the assessor’s valuation is correct. When your assessed value jumped more than 15% from the prior assessment and the increase is not from new construction, the assessor bears the burden of proving the value does not exceed market value. If the assessor was required to do a physical inspection under Section 137.115 and failed to do it properly, you win as a matter of law.6Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 138.060 – Appeals From Assessor’s Valuation
The evidence that moves boards is concrete. Comparable sales of similar nearby homes that closed near the January 1 assessment date, matched on square footage, age, condition, and location, carry the most weight. Photographs of problems the mass appraisal missed (cracked foundations, aging roofs, drainage issues, outdated kitchens) are powerful because they are invisible in the assessor’s database. A professional appraisal tied to the January 1 valuation date is persuasive, though a single-family appraisal typically runs $300 to $700. That is worth it when the tax savings over two years exceed the fee.
State Tax Commission
If the Board of Equalization rules against you, you can appeal to the Missouri State Tax Commission. The filing deadline is September 30 or 30 days after the board’s decision, whichever is later.7State Tax Commission of Missouri. Property Tax Appeals Before the State Tax Commission of Missouri You cannot skip the board and go straight to the Commission; the local hearing is a prerequisite. Narrow exceptions apply when you purchased the property within 30 days of the board deadline or when the assessor failed to send the required notice of increase.
What a Higher Assessment Does to Your Escrow
If you pay property taxes through a mortgage escrow account, a reassessment increase will eventually reach your monthly payment. Your servicer runs an escrow analysis at least once a year, comparing projected expenses against the account balance.8Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Escrow Accounts When the new, higher tax bill posts, the analysis will usually show a shortage.
You typically have two choices: pay the shortage as a lump sum or spread it across 12 months of higher payments. Federal law under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act also lets your servicer keep a cushion of up to two months’ worth of escrow payments, so the monthly adjustment may be a bit larger than the tax increase alone. If a big reassessment is coming, call the servicer before the analysis arrives so you can choose how to absorb the change.
Relief Programs Worth Checking
The Missouri Property Tax Credit, often called the “circuit breaker,” provides a partial refund to seniors 65 and older and individuals who are 100% disabled. The maximum credit is $1,100 for homeowners and $750 for renters, based on property taxes or rent paid and total household income.9Missouri Department of Revenue. Property Tax Credit You claim it on your state income tax return. Renters whose landlord does not pay property taxes do not qualify.
Veterans with a 100% service-connected disability rating are also eligible for the credit, subject to income limits. For homeowners who owned and occupied the home all year, the income ceiling is $30,000 for single filers and $34,000 for married couples filing combined. Former prisoners of war with a 100% total service-connected disability qualify for a complete property tax exemption on their homestead.10MyArmyBenefits. Missouri Military and Veterans Benefits
Missouri voters approved a 2024 constitutional amendment letting counties and municipalities freeze property tax assessments for homeowners age 62 and older. Availability depends on whether your local jurisdiction has opted in, so check with your county assessor’s office for the local rules and any income requirements.
Do Not Ignore the Bill While You Dispute the Value
Property taxes are due upon receipt, with a hard deadline of December 31 of the billing year. Payments received or postmarked after that date trigger interest of up to 18% per year plus a 2% penalty, and both are added to your balance.11St. Louis County. Delinquent Property Tax Information Challenging a value you believe is wrong is far less costly than letting the resulting tax bill go unpaid. Appeal the number through the June and July deadlines, and keep paying on time while the dispute runs.