Missouri homeowners pay a median of $1,948 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.85%, the 23rd highest of the 51 states we cover. The deadline to appeal: 2nd Monday in July (county BOE). Here is who sets your value, how to challenge it and what evidence works.
Closed for 2026The 2026 Board of Equalization deadline passed on July 13, 2026. The State Tax Commission deadline was September 30, 2026, or 30 days after your board decision, whichever is later. If your board decision is dated September 21, 2026 or later, you may still have time: file with the STC within 30 days of that decision. If you bought your home after June 13, 2026, or never got a timely notice of an increase, you may be able to appeal straight to the STC by December 31, 2026 (or within 30 days after the county first sends you the tax bill, if later). The next window opens with the 2027 reassessment: notices by mid-June 2027, and board appeals due Monday, July 12, 2027.
File your appeal with the county Board of Equalization by the second Monday in July. In most counties you file it with the county clerk. St. Louis County and Jackson County take appeals through their Board of Equalization office, mostly online, and in St. Louis City you file with the assessor's office. The board may choose to extend the time, but do not count on that. Example: Boone County's 2026 appeal form says it must be postmarked by Monday, July 13, 2026, and Clay and Johnson counties used the same date. In Greene County, the last day for 2025 appeals was July 14, 2025. If you bought your home within 30 days before that deadline or later in the year, you may be able to appeal straight to the State Tax Commission by December 31 (or within 30 days after the county first sends you the tax bill, if that is later).
If the assessor raises your value, the assessor must notify you, by June 15 under the notice statutes. The notice tells you how and by when to appeal. If your value did not go up, you usually get no notice, but you can still appeal. In reassessment years, some counties also send an estimate of the tax the increase may cause.
Where you file depends on your county. Pick yours for the office contacts, local tax figures and a step-by-step guide.
Enter the market value on your assessment notice and what you think the home would really sell for. We estimate the yearly saving if the board agrees with you.
Some states cap how fast the taxable value of a home can rise (California, Florida, Michigan and Texas homesteads, for example). If your taxable value is already held below market value by a cap, a lower market value may not lower this year's bill.
The elected county assessor values all real estate in the county (in St. Louis City, the city assessor). The county Board of Equalization hears appeals. In most counties the county clerk, as the board's secretary, takes the appeal forms. Some large counties, such as St. Louis County and Jackson County, take appeals through their own Board of Equalization office, mostly online. In St. Louis City, appeals go through the assessor's office. Homes are valued at market value ("true value in money") as of January 1 of each odd-numbered year. Your assessed (taxable) value is 19% of that market value. Every two years. New values are set as of January 1 of each odd-numbered year (2025, 2027) and carry over to the next even-numbered year. In the even year the value changes only for new construction or improvements, not for market changes. Before raising a home's value by more than 15% (other than for new construction), the assessor must physically inspect it, and you can ask for an interior inspection.
Many assessors hold informal reviews in May and June, after notices go out and before the board deadline. For example, the St. Louis City assessor takes informal appeals from May 1 to June 23, by email or phone. Greene County sets up phone lines for questions with an appraiser. If an informal review fails, you still have to file with the Board of Equalization by the second Monday in July.
What works in Missouri: An appraisal by a state-certified or licensed appraiser. At the STC, the appraiser must attend the hearing, or the report is not accepted.; Your purchase contract and closing statement, if you bought in the last two or three years in a normal sale; Sales of truly comparable nearby homes, with size, age, lot and room details (not just asking prices or listings); Written repair or construction estimates for defects. Photos alone do not prove value.; Corrections to the assessor's record (square footage, finished basement, condition).
Get the appeal form from your county clerk or your county's Board of Equalization page; many counties take it online, by email, by mail or in person. St. Louis County and Jackson County take appeals online through their Board of Equalization. Use one form per parcel. Give the market value you think is right and attach your evidence (appraisal, sales contract, closing statement, repair estimates). The board schedules a short hearing, usually in July or August. You can attend, send an agent or attorney, or appeal in writing. The board mails you a written decision. Note: if you settle on a value with the assessor (a stipulation), you cannot appeal further to the State Tax Commission. Cost: No fee.
At the Board of Equalization, the law says there is no presumption that the assessor's value is correct. The assessor must prove the value is not above market value in St. Louis County and St. Louis City, and in any county when your value rose 15% or more for reasons other than new construction or improvements. At the State Tax Commission, you must prove the value you ask for with substantial and persuasive evidence. Your own opinion alone usually carries little weight.
September 30 of the tax year, or 30 days after the Board of Equalization decision, whichever is later. The STC cannot extend this deadline. For 2026 appeals that meant September 30, 2026, unless the board's decision came after August 31. File a Complaint for Review of Assessment online at stc.mo.gov (preferred), by email to [email protected], or by mail to P.O. Box 146, Jefferson City, MO 65102. Upload a copy of the board's decision letter. Do not send evidence yet; the STC will tell you when. There is no filing fee. A hearing officer may hold a prehearing conference and then an evidentiary hearing by WebEx or in your county. The hearing is like a short trial (about an hour for a home): the rules of evidence apply and you can cross-examine the assessor's witnesses. Within 30 days of the hearing officer's decision, you can ask the three commissioners to review it. After that, you can seek review in court.
