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SB1522 • 2026

Modifies provisions relating to property taxes

Modifies provisions relating to property taxes

Taxes
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Nicola, Joe; House handler: N/A
Last action
2026-02-05
Official status
Second Read and Referred S Select Committee on Property Taxes and the State Tax Commission Committee
Effective date
2026-08-28

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Modifies provisions relating to property taxes

The following summaries of this bill are available: Print All Summaries Introduced Print SB 1522 - This act modifies provisions relating to property taxes.

What This Bill Does

  • The following summaries of this bill are available: Print All Summaries Introduced Print SB 1522 - This act modifies provisions relating to property taxes.
  • PROPERTY INSPECTIONS Current law requires an assessor to perform a physical inspection of a parcel of residential real property prior to increasing the valuation of such property by more than fifteen percent.
  • This act clarifies that the owner of such property shall have at least thirty days prior to the physical inspection to notify the assessor that the owner desires an interior inspection.
  • Additionally, the act requires the physical inspection to be completed prior to July 1 of the reassessment year.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-05 S307

    Second Read and Referred S Select Committee on Property Taxes and the State Tax Commission Committee

  2. 2026-01-07 S105

    S First Read

Official Summary Text

The following summaries of this bill are available:

Print All Summaries

Introduced

Print

SB 1522 - This act modifies provisions relating to property taxes.

PROPERTY INSPECTIONS
Current law requires an assessor to perform a physical inspection of a parcel of residential real property prior to increasing the valuation of such property by more than fifteen percent. This act clarifies that the owner of such property shall have at least thirty days prior to the physical inspection to notify the assessor that the owner desires an interior inspection. Additionally, the act requires the physical inspection to be completed prior to July 1 of the reassessment year. (Section 137.115)

PROPERTY TAX ASSESSMENTS
This act provides that if the common level of assessment, as defined in the act, in a subclass is lower than the individual level of assessment, as defined in the act, of any parcel in such subclass, then the individual level of assessment for such parcel shall be reduced to the common level of assessment. Such reduction shall be made upon an appeal by the taxpayer. (Section 137.132)

PROPERTY TAX APPEALS
Current law provides that, in any appeal in which an assessor fails to provide evidence of a physical inspection required by law, the taxpayer shall prevail as a matter of law. This act also provides that the assessor's increased assessed valuation shall be void in its entirety and the previous assessed valuation shall be applied. (Section 138.060)

This act provides that if a transfer of ownership of real property occurs after January 1 of a non-reassessment year, the new owner shall be entitled to appeal the assessed value of such property directly to the State Tax Commission by no later than December 31 of such year, regardless of whether the previous owner appealed the value of the property during the previous reassessment year. (Section 138.135)

Current law authorizes any first class charter county or city not within a county to require, by ordinance or charter, the reimbursement of just and reasonable appraisal costs, attorney fees, and court costs resulting from hearings before the State Tax Commission for taxpayer appeals of property assessments. This act requires such reimbursements. This act also increases the maximum amount of fees to be reimbursed from $1,000 to $5,000 for residential property appeals, and from $4,000 to $5,000 for utility, industrial railroad, or other subclass three property appeals. (Section 138.434)

PROTESTED PROPERTY TAXES
Current law requires a taxpayer to file a written protest of property taxes with the collector at the same time such taxpayer makes full payment of such taxes. This act repeals such requirement.

This act also provides that the interest due to a taxpayer whose protested taxes were distributed to a taxing authority shall be calculated from the date that the protested taxes were distributed to the taxing authority through the date of the refund.

Any taxpayer determined by a circuit court or the State Tax Commission to be entitled to a refund of property taxes shall receive such refund from the collector within thirty days of the final determination of the refund amount by the circuit court or State Tax Commission. If such refund is not issued within thirty days, the taxpayer shall be entitled to interest on the refund as calculated under current law. (Section 139.031)

This act is identical to SB 786 (2025) and SB 1001 (2024), and is substantially similar to SB 786 (2025), HB 1582 (2025), HCS/HB 2445 (2024), SS/SB 95 (2023), and SB 1108 (2022), and to provisions in SS/SCS/SB 15 (2023).
JOSH NORBERG

