HCS HB 1790 -- TAX LEVIES BY POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS (Murphy)

COMMITTEE OF ORIGIN: Standing Committee on Government Efficiency

This bill requires that the election authority for a political subdivision or special district label taxation-related ballot measures numerically or alphabetically. Ballot measures will not be labeled in any other descriptive manner.

The bill requires that any ballot measure that seeks approval to add, change, or modify a tax on real property use language to express the effect of the proposed change in terms of real dollars owed per $100,000 of a property's market valuation.

This bill requires that if voters in a political subdivision approve a levy increase prior to the expiration of a previously approved temporary levy increase, the new tax rate ceiling will remain in effect only until the temporary levy increase expires under the terms originally approved by voters. At that time, the tax rate ceiling will be decreased by the amount of the temporary levy increase unless voters of the political subdivision are asked to approve an additional permanent increase, the ballot language makes clear that the temporary levy increase is being made permanent, and such increase is approved.

The bill requires that when voters in a political subdivision pass a tax rate increase, the political subdivision must use the current tax rate ceiling and the increase approved by the voters in establishing the rates of levy for the tax year immediately following the election. If the assessed valuation of real property in a political subdivision sees a reduction in value in the tax year immediately following the election, the political subdivision may raise its tax rates so that the revenue received from the local real property tax rates equals the amount the political subdivision would have received from the increased rates of levy had there been no reduction in the assessed valuation of real property in the political subdivision. In the event of an increased tax rate ceiling, such rate must be revenue neutral as required in Article X, Section 22 of the Constitution of Missouri.

This bill is similar to HCS HB 119 (2025) and HCS HB 1517 (2024).

HCS#2 HB 2780 -- PROPERTY TAXATION (Taylor (48))

COMMITTEE OF ORIGIN: Special Committee on Property Tax Reform

Currently, any political subdivision that received approval for a tax rate increase may levy a property tax rate to collect substantially the same amount of tax revenue as the amount of revenue that would have been derived by applying the voter- approved increased tax rate ceiling to the total assessed valuation of the political subdivision. However, the tax rate must not exceed the greater of the most recent voter-approved rate or the most recent adjusted voter-approved rate.

The bill removes the single tax rate in the exception and provides that the rates of levy for each subclass of real property, individually, and personal property, in the aggregate, must not exceed the greater of the most recent voter-approved rate or most recent adjusted voter approved rate.

Currently, if the tax revenue from various tax rates is different than the tax revenue that would have been determined from a single tax rate, then the political subdivision must revise the tax rates of those subclasses of real property, individually, and/or personal property, in the aggregate that had a tax rate reduction. This revision must yield an amount equal to the difference and must be apportioned among the subclasses of real property, individually, and/or personal property, in the aggregate, based on the relative assessed valuation of the class or subclasses that experienced the tax rate reduction. Additionally, for school districts that levy separate tax rates on each subclass of real property and personal property, in the aggregate, or that had voter-approved ballots that set or increased the subclass rates differently prior to 2011, a blended tax rate must be used to calculate the single tax rate.

This bill repeals this language. Political subdivisions are no longer required to compare revenues generated by multiple levies to a single-rate baseline or to adjust multiple levies based on a single-rate baseline.

The bill requires that, if voters in a political subdivision approve a levy increase prior to the expiration of a previously- approved temporary levy increase, the new tax rate ceiling will remain in effect only until the temporary levy increase expires under the terms originally approved by voters. At that time, the tax rate ceiling will be decreased by the amount of the temporary levy increase unless voters of the political subdivision are asked to approve an additional permanent increase and such increase is approved.

This bill requires that, when voters in a political subdivision pass a tax rate increase, the political subdivision must use the current tax rate ceiling and the increase approved by the voters in establishing the rates of levy for the tax year immediately following the election. If the assessed valuation of real property in a political subdivision sees a reduction in value in the tax year immediately following the election, the political subdivision can raise its tax rates so that the revenue received from the local real property tax rates equals the amount the political subdivision would have received from the increased rates of levy had there been no reduction in the assessed valuation of real property in the political subdivision. In the event of an increased tax rate ceiling, the rate must be revenue neutral as required in Article X, Section 22 of the Constitution of Missouri. (Section 137.073, RSMo).

As it relates to setting property tax rates, the bill repeals the single property tax rate and replaces the language with that relating to multiple tax rates (Section 137.079, RSMo).

