ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. — The countdown is on.
Personal property taxes are due on Dec. 31 and this year, the rates are higher than ever.
If you are planning to pay in person, then plan to pay by Friday.
This is a way to avoid additional interest and penalties.
St. Louis City's Collector of Revenue shared this on Twitter:
The reasons
Driving up the value of cars for 2022 are chip shortages and supply chain issues.
Because of this, there are not as many new cars available, which means more used cars are being bought and leaving behind fewer options.
St. Charles County Assessor Scott Shipman said pandemic woes are not the only problems.
"The crux of the tax amount is the political subdivisions took the windfall. They didn't roll their levy back. Every year, each political subdivision sets their own tax rate. They did not reduce their rate to offset that gain," he explained.
Those tax rates are placed every year at the end of August or the beginning of September.
St. Charles County did make an adjustment.
Back at the end of September this year, 5 On Your Side reported that St. Charles County leaders throttled back their small share for the overall tax rate.
Bob Schnur, St. Charles County's assistant director of administration, told 5 On Your Side's Rhyan Henson that the move saved taxpayers $812,087 overall.
This would have been collected for road and bridge and 911 dispatch budgets. Those entities will still receive roughly the same amount of funding as last year.
Even with the offsets, taxpayers still felt the pain in their pocketbooks.
In St. Charles County, Shipman said, an average taxpayer faced a 20-24% bump on their personal property tax bills compared to last year.
This number aligns with St. Louis City.
St. Louis City's Assessor Michael Dauphin said the city saw a 23% increase in personal property values from 2021 to 2022.
What hasn't changed? The way assessors evaluate the numbers.
By state statue, assessors have to use the National Auto Dealers Association (NADA) evaluation method for the average trade-in value.
"We’ve used the same manual NADA for the past 35 years. We’re not revenue generators. We’re here to place the fair market value on the property," Shipman explained.
The current statewide assessment rate for personal property is 33 and 0.3%. To determine how much you owe, here is the following two-part calculation:
- Estimated Market Value of the Property X Assessment Rate (33 and 0.3%) = Estimated Assessed Value
- Estimated Assessed Value / 100 X Total Tax Rate = Estimated Tax Bill
Here’s an example:
To calculate taxes owed on a $100,000 vehicle at a 6.5694 total tax rate per $100 of assessed valuation:
- 100,000 X .333333 (33 and 0.3%) = $33,333
- 33,333 / 100 X 6.5694 = $2,189.58 owed in taxes
Appeals
If you think the number is outrageously wrong or if you're being charged for a car that is no longer yours, you can appeal.
In St. Charles County, pre-value assessments are sent out in January and if there are changes made, another postcard is sent out in June.
Shipman said for the most part, everyone should have received the notifications.
If not, then you can appeal.
5 On Your Side asked Shipman and Dauphin, what happens if your car was stolen or damaged?
Dauphin said you still have to pay those taxes because you submitted that information in the beginning of the year.
Dauphin recommended reaching out to the assessor's office and taking that car off for the next year.
Shipman recommended reporting the damage, if it's still there.
Funds
You're probably wondering, where is the money going?
Most of the funding goes to schools, while the rest goes to city funds and fire districts.
Fort Zumwalt, one of the largest districts in St. Charles County, shared this statement with 5 On Your Side:
The increased values of personal property such as vehicles has meant an addition of about $3 million for Fort Zumwalt over last year. It roughly replenishes the amount spent down from our reserves when the state withheld payments to school districts in 2020.
The importance of local revenue streams to local services (schools, emergency services, libraries and more), can’t be overstated. Revenue from personal property tax is 9.4 percent of the total FZSD operating budget this fiscal year, almost $23 million, helping pay for teacher salaries, utility bills, cleaning supplies, curriculum materials and more. Local revenue is the most reliable revenue stream Missouri school districts have because state funds can be withheld, as they were in 2020, and federal funds are designated for specific expenditures or, as is the case with stimulus funds, are one-time money. Local revenue streams make local services possible.
St. Louis Public Schools also talked about the importance of this money. CFO and Treasure Angie Banks shared this statement:
“The district received over $250 million in property tax revenue in fiscal year 2022 and another $50+ million in sales tax revenue. Property and sales tax revenues are the foundation of district funding and represents over 70% of all revenues. These funds are the foundational support for all district operations, including the majority of salaries and employee benefits, facilities maintenance and repair, transportation, curriculum and textbooks, technology, general supplies, and debt service.”
In a smaller school district, Superintendent Dr. Kevin Carl with Hancock Place said the money is impactful.
He notes, while no one likes to pay more taxes, a change in the current system would have adverse impacts.
He also said:
"This situation does provide an increase, but not a windfall of revenue for schools. Any legislative change that lessens the personal property tax revenue would be harmful to these entities, unless funding was replaced from other sources. A legislative response to the current personal property increase would be harmful immediately and compounded in the future."
This is in response to some legislators trying to cut back.
Bills
Three bills have already been pre-filed in Missouri's legislature in regard to personal property tax.
One includes the proposal from Senator William Eigel.
"I really think it's time to give the taxpayer a break. The bill I filed is for the whole state. If and when other taxes else where to go up to bring in more revenues to local tax and jurisdictions, personal property tax would be cut to offset it," Senator Eigel said.
If it passed, then he expects personal property taxes would take five to six years to phase out.
Eigel has been pushing for a bill like this since 2019.
Ways to reach out
Due to high demand in calls and low staffing at St. Louis City, Dauphin suggested emailing as the best way possible.
Here's an email address taxpayers should use if they have any questions regarding their personal property bill: Assessor-PersonalProperty@stlouis-mo.gov.
If you'd like to appeal your bill, click here to appeal online through the Missouri State Tax Commission.
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