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
and is intended to be omitted in the law.
SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 1522
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR NICOLA.
6461S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal sections 137.115, 138.060, 138.135, 138.434, and 139.031, RSMo, and to enact in lieu
thereof six new sections relating to property taxes.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 137.115, 138.060, 138.135, 138.434, 1
and 139.031, RSMo, are repealed and six new sections enacted in 2
lieu thereof, to be known as sections 137.115, 137.132, 138.060, 3
138.135, 138.434, and 139.031, to read as follows:4
137.115. 1. All other laws to the contrary 1
notwithstanding, the assessor or the assessor's deputies in 2
all counties of this state including the City of St. Louis 3
shall annually make a list of all real and tangible personal 4
property taxable in the assessor's city, county, town or 5
district. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3 of 6
this section and section 137.078, the assessor shall 7
annually assess all personal property at thirty-three and 8
one-third percent of its true value in money as of January 9
first of each calendar year. The assessor shall annually 10
assess all real property, including any new construction and 11
improvements to real property, and possessory interests in 12
real property at the percent of its true value in money set 13
in subsection 5 of this section. The true value in money of 14
any possessory interest in real property in subclass (3), 15
where such real property is on or lies within the ultimate 16
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airport boundary as shown by a federal airport layout plan, 17
as defined by 14 CFR 151.5, of a commercial airport having a 18
FAR Part 139 certification and owned by a political 19
subdivision, shall be the otherwise applicable true value in 20
money of any such possessory interest in real property, less 21
the total dollar amount of costs paid by a party, other than 22
the political subdivision, towards any new construction or 23
improvements on such real property completed after January 24
1, 2008, and which are included in the above-mentioned 25
possessory interest, regardless of the year in which such 26
costs were incurred or whether such costs were considered in 27
any prior year. The assessor shall annually assess all real 28
property in the following manner: new assessed values shall 29
be determined as of January first of each odd-numbered year 30
and shall be entered in the assessor's books; those same 31
assessed values shall apply in the following even-numbered 32
year, except for new construction and property improvements 33
which shall be valued as though they had been completed as 34
of January first of the preceding odd-numbered year. The 35
assessor may call at the office, place of doing business, or 36
residence of each person required by this chapter to list 37
property, and require the person to make a correct statement 38
of all taxable tangible personal property owned by the 39
person or under his or her care, charge or management, 40
taxable in the county. On or before January first of each 41
even-numbered year, the assessor shall prepare and submit a 42
two-year assessment maintenance plan to the county governing 43
body and the state tax commission for their respective 44
approval or modification. The county governing body shall 45
approve and forward such plan or its alternative to the plan 46
to the state tax commission by February first. If the 47
county governing body fails to forward the plan or its 48
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alternative to the plan to the state tax commission by 49
February first, the assessor's plan shall be considered 50
approved by the county governing body. If the state tax 51
commission fails to approve a plan and if the state tax 52
commission and the assessor and the governing body of the 53
county involved are unable to resolve the differences, in 54
order to receive state cost-share funds outlined in section 55
137.750, the county or the assessor shall petition the 56
administrative hearing commission, by May first, to decide 57
all matters in dispute regarding the assessment maintenance 58
plan. Upon agreement of the parties, the matter may be 59
stayed while the parties proceed with mediation or 60
arbitration upon terms agreed to by the parties. The final 61
decision of the administrative hearing commission shall be 62
subject to judicial review in the circuit court of the 63
county involved. In the event a valuation of subclass (1) 64
real property within any county with a charter form of 65
government, or within a city not within a county, is made by 66
a computer, computer-assisted method or a computer program, 67
the burden of proof, supported by clear, convincing and 68
cogent evidence to sustain such valuation, shall be on the 69
assessor at any hearing or appeal. In any such county, 70
unless the assessor proves otherwise, there shall be a 71
presumption that the assessment was made by a computer, 72
computer-assisted method or a computer program. Such 73
evidence shall include, but shall not be limited to, the 74
following: 75
(1) The findings of the assessor based on an appraisal 76
of the property by generally accepted appraisal techniques; 77
