Boone County Commission details senior property tax exemption
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Boone County Commission detailed its plan for property tax exemptions for seniors in a Thursday press release.
A state law allowing a property tax freeze for seniors went into effect Aug. 28, 2023. The freeze has to be put into effect by county commissioners. Boone County opted to resolve it by letting the voters choose to enact it.
Boone County voters in April approved to “exempt senior citizens from certain increases in the property tax liability due on such senior citizens’ primary residences,” the ballot language stated.
Thursday’s release says that an annual application for the exemption will be required for eligible taxpayers. Residents must be at least 62 years old by Jan. 1 of the initial tax year. For this year, the application deadline will be Oct. 1, but it will be June 30 every year after.
The release also states eligible taxpayers must also be an owner of record for the home or has a legal or equitable interest in the property and is liable for the payment of real property taxes.
Exceptions and exclusions include levies for the state blind pension fund and levies to voter-approved bond issues, the release says. In addition, if construction or improvements are made to the home, the property tax liability will increase. Annexations are also excluded.
The commission previously stated in a March release that it would “consider enacting a stipulation that the program will only apply to those homesteads with an appraised value of $300,000 or less, as shown by the Boone County assessment file.” However, that stipulation was not included in its plan.
