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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 1535
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR CARTER.
6601S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To amend chapter 137, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to a local real property
tax credit for certain disabled veterans.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 137, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto 1
one new section, to be known as section 137.1053, to read as 2
follows:3
137.1053. 1. The section shall be known and may be 1
cited as the "Missouri Disabled Veteran Homestead Tax Credit 2
Act". 3
2. As used in this section, the following terms mean: 4
(1) "County", any county or city not within a county 5
in this state; 6
(2) "Disability rating", the percentage of disability 7
assigned to a disabled veteran by the United States 8
Department of Veterans Affairs, reflecting the degree to 9
which the veteran's disability impacts his or her ability to 10
work and perform daily activities; 11
(3) "Disabled veteran", a Missouri resident who has 12
been separated under honorable conditions from active 13
service in any branch or reserve component of the Armed 14
Forces of the United States or the National Guard of a state 15
as defined in 32 U.S.C. Section 101, as amended, and has a 16
service-connected disability and has received a disability 17
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rating of one hundred percent permanent and total as 18
certified by the United States Department of Veterans 19
Affairs; 20
(4) "Eligible owner", an individual who is a disabled 21
veteran, is the owner of record of the qualified residence 22
or has a legal or equitable interest in a qualified 23
residence as evidenced by a written instrument, and is 24
liable for the payment of real property taxes on the 25
qualified residence; 26
(5) "Homestead", the residential real property that is 27
used as a primary residence and the adjacent real property 28
as is reasonably necessary for use of the residence as a 29
home dwelling; 30
(6) "Primary residence", the real property owned and 31
occupied by an eligible owner as the principal place of 32
residence, and not to exceed five acres of land surrounding 33
it as is reasonably necessary for use of the dwelling as a 34
home; 35
(7) "Qualified amount", for any eligible owner in a 36
given tax year, the total amount of real property taxes 37
levied and imposed on the qualified residence and shall 38
include all ad valorem taxes levied on the qualified 39
residence by any county or other political subdivision 40
including, but not limited to, county levies, municipal 41
levies, school district levies including bonded indebtedness 42
levies, fire protection district levies, library district 43
levies, and any other local ad valorem levy authorized by 44
law, but shall exclude the levy imposed for the state blind 45
pension fund; 46
(8) "Qualified residence", the homestead of an 47
eligible owner that has a market value not to exceed five 48
hundred thousand dollars, but less any portion of that 49
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property that is used for commercial purposes. If the 50
property, or a portion of the property, is rented out to 51
another person for more than six months, it is presumed to 52
be used for commercial purposes. No more than one property 53
per qualified owner per tax year shall be claimed as a 54
qualified residence under this section; 55
(9) "Real property tax credit", a credit against an 56
eligible owner's liability for tax on the qualified 57
residence that is levied and imposed by the governing body 58
of a county or other political subdivision of this state 59
with the power to levy and impose taxes on real property in 60
this state. 61
3. (1) As allowed by the authority granted under 62
Article X, Section 6(a) of the Constitution of Missouri, for 63
all tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2027, a 64
county may grant an annual real property tax credit, as 65
calculated in this subsection, for the qualified residence 66
of an eligible owner if such county adopts an order, 67
ordinance, or resolution authorizing such real property tax 68
credit in such county. 69
(2) The amount of a real property tax credit provided 70
under this section shall be equal to the qualified amount of 71
real property taxes levied and imposed on the eligible 72
owner's qualified residence for such tax year, excluding the 73
levy for the state blind pension fund. 74
(3) If the total market value of the dwelling and 75
surrounding acreage does not exceed five hundred thousand 76
dollars, ownership of additional acreage shall not 77
disqualify an owner from eligibility under the provisions of 78
this section. 79
4. The real property tax credit under this section 80
carries over to the benefit of the eligible owner's 81
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surviving spouse as long as the spouse holds the legal or 82
beneficial title to the qualified residence, permanently 83
resides therein, and does not remarry. No real property tax 84
credit shall be allowed for the tax year in which the 85
surviving spouse remarries, no longer holds legal or 86
beneficial title, or relocates to a different primary 87
residence. 88
5. Real property tax credits issued under the 89
provisions of this section shall not be refundable. No real 90
property tax credit claimed under this section shall be 91
carried forward to any subsequent tax year. The real 92
property tax credit allowed under this section shall not be 93
transferred, assigned, sold, or otherwise conveyed, except 94
as provided under this section. 95
6. Real property tax credits authorized under the 96
provisions of this section shall not reduce assessed 97
valuation and shall not be construed as an exemption from 98
real property taxes. The security for any bonded 99
indebtedness based on assessed valuation shall remain intact. 100
7. An eligible owner who receives a real property tax 101
credit granted under this section shall not be eligible for 102
any other real property tax relief, the property tax credits 103
under sections 135.010 to 135.035, or any other tax credits 104
relating to the eligible owner's qualified residence under 105
this chapter or chapter 135. 106
8. Participation in the program under this section is 107
optional as follows: 108
(1) Any county may, by a majority affirmative vote of 109
the governing body of such county, opt in to the provisions 110
of this section for the next year of the general 111
reassessment, prior to January first of any year; 112
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(2) If the county opts in to the provisions of this 113
section, participation in this program for an eligible owner 114
is also optional. An eligible owner electing to participate 115
in the provisions under this section may opt in by notifying 116
the local collector's office or other entity of such 117
election to request a real property tax credit; and 118
(3) The governing body of the county may, by a 119
majority affirmative vote, opt to rescind and cease the real 120
property tax credit program authorized under this section 121
and previously adopted by the governing body, for the next 122
year of the general reassessment, prior to January first of 123
any year. Any rescission shall be prospective only and 124
shall affect real property tax credits previously applied. 125
9. The governing body of the county may adopt 126
reasonable procedures and promulgate ordinances, rules, and 127
regulations in order to implement and administer the 128
provisions of this section. 129
10. The assessor's office, collector's office, or 130
other entity designated by rule, regulation, or ordinance 131
shall administer the real property tax credit allowed under 132
this section in the same manner as the tax credit authorized 133
under section 137.1050 and shall be subject to similar 134
application, verification, and renewal procedures as adopted 135
by such county, if applicable. Eligibility determinations 136
shall be made in accordance with guidelines established by 137
this section and any additional local rules or regulations. 138
11. For the purposes of calculating property tax 139
levies under section 137.073, and for all other laws 140
prescribing the distribution or allocation of property tax 141
revenues, the total amount of real property tax credits 142
authorized under this section shall be considered tax 143
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revenue actually received by the county or other political 144
subdivision. 145
12. A real property tax credit granted under this 146
section shall not affect the process of setting the tax rate 147
as required under Article X, Section 22 of the Constitution 148
of Missouri and section 137.073 in any prior, current, or 149
subsequent tax year. 150
13. Nothing in this section shall impair the 151
obligation of any contract, reduce or restrict the taxing 152
authority of any political subdivision, or alter the 153
calculation of assessed valuation for the purposes of bonded 154
indebtedness. 155
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