and 78
(2) The purchase prices from sales of at least three 79
comparable properties and the address or location thereof. 80
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As used in this subdivision, the word "comparable" means 81
that: 82
(a) Such sale was closed at a date relevant to the 83
property valuation; and 84
(b) Such properties are not more than one mile from 85
the site of the disputed property, except where no similar 86
properties exist within one mile of the disputed property, 87
the nearest comparable property shall be used. Such 88
property shall be within five hundred square feet in size of 89
the disputed property, and resemble the disputed property in 90
age, floor plan, number of rooms, and other relevant 91
characteristics. 92
2. Assessors in each county of this state and the City 93
of St. Louis may send personal property assessment forms 94
through the mail. 95
3. The following items of personal property shall each 96
constitute separate subclasses of tangible personal property 97
and shall be assessed and valued for the purposes of 98
taxation at the following percentages of their true value in 99
money: 100
(1) Grain and other agricultural crops in an 101
unmanufactured condition, one-half of one percent; 102
(2) Livestock, twelve percent; 103
(3) Farm machinery, twelve percent; 104
(4) Motor vehicles which are eligible for registration 105
as and are registered as historic motor vehicles pursuant to 106
section 301.131 and aircraft which are at least twenty-five 107
years old and which are used solely for noncommercial 108
purposes and are operated less than two hundred hours per 109
year or aircraft that are home built from a kit, five 110
percent; 111
(5) Poultry, twelve percent; 112
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(6) Tools and equipment used for pollution control and 113
tools and equipment used in retooling for the purpose of 114
introducing new product lines or used for making 115
improvements to existing products by any company which is 116
located in a state enterprise zone and which is identified 117
by any standard industrial classification number cited in 118
subdivision (7) of section 135.200, twenty-five percent; and 119
(7) Solar panels, racking systems, inverters, and 120
related solar equipment, components, materials, and supplies 121
installed in connection with solar photovoltaic energy 122
systems, as described in subdivision (46) of subsection 2 of 123
section 144.030, that were constructed and producing solar 124
energy prior to August 9, 2022, five percent. 125
4. The person listing the property shall enter a true 126
and correct statement of the property, in a printed blank 127
prepared for that purpose. The statement, after being 128
filled out, shall be signed and either affirmed or sworn to 129
as provided in section 137.155. The list shall then be 130
delivered to the assessor. 131
5. (1) All subclasses of real property, as such 132
subclasses are established in Section 4(b) of Article X of 133
the Missouri Constitution and defined in section 137.016, 134
shall be assessed at the following percentages of true value: 135
(a) For real property in subclass (1), nineteen 136
percent; 137
(b) For real property in subclass (2), twelve percent; 138
and 139
(c) For real property in subclass (3), thirty-two 140
percent. 141
(2) A taxpayer may apply to the county assessor, or, 142
if not located within a county, then the assessor of such 143
city, for the reclassification of such taxpayer's real 144
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property if the use or purpose of such real property is 145
changed after such property is assessed under the provisions 146
of this chapter. If the assessor determines that such 147
property shall be reclassified, he or she shall determine 148
the assessment under this subsection based on the percentage 149
of the tax year that such property was classified in each 150
subclassification. 151
6. Manufactured homes, as defined in section 700.010, 152
which are actually used as dwelling units shall be assessed 153
at the same percentage of true value as residential real 154
property for the purpose of taxation. The percentage of 155
assessment of true value for such manufactured homes shall 156
be the same as for residential real property. If the county 157
collector cannot identify or find the manufactured home when 158
attempting to attach the manufactured home for payment of 159
taxes owed by the manufactured home owner, the county 160
collector may request the county commission to have the 161
manufactured home removed from the tax books, and such 162
request shall be granted within thirty days after the 163
request is made; however, the removal from the tax books 164
does not remove the tax lien on the manufactured home if it 165
is later identified or found. For purposes of this section, 166
a manufactured home located in a manufactured home rental 167
park, rental community or on real estate not owned by the 168
manufactured home owner shall be considered personal 169
property. For purposes of this section, a manufactured home 170
located on real estate owned by the manufactured home owner 171
may be considered real property. 172
7. Each manufactured home assessed shall be considered 173
a parcel for the purpose of reimbursement pursuant to 174
section 137.750, unless the manufactured home is deemed to 175
