Buchanan County commissioners sign senior property tax relief into law

By Cameron Montemayor

Eligible senior citizens in Buchanan County will now be able to seek freezes on future increases to their real estate property taxes under a new law signed Monday.

Buchanan County Commissioners Scott Nelson, Ron Hook and Scott Burnham officially signed the Senior Citizen Homestead Property Tax Credit program into law at their Monday meeting. The long-discussed ordinance now allows eligible taxpayers over the age of 62 to apply for credits to cap future real estate property tax increases.

As part of the new program, Buchanan County residents will be required to apply through the county each year in order to receive a credit if deemed eligible. County officials are currently developing the application process for implementation next year.

“The sign up period will be March 1 through June 30 (2025),” said Nelson, Buchanan County presiding commissioner. “This is just like paying your taxes. You’ve got to get your application in by June 30.”

The law describes an eligible taxpayer as a Buchanan County resident age 62 or older who legally owns their home or has a legal or equitable interest in such property and is liable for the payment of real property taxes on it. A resident cannot claim more than one primary residence.

Residents cannot seek refunds from past bills and will not see immediate reductions in their real estate property taxes since the law applies to future increases in 2024 and beyond. Residents applying for a credit in 2025 will have it capped at the 2024 rate.

“What they’ll have to do is bring in proof of age and residency and make sure that their deed is the right deed for their homestead,” Hook said.

For example, a resident age 70 currently cannot seek a credit for taxes they had when they were age 62. For citizens who do not yet qualify, the amount owed will freeze in whatever year they do become eligible and apply.

“I don’t think there’s going to be a large credit received the first couple of years. It’s going to be down the road when property values start going up or reassessments happen and things like that where you’ll see a difference,” said Hook, western district commissioner.

The credit program will not apply to the state blind pension fund and levies related to any and all voter-approved bond indebtedness from any taxing entity.

Buchanan County’s ordinance includes no cap on the value of a home and its eligibility for tax credits. Several counties such as St. Louis restrict property tax credits for those with a home valued over $550,000.

Beyond those exemptions, the ordinance applies to all taxing entities in addition to the county like the St. Joseph School District, library district and the city of St. Joseph. Commissioners sought input from all taxing entities in the county including cities, villages, schools, libraries and fire departments to determine the effects of this credit on their revenue.

“I think the three of us decided that it was a good fit for the county, because in reality, that amount of money wasn’t going to affect county budgeting very much at all,” Nelson said.

The law also includes additional exceptions. If an eligible taxpayer makes new construction and improvements to their home, the property tax liability for the taxpayer’s initial credit year will be increased to reflect the value after improvements.

Buchanan County residents like Helen Seifner were pleased to hear about passage of the new law and think it could provide a layer of help long-term for seniors.

“Since COVID, everybody’s kind of struggling … us elderly on fixed incomes, it’s hard to make ends meet,” Seifner said. “I think having that would be magnificent.”

If an eligible taxpayer’s homestead is annexed into a taxing jurisdiction to which such eligible taxpayer did not owe real property tax in the eligible taxpayer’s initial credit year, then the real property tax for the taxpayer’s initial credit year shall be increased to reflect the real property tax owed to the annexing taxing jurisdiction.

While the exact number of residents in the county age 62 and older is unknown, 2023 census data shows that roughly 18% of Buchanan County’s population — close to 15,000 people — is age 65 or older.

Missouri counties initially received the OK to enact real property tax freezes for seniors last year after Senate Bill No. 190 — sponsored by Missouri Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer — was signed into law in July 2023.

But many counties, including Buchanan, held off on implementing the measure after language in the bill left governing bodies with more questions than answers about how to implement it. Revised legislation was signed by Gov. Parson in July to clarify many of those concerns.

“We needed to set up a process within the courthouse because it affects almost every office that we have here. And so we want to make sure that we have the right process in place before we just implement something and then roll it out,” said Burnham, eastern district commissioner.