Missouri Property Tax Appeals & Dates
The professionals at Savage & Browning recommend that you retain representation throughout your Missouri county appraiser valuation appeal.
Savage & Browning is an experienced commercial property tax appeal firm representing businesses and non-profits in real estate tax assessment and exemption appeals in front of Missouri county Boards of Equalization, the Missouri State Tax Commission and Missouri State Courts.
Our Knowledgeable and experienced attorneys, appraisers, accountants and other real property tax experts will greatly increase your chances of a reduction in valuation and help you navigate the complex appeal process.
We represent Missouri property owners in their county tax appraisal appeal. We have won successful real estate property tax reductions for our clients in St. Louis County, Jackson County, St. Charles County, Greene County, Clay County, Jefferson County, Boone County, Jasper County, Cass County, Platte County as well as in every corner of even the smallest Missouri county.
We often are able to find more compelling reasons for reduction and additional favorable comparable properties to support the appeal in the more urban areas of Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield, Columbia, independence, Lee's Summit, O'Fallon, St. Joseph, St. Charles and St. Peters.
Fair Market Value by County Appraisers
In Missouri appraisers in each county are responsible for valuing all property January 1 of each year. Properties are appraised in the most fair manner possible and are based primarily on fair market values. Missouri law rquires that the county Assessor reassess real estate every odd-numbered year (2021, 2023, 2-25, etc.) for tax purposes. The value based on real estate remains the same for the following even numbered year. NOTE that improvements or new construction can be reflected on the tax rolls even in an even numbered year.
What is fair market value and how is it determined?
By definition, fair market value is the amount an informed buyer is willing to pay and the amount an informed seller is willing to take for property in an open market with no undue influence.
Typically, fair market value is calculated using one of three methods:
- Sales Approach - the county appraiser reviews similar properties that have sold, compares them to your property and may make adjustments for differing characteristics. This approach is most suitable to simple residential property in an area with a good number of sales of comparable properties.
- Cost Approach - the county determines replacement cost of the property less depreciation. This approach is most suitable to a new or unique property with few comparable properties.
- Income Approach - the value of the property is estimated based upon the income the property is expected to produce. This approach is most suitable to value commercial property when sufficient market rent and expense information is available.
One fair market value has been determined the assessor calculates a percentage of that value to arrive at assessed value. The percentages used are based upon the type of property and how it is used:
- Residential Property - 19% of the fair market value
- Commercial Property - 12% of the fair market value
- Agricultural Property - 12% of the market vale unless the land is actively farmed and then the assessment is based on "productive capability"
Each county must mail valuation notices to all property owners on or before June 15. Property taxes are based on the assessed valuation and the tax rates set by the local government where the property is located.
The trend by county appraisers is to increase valuations based on sales of new properties. Rising prices plus population increases can lead to unjustifiable tax increases due to overvaluation, discrimination, misgraded agricultural land or misclassification. Property tax assessments may be appealed but there are a number of strict deadlines that must be followed and retaining a property tax appeal professional is recommended at each stage.
Appealing County Valuation
In Missouri there are generally three stages for contesting property value assessments:
- Informal Meeting at the Assessor's Office. These meetings are often unsuccessful but with the right representation incredibly informative allowing you and your representative to learn how the assessment was made, what factors were considered and what records were used by the Assessor.
- Appeal to the Board of Equalization. The Board of Equalization (BOE) is a statutory Board governed by the Missouri Constitution and Statutes. A property owner's representative may appeal the assessed value to the county BOE or request an exemption. The deadline for filing an appeal is very strict and appeals can be filed in both odd and even-numbered years.
- Appeal to the Missouri State Tax Commission. If the BOE appeal is unsuccessful the owner may appeal to the Missouri State Tax Commission by September 30 or 30 days after the BOE decision, whichever is later. Note that property taxes must be paid on or before December 31 and become delinquent after that date. The appeals process can be lengthy and taxes are usually due and must be paid before the appeal is complete. Accordingly, the property owner must usually pay the tax under protest. Any overpayment will be refunded upon a successful result before the State Tax Commission.