be real estate as defined in subsection 7 of section 442.015 176
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and assessed as a realty improvement to the existing real 177
estate parcel. 178
8. Any amount of tax due and owing based on the 179
assessment of a manufactured home shall be included on the 180
personal property tax statement of the manufactured home 181
owner unless the manufactured home is deemed to be real 182
estate as defined in subsection 7 of section 442.015, in 183
which case the amount of tax due and owing on the assessment 184
of the manufactured home as a realty improvement to the 185
existing real estate parcel shall be included on the real 186
property tax statement of the real estate owner. 187
9. The assessor of each county and each city not 188
within a county shall use a nationally recognized automotive 189
trade publication such as the National Automobile Dealers' 190
Association Official Used Car Guide, Kelley Blue Book, 191
Edmunds, or other similar publication as the recommended 192
guide of information for determining the true value of motor 193
vehicles described in such publication. The state tax 194
commission shall select and make available to all assessors 195
which publication shall be used. The assessor of each 196
county and each city not within a county shall use the trade- 197
in value published in the current October issue of the 198
publication selected by the state tax commission. The 199
assessor shall not use a value that is greater than the 200
average trade-in value in determining the true value of the 201
motor vehicle without performing a physical inspection of 202
the motor vehicle. For vehicles two years old or newer from 203
a vehicle's model year, the assessor may use a value other 204
than average without performing a physical inspection of the 205
motor vehicle. In the absence of a listing for a particular 206
motor vehicle in such publication, the assessor shall use 207
such information or publications that, in the assessor's 208
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judgment, will fairly estimate the true value in money of 209
the motor vehicle. For motor vehicles with a true value of 210
less than fifty thousand dollars as of January 1, 2025, the 211
assessor shall not assess such motor vehicle for an amount 212
greater than such motor vehicle was assessed in the previous 213
year, provided that such motor vehicle was properly assessed 214
in the previous year. 215
10. Before the assessor may increase the assessed 216
valuation of any parcel of subclass (1) real property by 217
more than fifteen percent since the last assessment, 218
excluding increases due to new construction or improvements, 219
the assessor shall conduct a physical inspection of such 220
property. 221
11. If a physical inspection is required[,] pursuant 222
to subsection 10 of this section, the assessor shall notify 223
the property owner of that fact in writing and shall provide 224
the owner clear written notice of the owner's rights 225
relating to the physical inspection. If a physical 226
inspection is required, the property owner may request that 227
an interior inspection be performed during the physical 228
inspection. The owner shall have no less than thirty days 229
prior to the physical inspection to notify the assessor of a 230
request for an interior physical inspection. 231
12. A physical inspection[, as] required by subsection 232
10 of this section[,] shall be completed prior to July first 233
of the reassessment year and shall include, but not be 234
limited to, an on-site personal observation and review of 235
all exterior portions of the land and any buildings and 236
improvements to which the inspector has or may reasonably 237
and lawfully gain external access, and shall include an 238
observation and review of the interior of any buildings or 239
improvements on the property upon the timely request of the 240
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owner pursuant to subsection 11 of this section. Mere 241
observation of the property via a drive-by inspection or the 242
like shall not be considered sufficient to constitute a 243
physical inspection as required by this section. 244
13. A county or city collector may accept credit cards 245
as proper form of payment of outstanding property tax or 246
license due. No county or city collector may charge 247
surcharge for payment by credit card which exceeds the fee 248
or surcharge charged by the credit card bank, processor, or 249
issuer for its service. A county or city collector may 250
accept payment by electronic transfers of funds in payment 251
of any tax or license and charge the person making such 252
payment a fee equal to the fee charged the county by the 253
bank, processor, or issuer of such electronic payment. 254
14. Any county or city not within a county in this 255
state may, by an affirmative vote of the governing body of 256
such county, opt out of the provisions of this section and 257
sections 137.073, 138.060, and 138.100 as enacted by house 258
bill no. 1150 of the ninety-first general assembly, second 259
regular session and section 137.073 as modified by house 260
committee substitute for senate substitute for senate 261
committee substitute for senate bill no. 960, ninety-second 262
general assembly, second regular session, for the next year 263