This bill provides that when a valuation of utility, industrial, commercial, railroad, and other real properties is made by a computer, computer-assisted method, or a computer program, the burden of proof to sustain the valuation must be on the assessor at any hearing or appeal.

The bill provides that, before any assessor may increase the assessed valuation of any parcel of utility, industrial, commercial, railroad, or other real property by more than 15% since the last assessment, the assessor must conduct a physical inspection of the property.

Currently, any county and city not within a county can opt out of implementing the provisions of certain sections of House bill 1150 (2002) and certain provisions of Senate bill 960, which includes setting separate levies to be calculated for each subclass of real property and for personal property using the assessed valuation for each class of real property and of personal property. Any county and city not within a county may also opt out of implementing certain provisions of House Bill 1150 (2002) and certain provisions of Senate Bill 960 as they relate to tax rate ceilings, blended tax rates, tax rate calculations, and credit card usage to pay property taxes. This bill repeals the references to the provisions of House Bill 1150 (2002) and Senate Bill 960 (2004), as well as the corresponding procedures to opt out of or to implement these provisions.

The bill requires that, beginning January 1, 2027, each county and city not within a county must determine the assessed valuation, set and revise rates of levy, and make adjustments to current levies for each subclass of real property, individually, and for personal property, in the aggregate (Section 137.115, RSMo).

Currently, no school district can receive more state aid for its education program than it received per weighted average daily attendance for the school year 2005-06 from the foundation formula, unless it has an operating levy for school purposes of not less than $2.75. This bill changes the operating levy floor to receive certain state aid to $2.20 beginning the 2026-27 school year. For school districts that imposed a levy of $2.75 in 2026, their maximum levy must be $2.75 in 2027. After 2027, these school districts must set their levy as provided by the Missouri Constitution (Section 163.021, RSMo).

This bill contains a severability clause.

This bill is similar to HB 2668 (2026).

HCS HJRs 173 & 174 -- TAXATION (Davidson)

COMMITTEE OF ORIGIN: Standing Committee on Commerce

Upon voter approval, this constitutional amendment repeals Sections 4(d) and 26 of Article X of the Missouri Constitution and adopts two new sections in their place relating to taxation.

The amendment authorizes the General Assembly, when enacting any law imposing a tax measured by income, to define income by reference to provisions of federal law as those provisions may become effective from time to time, whether retrospective or prospective. The General Assembly must set the rate or rates of any such tax and may make exceptions, additions, or modifications to any federal provisions referenced in defining income.

The amendment establishes a mechanism to reduce and eliminate the state individual income tax based on increases in net general revenue collections. For a calendar year, the rate of the individual income tax must be reduced by one-hundredth of one percent if net general revenue collections in the previous fiscal year exceed by at least $20 million the amount of net general revenue collections for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. The amount of net general revenue collections for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, must be adjusted annually by the rate of inflation. If the minimum amount of net general revenue collections required to trigger a reduction is met, each additional increase in net general revenue collections in the previous fiscal year by $20 million beyond that minimum must result in an additional reduction of one-hundredth of one percent, up to a maximum reduction of one and six-tenths percent in a calendar year.

If the rate reductions required under the amendment would cause the individual income tax rate to fall below one and four-tenths percent for any tax year, the rate imposed must instead be 0%. If the reductions do not eliminate the individual income tax by January 1, 2032, the tax may continue until it is eliminated according to the revenue triggers and rate reductions established in the amendment. For any tax year beginning on or after the date the individual income tax rate has been reduced to 0%, no individual income tax may be enacted or imposed by the state. The amendment specifies that elimination of the tax does not affect the collectability of liabilities or debts for tax years beginning before the date of elimination and does not apply to an earnings tax or similar tax imposed by a political subdivision. For purposes of this provision, "individual income tax" is defined as the tax imposed on the income of natural persons under Sections 143.011 and 143.041, RSMo.

The amendment defines certain terms used in the tax reduction provisions. "CPI" is defined as the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the United States as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics or a successor index. "Net general revenue collections" is defined as the total general revenue collections net of refunds for a fiscal year as officially reported to the public by a government body specified by law. "Rate of inflation" is defined as the percentage, if any, by which the CPI for the preceding 12-month period beginning September first and ending August 31st exceeds the CPI for the 12-month period beginning September 1, 2025, and ending August 31, 2026. "Twenty million dollars" is defined as the $20 million adjusted annually by the rate of inflation.