Don’t delay. Contact Savage & Browning today and let us get a jump on valuing your real properties and determining the best cases to be made for assessment reduction.
With the uncertainty of Covid-19 shutting down many businesses, property owners have seen unprecedented shifts in cash flow from shuttered businesses or residential tenants who lost the ability to pay rent. Additionally, there are other considerations that can be presented to justify assessment reductions:
- Equitability of the Assessment
- Building Age and Type
- Needed Improvements and Repairs
- Vacancy
- All Forms of Depreciation / Obsolescence
- Highest & Best Use of Your Property
- Lease Agreements
- Appraisal
- Factual or Expert Witness Testimony from the Owner or Third-party Witnesses
As a part of our long history, our team worked hard over the years to build and maintain positive relationships with the various assessment offices and other property tax professionals. These relationships facilitate appeal and negotiation since we have proven our credibility time and again.
Our Process
We start each engagement with a Real Estate Appraisal Review that includes:
- Obtaining data from you, the client and taxing authorities.
- We identify appraisal methods used in assessing properties and audit the results for accuracy.
- We aggressively seek and secure refunds for past years tax over-payments when inaccurate assessments are identified.
- We use cost, market and income approaches in preparing appeals for presentation to taxing authorities.
- We review the assessed value of comparable properties to ensure fair and equal standards.
- We use comparable assessments and calculations of cash equivalency values in presentations to taxing authorities.
If we determine that your real estate valuation by the county is unjustifiably too high, we go to bat for you throughout the entire Real Estate Property Tax Appeal Process:
- We arrange for and conduct diligent, informal settlement discussions with taxing authorities.
- When advisable, we file written protests with tax appraisal review boards for all unsuccessful appeals at the informal level.
- We attend hearings and offer personal presentations of expert testimony before tax appraisal review boards to support lower values.
- If appropriate, we recommend legal counsel and provide support services for continuing an appeal at the state level.
Throughout the entire process you will receive status reports and so you know where we stand in your property tax valuation reduction appeal:
- A preliminary tax savings report using estimated tax rates.
- A final tax savings report using actual tax rates and identifying savings by property.
- A tax comparison report on a property-by-property basis including current and prior year's values and taxes.
- A narrative report pertaining to research, analysis, and negotiation activity.
Once we have established a familiarity with your property we are prepared to Administer your real estate property tax valuation on an annual basis, always looking for opportunities to appeal and reduce valuations or mitigate increases in valuation.
On your behalf we will:
- Respond to inquiries from taxing authorities.
- Provide tax estimates for accrual and budgeting purposes.
- On a timely basis, obtain, audit and forward tax bills to clients with an approval letter.
- Seek and secure corrected tax bills where inaccuracies are discovered.
- Upon request, provide clients with copies of parcel maps from taxing authorities.
- Verify the property tax proration on escrow closing statements for acquisitions or dispositions.
Important Dates
| REAL ESTATE | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date | Events | Notes |
| Jan 01 | Assessment Date | |
| Apr – Jun | Value Notices Issued | Must be sent by June 15 |
| Jun 15 | Appeal Deadline | 3rd Monday in July for 1st class counties |
| Jul 15 | Appeal Deadline | 3rd Monday of July for non-1st class counties |
| Nov 01 | Tax Bills Issued | 1st Mon in Aug. Appeal to County Board |
| Decc 31 | Tax Bills Due |
| PERSONAL PROPERTY | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date | Events | Notes |
| Jan 01 | Assessment Date | |
| Mar 01 | PP Returns Due | Inventory exempt; St. Louis City due Apr 01 |
| May 01 | If assessed value is different from rendered value, notice issued | |
| Jun 18 | Appeal Deadline | 3rd Monday in June or 30 days after notice |
| Nov 01 | Tax Bills Issued | |
| Dec 31 | Tax Bills Due |
Ready to reduce your Kansas real estate property taxes?
Contact us today to learn more about how we reduce the single highest expense for most income producing properties.