of the general reassessment, prior to January first of any 264
year. No county or city not within a county shall exercise 265
this opt-out provision after implementing the provisions of 266
this section and sections 137.073, 138.060, and 138.100 as 267
enacted by house bill no. 1150 of the ninety-first general 268
assembly, second regular session and section 137.073 as 269
modified by house committee substitute for senate substitute 270
for senate committee substitute for senate bill no. 960, 271
ninety-second general assembly, second regular session, in a 272
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year of general reassessment. For the purposes of applying 273
the provisions of this subsection, a political subdivision 274
contained within two or more counties where at least one of 275
such counties has opted out and at least one of such 276
counties has not opted out shall calculate a single tax rate 277
as in effect prior to the enactment of house bill no. 1150 278
of the ninety-first general assembly, second regular 279
session. A governing body of a city not within a county or 280
a county that has opted out under the provisions of this 281
subsection may choose to implement the provisions of this 282
section and sections 137.073, 138.060, and 138.100 as 283
enacted by house bill no. 1150 of the ninety-first general 284
assembly, second regular session, and section 137.073 as 285
modified by house committee substitute for senate substitute 286
for senate committee substitute for senate bill no. 960, 287
ninety-second general assembly, second regular session, for 288
the next year of general reassessment, by an affirmative 289
vote of the governing body prior to December thirty-first of 290
any year. 291
15. The governing body of any city of the third 292
classification with more than twenty-six thousand three 293
hundred but fewer than twenty-six thousand seven hundred 294
inhabitants located in any county that has exercised its 295
authority to opt out under subsection 14 of this section may 296
levy separate and differing tax rates for real and personal 297
property only if such city bills and collects its own 298
property taxes or satisfies the entire cost of the billing 299
and collection of such separate and differing tax rates. 300
Such separate and differing rates shall not exceed such 301
city's tax rate ceiling. 302
16. Any portion of real property that is available as 303
reserve for strip, surface, or coal mining for minerals for 304
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purposes of excavation for future use or sale to others that 305
has not been bonded and permitted under chapter 444 shall be 306
assessed based upon how the real property is currently being 307
used. Any information provided to a county assessor, state 308
tax commission, state agency, or political subdivision 309
responsible for the administration of tax policies shall, in 310
the performance of its duties, make available all books, 311
records, and information requested, except such books, 312
records, and information as are by law declared confidential 313
in nature, including individually identifiable information 314
regarding a specific taxpayer or taxpayer's mine property. 315
For purposes of this subsection, "mine property" shall mean 316
all real property that is in use or readily available as a 317
reserve for strip, surface, or coal mining for minerals for 318
purposes of excavation for current or future use or sale to 319
others that has been bonded and permitted under chapter 444. 320
137.132. 1. For the purposes of this section, and in 1
any appeal alleging a violation thereof, the following terms 2
shall mean: 3
(1) "Common level of assessment", the ratio of the 4
total of the assessor's assessed values for all real 5
property in a subclass, as verified pursuant to section 6
137.245, to the total of actual true values in money of the 7
same real property, expressed as a percentage, and measured 8
by an assessment ratio study; 9
(2) "Individual level of assessment", the ratio of an 10
assessor's assessed value for an individual parcel of real 11
property, as verified pursuant to section 137.245, to the 12
actual true value in money of such real property, expressed 13
as a percentage. 14
2. The level of assessment of all real property in 15
subclass (1) or subclass (3), as provided in section 16
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137.115, shall be uniform and equal throughout each 17
subclass. If the common level of assessment in either 18
subclass is lower than the individual level of assessment of 19
any parcel in the same subclass, the individual level of 20
assessment of such parcel shall be lowered to the common 21
level of assessment for the subclass upon appeal by the 22
property owner to the local board of equalization, state tax 23
commission, or circuit court. 24
3. When determining the individual level of assessment 25
of a parcel of real property, the lesser of the assessor's 26
appraised value, as verified pursuant to section 137.245, or 27
the appraised value set by the local board of equalization 28
shall be presumed to be the actual true value in money for 29
such real property, absent substantial and persuasive 30
evidence establishing a lower true value in money. 31
138.060. 1. The county board of equalization shall, 1
in a summary way, determine all appeals from the valuation 2