The amendment provides that state and local sales and use taxes, or similar transaction-based taxes, may not be expanded to impose taxes on any service or transaction that was not subject to sales, use, or similar transaction-based tax on January 1, 2015. Notwithstanding that limitation, the General Assembly may authorize the expansion of sales and use taxes to transactions involving goods and services if legislation expressly states that the expansion is enacted for the purpose of reducing and eliminating the State individual income tax and reducing local tax rates, and the legislation includes a finding by the General Assembly that the expansion is anticipated, directly or indirectly, to lead to the reduction and elimination of the State individual income tax and the reduction of local tax rates.

Beginning January 1, 2029, any political subdivision that imposes a sales and use tax must, in the manner and frequency provided by law enacted by the General Assembly, annually adjust one or more specified tax rates or levies in order to reduce revenue generated in an amount substantially equal to the additional revenue produced by any sales and use tax base expansion authorized under the amendment. These adjustments may include changes to the rate of the sales or use tax, the operating levy for personal property taxes, the operating levy for residential real property taxes, the operating levy for all property taxes levied by a political subdivision that imposes the same rate of levy upon all taxable property, or the rate of any tax imposed on earnings. The amendment specifies that under no circumstances may a county or other political subdivision make an adjustment that results in a reduction in funding to public schools within or serving the jurisdiction. Beginning January 1, 2028, each sales and use tax rate imposed directly by the Missouri Constitution, except the rate imposed under Article XIV of the Missouri Constitution, must be adjusted in the manner provided by law to produce substantially the same amount of tax revenue as the median annual amount of tax revenue produced during the three state fiscal years ending in 2024, 2025, and 2026, after the revenue for each fiscal year is adjusted for inflation. The State Auditor must determine the reasonable estimate of the median annual revenue amount and calculate the reduced rates necessary to produce that amount.

The amendment also provides that any tax or revenue increase resulting from legislation enacted for the purpose of reducing and eliminating the state individual income tax and reducing local tax rates, if enacted within three years of the effective date of the amendment, will not be considered new annual revenue for purposes of Section 18(e) of Article X of the Missouri Constitution and will be exempt from the requirements of Article IV, Sections 30(b), 30(c), and 30(d) of the Missouri Constitution.

The amendment includes ballot language for this proposed constitutional amendment.

CLASSIFICATION OF PROPERTY

This act prohibits an assessor from reclassifying real property without first conducting an in-person consultation with the owner of record of such property. An assessor shall be deemed to be in compliance with this provision if the assessor can document a good-faith effort to contact the owner of record, as described in the act. (Section 137.016)

REAL PROPERTY ASSESSED VALUES

Current law provides that an assessor shall not increase the assessed valuation of any parcel of residential real property by more than fifteen percent since the last reassessment without first conducting a physical inspection of the property and providing notice to the taxpayer. This act modifies such provision by prohibiting any increase in assessments of residential real property in excess of fifteen percent. Additionally, a property owner may request the assessor to conduct a physical inspection, provided that the assessed value shall not increase as a result of such inspection. (Section 137.115.10)

REAL PROPERTY TAX CREDIT

Current law authorizes certain counties to provide a tax credit for the property tax liabilities owed on an eligible taxpayer's homestead. This act repeals such provision and instead provides that all counties shall provide a property tax credit for any real property owned by an eligible taxpayer, provided that the real property tax liability owed on the taxpayer's real property may be increased by no more than 2.5% per year or the percent increase in inflation, whichever is less. However, for any county in which any subclass of real property is considered to be valued below its true value in money, as determined in the act, the amount by which a taxpayer's real property tax liability may increase shall not exceed 5% per year, provided that this provision shall no longer apply to a county once such subclass of real property in such county is no longer considered to be valued below its true value in money.

