- Assessment basis
- True value in money (market value), then STATUTORY SUBCLASS RATIOS: RESIDENTIAL real 19% / AGRICULTURAL-HORTICULTURAL 12% (on PRODUCTIVE-use value from State Tax Commission soil-productivity grades, not market, when actively farmed) / ALL OTHER real including COMMERCIAL, industrial, utility, and railroad 32%. Tangible personal property is 33 1/3% (vehicles at trade-in value from the current October issue of the STC-selected pricing guide — NADA/KBB/Edmunds, §137.115). Commercial real pays roughly 1.68x residential per dollar of value from the ratio spread alone — PLUS a county-set SURTAX on subclass (3) commercial real (the merchants'/manufacturers' inventory-tax replacement, §139.600) on top of regular levies.
- Reassessment cycle
- 114 elected COUNTY ASSESSORS + the City of St. Louis Assessor (115 jurisdictions) value all property under MISSOURI STATE TAX COMMISSION supervision; the STC itself does Original Assessment of railroads, airlines, pipelines, and utilities that cross county lines. TRUE VALUE then STATUTORY SUBCLASS RATIOS: residential 19% / agricultural 12% (productive-use value when actively farmed) / commercial-and-all-other 32%; personal property 33 1/3%. Real property is reassessed BIENNIALLY as of JANUARY 1 of ODD years (holding through the even year absent new construction); personal property every year. St. Louis City and St. Louis County are separate jurisdictions.
- Reassessment trigger
- January 1 of each odd year for real property (annually for personal); new construction can enter even-year rolls. Valuation notices mailed by JUNE 15 when values rise.
- Personal & intangible property
- Tangible personal property at 33 1/3% — the owner files an assessment list before MARCH 1 ($15-$105 late penalty); vehicles at trade-in value from the current October issue of the STC-selected guide (NADA/KBB/Edmunds). A non-assessment waiver issues to those owning no taxable personal property on January 1.
- CRE forecasting note
- The 32% commercial ratio against 19% residential is the headline — commercial carries about 1.68x the residential burden per dollar, and the actively-farmed 12% agricultural tier (productive-use grades, not market) is a real land-banking factor. The biennial odd-year cycle concentrates risk: an odd-year value carries two years, so work that June-15 notice. The BOE deadline shifts by COUNTY CLASS (commonly the second Monday in July statewide); then the State Tax Commission by September 30 or 30 days after the BOE. Pay under protest to preserve position. Utilities and railroads are the STC's original assessment; St. Louis City and County are separate; Kansas City spans four counties.
- Residential note
- Homes ride the 19% residential ratio. Missouri has no statewide homestead exemption that lowers assessed value, but relief is real and claim-based: the MISSOURI PROPERTY TAX CREDIT (the MO-PTC 'circuit breaker') refunds up to $1,100 for qualifying senior or 100%-disabled homeowners and $750 for renters, within income limits, claimed through your state income-tax filing (not the assessor); and the newer SENIOR REAL-PROPERTY TAX FREEZE (SB 190/SB 756) can freeze an eligible senior's real-property tax at a base year IF your county has adopted it — adoption and mechanics vary county by county, so confirm locally. Personal-property lists are due before March 1. To contest a value: meet with the assessor, then the Board of Equalization (commonly by the second Monday in July, but verify your county), then the State Tax Commission.
SPLIT RATE — Missouri's three-tier real spread on true value: residential 19% / agricultural 12% (productive-use value, not market, when actively farmed) / commercial-industrial-and-all-other 32% — commercial pays about 1.68x residential per dollar. Personal property rides 33 1/3%.
APPEAL DEADLINE — The Board of Equalization deadline is COUNTY-CLASS-DEPENDENT — commonly the second Monday in July statewide (§137.385; the old third-Monday-in-June rule was repealed in 2008), so verify locally; then the State Tax Commission by September 30 or 30 days after the BOE, whichever is later. Pay under protest to preserve position.
FILING REQUIRED RELIEF — Personal-property assessment lists are due before MARCH 1 ($15-$105 late penalty). Relief is claim-based: the MO-PTC circuit-breaker credit runs through income-tax filing, and the new SB 190 senior freeze must be adopted by your county and applied for.
REFORM IN FLIGHT — The SB 190/SB 756 senior real-property tax-FREEZE credit is being adopted county by county with uneven mechanics and base years — a live, non-uniform rollout across all 115 jurisdictions.
STATE ASSESSED — The State Tax Commission's Original Assessment section values railroads, airlines, pipelines, and electric and telecommunication property that crosses county lines — not the county assessor.
Primary sources: Missouri State Tax Commission Definitions + FAQ + Reassessment pamphlet + About (subclass ratios, odd-year cycle, NADA vehicles, three-step appeal, original assessment); Butler/Cass/Jefferson/Adair/City-of-St-Louis assessor pages (county-class BOE deadlines, June 15 notice, MO-PTC + SB 190 senior relief); Ch. 137/138 RSMo, Sec 137.115 (as of 2026-07-05). Confirm current rules and figures with the assessing authority before any use.