of property made by the assessor, and shall correct and 3
adjust the assessment accordingly. There shall be no 4
presumption that the assessor's valuation is correct. In 5
any county with a charter form of government with a 6
population greater than two hundred eighty thousand 7
inhabitants but less than two hundred eighty-five thousand 8
inhabitants, in any county with a charter form of government 9
with greater than one million inhabitants, in any city not 10
within a county, and in any other county for any property 11
whose assessed valuation increased at least fifteen percent 12
from the previous assessment unless the increase is due to 13
new construction or improvement, the assessor shall have the 14
burden to prove that the assessor's valuation does not 15
exceed the true market value of the subject property. In 16
such county or city, in the event a physical inspection of 17
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the subject property is required by subsection 10 of section 18
137.115, the assessor shall have the burden to establish the 19
manner in which the physical inspection was performed and 20
shall have the burden to prove that the physical inspection 21
was performed in accordance with section 137.115. In such 22
county or city, in the event the assessor fails to provide 23
sufficient evidence to establish that the physical 24
inspection was performed in accordance with section 137.115, 25
the property owner shall prevail on the appeal as a matter 26
of law, and the assessor's increased assessed valuation 27
shall be void in its entirety, and the previous assessed 28
valuation shall be applied to the property in place of the 29
increased assessed valuation. At any hearing before the 30
state tax commission or a court of competent jurisdiction of 31
an appeal of assessment from a first class charter county or 32
a city not within a county, the assessor shall not advocate 33
nor present evidence advocating a valuation higher than that 34
value finally determined by the assessor or the value 35
determined by the board of equalization, whichever is 36
higher, for that assessment period. 37
2. The county clerk shall keep an accurate record of 38
the proceedings and orders of the board, and the assessor 39
shall correct all erroneous assessments, and the clerk shall 40
adjust the tax book according to the orders of such board 41
and the orders of the state tax commission, except that in 42
adding or deducting such percent to each tract or parcel of 43
real estate as required by such board or state tax 44
commission, he shall add or deduct in each case any 45
fractional sum of less than fifty cents, so that the value 46
of any separate tract shall contain no fractions of a dollar. 47
138.135. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of 1
law to the contrary, the county assessor of any county of 2
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the first classification with a population of at least nine 3
hundred thousand inhabitants shall not be a member of the 4
county board of equalization. 5
2. In any county of the first classification with a 6
population of at least nine hundred thousand inhabitants, 7
when there is an order of the board of equalization or the 8
state tax commission, including a settlement order, relating 9
to the assessment of property, the assessment shall remain 10
the same for the subsequent even-numbered year unless there 11
has been new construction or property improvements between 12
January first of the odd-numbered year and January first of 13
the following even-numbered year. However, in the event of 14
a transfer of ownership of real property on or after January 15
first of an even-numbered year, the new owner shall be 16
entitled to appeal the assessed value directly to the state 17
tax commission by no later than December thirty-first of the 18
same year, even if the prior owner appealed the value in the 19
previous odd-numbered year and the appeal resulted in an 20
order of the board of equalization or state tax commission. 21
In any such appeal by a new owner, the state tax commission 22
shall have authority to lower the assessed value for the 23
even-numbered year. 24
3. In any county of the first classification with a 25
population of at least nine hundred thousand inhabitants, 26
when a hearing is conducted by the board of equalization 27
pursuant to this chapter, if the property owner requests to 28
be heard by a majority of the board of equalization, and a 29
majority of the board of equalization is not in attendance 30
for any reason, the position of the property owner shall 31
prevail without further action. 32
138.434. In any first class charter county or a city 1
not within a county [may require by ordinance or charter the 2
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reimbursement to], a taxpayer [for the amount of just and 3
reasonable appraisal costs, attorney fees and court costs] 4
shall be entitled to an award of all attorney's fees and 5
costs of litigation resulting from an evidentiary hearing 6
before the state tax commission or a court of competent 7
jurisdiction, including, but not limited to, attorney's 8
fees, appraisal costs, witness fees, and court costs, 9
whether paid directly by the taxpayer or paid by an 10
attorney, tax agent, or other third party, if such appeal 11
results in a final decision reducing the appraised value of 12
