A hot issue this year is the increase in the taxable market value of the property of Jackson C
ounty, Missouri residents despite the depressed economy. While the value of the dollar continues to drop, prices around the country are increasing, and so are the taxable values of people’s property.
Jackson County, Missouri is the second largest county in Missouri and consists of over 600 square miles of land and over 600,000 in population. Within all of this landscape is the county’s power to assess and levy a tax on all personal and real property located in the county.
In order to compute the actual property tax on a specific piece of property, the following math calculation is performed: (1) find the actual or fair market value of the property, (2) determine the assessed value by multiplying the market value by the appropriate classification percentage, (3) divide that number by 100, and (4) multiply that number by the tax levy rate. For example, for a house valued at $200,000 in the Kansas City school district with a levy rate of $8.00 for every $100 of value, the tax computation would equate to $3,040 in yearly property taxes.
However, taxpayers have one main avenue that they can challenge and even lower their property tax assessment for a given year. If a taxpayer is not satisfied with the determination of their property’s market value, the taxpayer can make an informal appeal with the county. Informal appeals must be received by the county by mid-May.
Taxpayers are also able to make formal appeals to the Board of Equalization in order to challenge their property’s determined market value. Appeals to the Board of Equalization must be received by the Board by the third Monday in June. Once the Board of Equalization makes a decision and the taxpayer is still not satisfied, the taxpayer can appeal the Board’s decision to the State Tax Commission by filing an appeal by August 15 or within 30 days of the Board’s final action.