Jefferson County residents who are 62 or older have until June 30 to apply for the new Real Property Tax Credit, which essentially freezes the real property taxes on their primary home.
The application was made available for the new program on March 1. It may be accessed through the county website and the Collector’s Office. Eligible seniors may download the form from the county website, print it and then mail it to P.O. Box 100, Hillsboro, 63050. Seniors may also fill out the form in person at the Collector’s Office inside the Administration Center, 729 Maple St., Suite 36, in Hillsboro.
If approved, seniors will receive a credit equal to the difference between their real estate property tax liability for the given tax year and the liability in the “base” year. For example, seniors who are approved for the tax credit this year will have a partial freeze on their property tax statements based on the year 2024, said Jefferson County Collector Michelle Worth.
“Basically whatever their 2024 tax bill was, that’s going to be the base amount,” she said.
“For seniors who are eligible for the credit next year, or who wait to apply until next year, their base year would be 2025.”
The Jefferson County Council voted in February to allow the county to participate in the state’s tax credit program, sometimes called a senior property tax freeze, outlined in Senate Bill 190 that was approved by the Missouri Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Mike Parson in 2023.
County Counselor Jalesia F. M. Kuenzel said there’s a difference between a tax freeze and a credit.
“The reason this is a tax credit is because a credit is given on the tax bill, but the actual taxes can fluctuate,” she said. “In a tax freeze, there is no credit given, but the tax itself stays the same.”
With this credit system, a senior’s taxes may still increase incrementally even after being accepted into the program, based on changes in certain taxes exempt from the credit, according to the county’s website. Such exemptions include the State of Missouri Blind Pension Fund and voter-approved bond indebtedness levies.
Taxes may also rise if there is an increase in the valuation of a home due to new construction or improvements to the senior’s property, according to the county website.
Worth said, for example, a senior who builds a new structure on their property will improve the assessment of the land.
“(The credit) is a freeze on whatever your tax was, in this case 2024, and what your house was worth,” she said. “If you go out and you put up a $30,000 outbuilding, you just improved the assessment of your land, so that has to be added on. What will happen is you still have that frozen base year for 2024, but the new assessment on new construction is going to be added to that base year, and you’re going to have a new base year for (the year the improvement is made) that includes both of those.”
Kuenzel said seniors will get their credit at the same time they receive their 2025 real estate tax statements at the end of this year.
Seniors will need to reapply for the credit each year, and Worth said the renewal application should be quicker than the initial application, as it’s used to verify that the senior is still the primary property owner.
Where to find the forms
According to the county’s website, the tax credit applications were made available on March 3 at the Northwest Jefferson County Senior Resource Center, 6180 Hwy. MM, in House Springs, and the Quad Cities Senior Center, 221 Bailey Road, in Crystal City, and the Collector’s Office.
County Councilman Bob Tullock (District 7, House Springs) said Feb. 24 that he is working with county staff to make the applications available at the four Jefferson County Library branches.
“A lot of (seniors) don’t have access to computers to be able to do it online. I have had a couple of phone calls from people wanting to find out if these forms are going to be available, perhaps at the libraries.”
The Northwest Branch is located at 5680 Hwy. PP in High Ridge. The Arnold Branch is at 1701 Missouri State Road. The Windsor Branch is at 7479 Metropolitan Blvd. in Barnhart, and the Cedar Hill location is 6780 Mall Drive.
Councilman Charles Groeteke (District 4, Barnhart) added that he will have forms in his office at the Justice Center, 400 First St., in Hillsboro.
Qualifications for the credit
The county considers those eligible for the program to be taxpayers who:
■ Reside in Jefferson County;
■ Are 62 years or older as of Jan. 1, 2024;
■ Are homeowners;
■ Are liable for paying real property taxes;
■ Are not delinquent on real property tax payments.
Applicants will need to provide the following documentation when filling out the tax credit forms:
■ Proof of residency, including a copy of a current utility bill or a bank/credit card statement;
■ Proof of age, including a driver’s license, birth certificate or passport;
■ Proof of ownership, such as a copy of a real property tax bill showing the applicant’s name and address.
Worth said seniors have four months, until June 30, to submit their applications. The office will then work to process the applications and enter the information into a software system which will calculate the proper tax credit for the applicant.
“To be honest, we don’t know what to expect,” she said. “We hope that we’re ready for it, but we have absolutely no idea what to expect, as far as the number of people who will try to come up here (to fill out an application).”
For more information about the credit, visit jeffcomo.org or call the Collector’s Office, 636-797-5406.