residential property by at least fifteen percent or the 13
appraised value of utility, industrial railroad and other 14
subclass three property by at least twenty-five percent from 15
the appraised value determined by the board of equalization 16
for that tax year. The commission or court awarding such 17
fees and costs shall consider the reasonableness of the fees 18
and costs within the context of the particular case. Such 19
fees and costs shall not exceed [one] five thousand dollars 20
for a residential property appeal. Such fees and costs for 21
utility, industrial railroad or other subclass three 22
property appeals shall not exceed the lesser of [four] five 23
thousand dollars or twenty-five percent of the tax savings 24
resulting from the appeal. The provisions of this section 25
shall only apply to the first contested year when cases are 26
tried on a consolidated basis. 27
139.031. 1. Any taxpayer may protest all or any part 1
of any current taxes assessed against the taxpayer, except 2
taxes collected by the director of revenue of Missouri. Any 3
such taxpayer desiring to pay any current taxes under 4
protest or while paying taxes based upon a disputed 5
assessment shall[, at the time of paying such taxes,] make 6
full payment of the current tax bill before the delinquency 7
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date and file with the collector before the delinquency date 8
a written statement setting forth the grounds on which the 9
protest is based. The statement shall include the true 10
value in money claimed by the taxpayer if disputed. An 11
appeal before the state tax commission shall not be 12
dismissed on the grounds that a taxpayer failed to file a 13
written statement when paying taxes based upon a disputed 14
assessment. 15
2. Upon receiving [payment of current taxes under] 16
written notice of protest under subsection 1 of this section 17
or upon receiving from the state tax commission or the 18
circuit court notice of an appeal from the state tax 19
commission or the circuit court under section 138.430, 20
[along with] and full payment of the current tax bill before 21
the delinquency date, the collector shall disburse to the 22
proper official all portions of taxes not protested or not 23
disputed by the taxpayer and shall impound in a separate 24
fund all portions of such taxes which are protested or in 25
dispute. Every taxpayer protesting the payment of current 26
taxes under subsection 1 of this section shall, within 27
ninety days after filing his protest, commence an action 28
against the collector by filing a petition for the recovery 29
of the amount protested in the circuit court of the county 30
in which the collector maintains his office. If any 31
taxpayer so protesting his taxes under subsection 1 of this 32
section shall fail to commence an action in the circuit 33
court for the recovery of the taxes protested within the 34
time prescribed in this subsection, such protest shall 35
become null and void and of no effect, and the collector 36
shall then disburse to the proper official the taxes 37
impounded, and any interest earned thereon, as provided 38
above in this subsection. 39
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3. No action against the collector shall be commenced 40
by any taxpayer who has, effective for the current tax year, 41
filed with the state tax commission or the circuit court a 42
timely and proper appeal of the assessment of the taxpayer's 43
property. The portion of taxes in dispute from an appeal of 44
an assessment shall be impounded in a separate fund and the 45
commission in its decision and order issued under chapter 46
138 or the circuit court in its judgment may order all or 47
any part of such taxes refunded to the taxpayer, or may 48
authorize the collector to release and disburse all or any 49
part of such taxes. 50
4. Trial of the action for recovery of taxes protested 51
under subsection 1 of this section in the circuit court 52
shall be in the manner prescribed for nonjury civil 53
proceedings, and, after determination of the issues, the 54
court shall make such orders as may be just and equitable to 55
refund to the taxpayer all or any part of the current taxes 56
paid under protest, together with any interest earned 57
thereon, or to authorize the collector to release and 58
disburse all or any part of the impounded taxes, and any 59
interest earned thereon, to the appropriate officials of the 60
taxing authorities. Either party to the proceedings may 61
appeal the determination of the circuit court. 62
5. All the county collectors of taxes, and the 63
collector of taxes in any city not within a county, shall, 64
upon written application of a taxpayer, refund or credit 65
against the taxpayer's tax liability in the following 66
taxable year and subsequent consecutive taxable years until 67
the taxpayer has received credit in full for any real or 68
personal property tax mistakenly or erroneously levied 69
against the taxpayer and collected in whole or in part by 70
the collector. Such application shall be filed within three 71
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years after the tax is mistakenly or erroneously paid. The 72
governing body, or other appropriate body or official of the 73
county or city not within a county, shall make available to 74
the collector funds necessary to make refunds under this 75