The board or STC orders the assessor and county clerk to correct the value on the tax books. A value won in an odd year normally stays for the following even year, and in the next odd year the assessor sets a new value. If you paid taxes on the higher value while your STC appeal was pending, the disputed part was held in a separate fund and is refunded to you with the interest earned.
You can appeal on the ground of 'discrimination', but you must show your home is assessed at a higher percentage of market value than the county average for homes. To do that, you still need proof of your home's market value. The STC says the assessor's values for neighboring homes do not by themselves prove your home's value. This works only in limited cases. Run the numbers with our unequal assessment calculator.
Most wins start with a mistake in the assessor's record of your home. Check it line by line.
Record card checklistAn exemption is separate from an appeal: you apply once and it cuts your taxable value every year. Check you have every one you qualify for.
Missouri has no general homestead exemption. This state credit refunds part of the property tax paid by people 65 or older and by 100% disabled people (and some surviving spouses 60+) with low incomes. For owners who lived in the home all year, the limits were $30,000 for single filers and $34,000 for married couples filing combined (2025 chart). The credit is up to $1,100 for owners, and you claim it from the Department of Revenue.
A county can adopt, by ordinance or by a vote of residents, a credit that freezes the real estate tax on the home of owners 62 or older at the amount owed in their first eligible year. It applies only where your county has adopted it; ask your county collector or assessor.
You can appeal to the board in person, in writing, or through an attorney or agent. Counties may require a signed agent authorization form; Clay County requires an original signature. At the STC, individuals do not need a lawyer. A home owned by an LLC, corporation, partnership, trust or estate must have an attorney. An appraiser who testifies for a fee must be state-certified or licensed.
Fill in your details and download a written appeal statement as a PDF or Word file. Most boards also require their own appeal form: file the form and attach this letter and your evidence to it.
Tax Appeal Map is a free information site, not a law firm or appraiser. The letter is a template, not legal advice.
File your appeal with the county Board of Equalization by the second Monday in July. In most counties you file it with the county clerk. St. Louis County and Jackson County take appeals through their Board of Equalization office, mostly online, and in St. Louis City you file with the assessor's office. The board may choose to extend the time, but do not count on that. Example: Boone County's 2026 appeal form says it must be postmarked by Monday, July 13, 2026, and Clay and Johnson counties used the same date. In Greene County, the last day for 2025 appeals was July 14, 2025. If you bought your home within 30 days before that deadline or later in the year, you may be able to appeal straight to the State Tax Commission by December 31 (or within 30 days after the county first sends you the tax bill, if that is later).
With the County Board of Equalization (BOE) appeal. Get the appeal form from your county clerk or your county's Board of Equalization page; many counties take it online, by email, by mail or in person. St. Louis County and Jackson County take appeals online through their Board of Equalization. Use one form per parcel. Give the market value you think is right and attach your evidence (appraisal, sales contract, closing statement, repair estimates). The board schedules a short hearing, usually in July or August. You can attend, send an agent or attorney, or appeal in writing. The board mails you a written decision. Note: if you settle on a value with the assessor (a stipulation), you cannot appeal further to the State Tax Commission.
No fee.
Many assessors hold informal reviews in May and June, after notices go out and before the board deadline. For example, the St. Louis City assessor takes informal appeals from May 1 to June 23, by email or phone. Greene County sets up phone lines for questions with an appraiser. If an informal review fails, you still have to file with the Board of Equalization by the second Monday in July.
You can appeal to the State Tax Commission of Missouri (STC). September 30 of the tax year, or 30 days after the Board of Equalization decision, whichever is later. The STC cannot extend this deadline. For 2026 appeals that meant September 30, 2026, unless the board's decision came after August 31. File a Complaint for Review of Assessment online at stc.mo.gov (preferred), by email to [email protected], or by mail to P.O. Box 146, Jefferson City, MO 65102. Upload a copy of the board's decision letter. Do not send evidence yet; the STC will tell you when. There is no filing fee. A hearing officer may hold a prehearing conference and then an evidentiary hearing by WebEx or in your county. The hearing is like a short trial (about an hour for a home): the rules of evidence apply and you can cross-examine the assessor's witnesses. Within 30 days of the hearing officer's decision, you can ask the three commissioners to review it. After that, you can seek review in court.
The board or STC orders the assessor and county clerk to correct the value on the tax books. A value won in an odd year normally stays for the following even year, and in the next odd year the assessor sets a new value. If you paid taxes on the higher value while your STC appeal was pending, the disputed part was held in a separate fund and is refunded to you with the interest earned.
Checked 2026-10 against official Missouri sources. Local deadlines and fees can differ; confirm with your assessor or board.