Senior property tax relief applications closing at end of June 

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- Eligible senior citizens have less than three weeks to take advantage of a program to freeze future increases in their real estate property taxes. 

The Senior Citizen Tax Credit Program allows taxpayers over the age of 62 to apply for credits that cap future property tax increases. Nearly 4,000 applications have been filed since they opened on March 3, and more are expected to come in by the June 30 deadline.

Collector of Revenue Peggy Campbell and other office holders in the Buchanan Courthouse spent six months working to streamline the process of applying.

“It runs pretty smoothly,” Campbell said. “People are saying it’s easier than they thought.”

The number of residents applying dwindled after March, but the number of visitors increased after impact notices from the Assessor’s Office went out.

“If they signed up for the 2024 (application), those impact notices are not going to affect their taxes,” Campbell said. “They can see that their value is going up, but they're still paying the ‘24 tax rate, which is which is going to be lower.”

There are two applications for residents. The 2024 application is for residents born before 1962, and the 2025 application is for residents born in 1962.

Buchanan County residents must pay the taxes on their primary residence and be older than 62-years-old to be eligible.

“The ones it's going to benefit are people who are expecting to stay in their home for the next 5 to 10 years because all those new assessments that happen every other year and every five years, they're not going to see that,” Campbell said. “Unless they make an improvement to like put a pool in or whatever.”

Anyone interested in applying must bring in a document showing their birth date, like a driver’s license or birth certificate, and the deed to their home.

Completed applications are taken to the Collector’s Office. More information on how to apply for the tax credit can be found at https://www.co.buchanan.mo.us/senior-citizen-property-tax-credit.