subsection by issuing warrants upon the fund to which the 76
mistaken or erroneous payment has been credited, or 77
otherwise. 78
6. No taxpayer shall receive any interest on any money 79
paid in by the taxpayer erroneously. 80
7. All protested taxes impounded under protest under 81
subsection 1 of this section and all disputed taxes 82
impounded under notice as required by section 138.430 shall 83
be invested by the collector in the same manner as assets 84
specified in section 30.260 for investment of state moneys. 85
A taxpayer who is entitled to a refund of protested or 86
disputed taxes shall also receive the interest earned on the 87
investment thereof. If the collector is ordered to release 88
and disburse all or part of the taxes paid under protest or 89
dispute to the proper official, such taxes shall be 90
disbursed along with the proportional amount of interest 91
earned on the investment of the taxes due the particular 92
taxing authority. 93
8. Any taxing authority may request to be notified by 94
the county collector of current taxes paid under protest. 95
Such request shall be in writing and submitted on or before 96
February first next following the delinquent date of current 97
taxes paid under protest or disputed, and the county 98
collector shall provide such information on or before March 99
first of the same year to the requesting taxing authority of 100
the taxes paid under protest and disputed taxes which would 101
be received by such taxing authority if the funds were not 102
the subject of a protest or dispute. Any taxing authority 103
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may apply to the circuit court of the county or city not 104
within a county in which a collector has impounded protested 105
or disputed taxes under this section and, upon a 106
satisfactory showing that such taxing authority would 107
receive such impounded tax funds if they were not the 108
subject of a protest or dispute and that such taxing 109
authority has the financial ability and legal capacity to 110
repay such impounded tax funds in the event a decision 111
ordering a refund to the taxpayer is subsequently made, the 112
circuit court shall order, pendente lite, the disbursal of 113
all or any part of such impounded tax funds to such taxing 114
authority. The circuit court issuing an order under this 115
subsection shall retain jurisdiction of such matter for 116
further proceedings, if any, to compel restitution of such 117
tax funds to the taxpayer. In the event that any protested 118
or disputed tax funds refunded to a taxpayer were disbursed 119
to a taxing authority under this subsection instead of being 120
held and invested by the collector under subsection 7 of 121
this section, the taxpayer shall be entitled to interest on 122
all refunded tax funds, from the date that the disputed 123
taxes were distributed to a taxing authority through the 124
date of the refund, at the [annual rate] rates calculated by 125
the state treasurer and applied by the director of revenue 126
under section 32.068. This measure of interest shall only 127
apply to protested or disputed tax funds actually 128
distributed to a taxing authority pursuant to this 129
subsection. In the event of a refund of protested or 130
disputed tax funds which remain impounded by the collector, 131
the taxpayer shall instead be entitled to the interest 132
actually earned on those refunded impounded tax funds under 133
subsection 7 of this section. Any sovereign or official 134
immunity otherwise applicable to the taxing authorities is 135
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hereby waived for all purposes related to this subsection, 136
and the taxpayer is expressly authorized to seek an order 137
enforcing this provision from the circuit court that 138
originally ordered the distribution of the protested or 139
disputed funds, or directly from the state tax commission, 140
if the tax appeal that resulted in the refund was heard and 141
determined by the state tax commission. 142
9. No appeal filed from the circuit court's or state 143
tax commission's determination pertaining to the amount of 144
refund shall stay any order of refund, but the decision 145
filed by any court of last review modifying that 146
determination shall be binding on the parties, and the 147
decision rendered shall be complied with by the party 148
affected by any modification within ninety days of the date 149
of such decision. No taxpayer shall receive any interest on 150
any additional award of refund, and the collector shall not 151
receive any interest on any ordered return of refund in 152
whole or in part. In the event that a taxpayer is entitled 153
to a refund, the collector shall issue the refund to the 154
taxpayer within thirty days of the date that the circuit 155
court's or state tax commission's determination establishing 156
the amount of the refund becomes final, and if the collector 157
does not issue the refund within thirty days, the taxpayer 158
shall be entitled to interest on the refund at the rate 159
established by the director of revenue under section 32.065 160
for the period of time after the expiration of the thirty 161
days and until the refund is issued, in addition to all 162
other interest due to the taxpayer under this section. 163
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