The assessor’s job is to place a value on all taxable real and personal property
within the county as of January 1, this is the assessment date set by the state statute.
All county Assessor’s offices are regulated and overseen by the Missouri State Tax
Commission. Monthly visits by field representatives and annual spot-review of properties
aid them in evaluating the assessor’s compliance with the state statue requirements.
There are two types of local property taxes, Real Estate and Personal Property.
Real
Estate Property has three subclasses and at the present time they are Residential
at 19% of market value; Agricultural at 12% or production value; and all other at
32% of true value in money. Texas County has over 17,880 parcels on the real property
tax roll. Real Estate property is reviewed every two years, to see if any changes
need to be made to the valuation. Most common changes are for new construction or
demolition of buildings, but changes may be necessary for other reasons including;
if the use of a parcel has changed, the age or condition of a structure may require
a change in depreciation, or if the market value of an area has increased or decreased.
Assessors are required to value real estate within 5% or the market value, per state
law.
Personal Property has six subclasses and currently is Grain at ½% of 1%, Historical
Vehicle and Airplanes at 5%, Farm Machinery/ Livestock at 12%, Manufactured Housing
at 19% and all other at 33-1/3% of true value in money. Texas County has over 103,860
articles or personal property that has to be valued each year. State Statute 137.280
RSMo., requires every taxpayer to turn in a listing of their personal property, as
of January 1st and submitted by March 1st. Failure to submit a listing by March
1 can result in a late assessment Penalty up to $100.00.
Using the above statutory
subclass percentages, the assessed value is calculated June 1st of each year, the
combined totals of Real Estate and Personal tax rolls are turned over to each of
the taxing districts (schools, townships, library, health and other). Each of these
districts determine what levy is required in order to collect enough money to fund
their operation, using their assessed valuation as the base. It should be noted;
the County Assessor does not set the tax rate on any type of property. The Assessor’s
duty is to set value on property. The tax subdivisions of the county set the levies,
thus resulting in a tax statement.
To license your vehicle with new tags you need
proof that you paid personal property taxes for the prior year. This is done by
either a paid receipt or a waiver (statement of no tax due or a statement of non-assessment)
stating the exemption. The paid tax receipt indicates that you were assessed in
the county that you resided in on January 1st of that year and that you paid taxes
on the vehicle that you owned then. Each county’s receipts are valid at any license
bureau/agency throughout Missouri. Every individual owning a vehicle on January
1 with Missouri license plates should get assessed in their county during January
or February of each year. If you have moved here from another county in Missouri,
you will need to obtain tax records from that county. New residents to Missouri
are exempt from personal property taxes as they were not residents of Missouri on
January 1. The Assessor’s office issues a statement of non-assessment to those individuals
who qualify for them.
The assessment process is very involved and when you have a
question, please contact the office, so we can give you the correct answers. Local
property tax affects everyone in some way. Understanding how the process works is
the first step in changing or improving the system. We will gladly review your parcel
and discuss how we arrived at the value on your property. If you buy or sell property
during the year make sure the transaction is properly recorded in the Recorder of
Deeds office.
Debbie James
County Assessor
210 North Grand Avenue Suite 201
Houston, MO 65483
Phone: 417-967-4709
Fax: 417-967-2091