Additionally, the act provides that no personal property tax liability owed on any individual item of personal property shall not be increased above the liability owed on such item during the 2024 tax year or the first year an eligible taxpayer first incurs personal property tax liability on such personal property, whichever occurs later. Any eligible taxpayer experiencing such an increase shall be eligible for a credit on the eligible taxpayer's personal property tax liability in an amount equal to such increase, as described in the act. (Sections 137.1058 and 137.1055)

STATE TAX COMMISSION RATIO STUDIES

Current law requires the State Tax Commission to equalize the valuation of each class and subclass of property among the respective counties. This act requires the Commission to utilize ratio studies to determine whether a class or subclass is valued below or above its true value. Such values shall be no less than 75% and no more than 100% of true market value, as described in the act. (Section 138.390)

JOSHUA NORBERG

PROPERTY TAX DEADLINES

Current law requires a county assessor to provide notification to a taxpayer by no later than June 15 if the assessor increases the taxpayer's real property valuation. This act requires such notice to be provided by no later than June 1. (Section 137.180)

Additionally, current law requires a taxpayer to file an appeal of the taxpayer's assessed valuation by no later than the second Monday in July. This act requires such appeal to be filed by no later than the first Monday in August. (Sections 137.275 to 138.180)

These provisions are identical to SB 853 (2026).

PROPERTY TAX INSTALLMENTS

Current law authorizes counties to provide for the payment of real and personal property taxes in installments, but excludes township counties from utilizing such payment plans. This act repeals such prohibition for township counties and allows the form of the installments to be determined by the governing body of the county. (Section 139.053)

This provision is substantially similar to SB 1211 (2026) and HB 388 (2025).

DELINQUENT PROPERTY TAX NOTICES

This act authorizes a collector to offer a trusted contact program to a taxpayer, who may designate one or more trusted contacts for the collector to contact in the event the taxpayer has not paid the taxpayer's property tax liability by March 1 of a calendar year. (Section 140.010)

JOSH NORBERG

This amendment is identical to SJR 53 (2025).

JOSH NORBERG

This amendment is identical to SJR 53 (2025).

JOSH NORBERG

The amendment also provides that, beginning January 1 following the effective date of the amendment, taxing jurisdictions shall calculate levies for each subclass of real property, and shall reduce the levy for any such class if the assessed valuation for such class increases over the previous year, as provided in the amendment.

Additionally, this amendment requires the value of new construction and improvements to be included in the calculation of total assessed valuation for the purpose of calculating property tax levies. (Section 22)

This amendment is substantially similar to HJR 148 (2026).

JOSH NORBERG

HCS HB 2944 -- SENIOR CITIZEN HOMESTEAD TAX CREDIT (Billington)

COMMITTEE OF ORIGIN: Special Committee on Property Tax Reform

Under the provisions of this bill, once an eligible taxpayer qualifies for the Homestead Property Tax Credit for seniors citizens, such taxpayer must maintain his or her eligibility without needing to reapply each year. The tax credit must continue to be automatically applied to the eligible taxpayer?s homestead until the tax year in which such taxpayer relocates or dies, which must be certified within 90 days of the date of either event. If a credit is granted in error due to the taxpayer failing to notify the collector of relocation or death, the county can remedy the error.

This bill requires the tax statement to include a note informing the taxpayer that it is his or her responsibility to notify the county if he or she is no longer eligible for the tax credit.

The bill clarifies that real property tax imposed by a county or by a political subdivision within the county includes, but is not limited to: tax levies for debt service, tax levies for operating purposes, and tax levies for capital improvements and projects.

This bill requires the Department of Heath and Senior Services (DHSS) to establish a secure electronic portal that is accessible to each county if an appropriation is provided. This portal must allow county designees to access certain information to determine the death status of recipients of the senior property tax credit. If no appropriation is provided to establish this portal, DHSS must provide to each county a list of all individuals whose deaths were recorded within the county between July 1st of the preceding year to June 30th of the current year. This list must be provided by July 30th of each year.

The bill requires each county designee to implement procedures to determine whether a change of ownership has occurred for any homestead receiving the senior property tax credit before issuing the property tax statement each year.

This bill requires any payment of real or personal property taxes made through the United States Postal Service (USPS) to be postmarked by January 5th, and payments made through other means must be received by December 31st. The bill allows township collectors to accept partial or installment payments of real and personal property taxes prior to delinquency.

This bill allows counties to extend the deadline for real or personal property tax payments by no more than 30 days if a county experiences certain difficulties that delay the preparation of mailing of real or personal property tax statements.

The bill allows assessors or certain other county designees a grace period of no more than 10 days following the deadline for certain forms that are sent through USPS and postmarked prior to the due date.