Property tax relief for seniors in Missouri

Who qualifies

For the 2025 tax year (filed in 2026), you may qualify if you were one of these:

• 65 or older by December 31, 2025.
• 100 percent disabled.
• A surviving spouse 60 or older who gets surviving spouse Social Security benefits.

You must also have paid rent or real estate tax on the home where you lived, and your household income must be under the limit.

Income limits (2025 tax year)

If a married couple did not live together all year, for example because one spouse was in a nursing home, each spouse may file a separate claim, and the renter limit of $27,200 applies to each.

Back to the page menu

What counts as household income

"Household income" is wider than your taxable income. It starts with your Missouri adjusted income and adds back money that is not taxed, including:

• Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits.
• SSI, TANF and other public assistance.
• Veterans payments, unless you or your spouse is 100 percent disabled from military service.
• Public and private pensions and annuities.
• Unemployment benefits.
• Wages, interest, dividends and rental income.
• Child support received, and payments for dependent children who live with you.

Both spouses' income counts.

What you can claim as tax or rent:

• Owners: the real estate tax you paid on your home. Do not include sewer lateral fees, penalties, interest or other local fees on the bill.
• Renters: the rent you paid. If you share rent with a roommate who is not your spouse, count only your share. If you paid all of it, claim 100 percent.
• Not eligible: renters in a facility that does not pay property tax.

Back to the page menu

How much you can get

• Up to $750 for renters.
• Up to $1,100 for owners who owned and lived in the home.

The credit is a refund. You get it even if you owe no income tax. The amount depends on how much rent or tax you paid and your total household income, including income that is not taxed.

Back to the page menu

How to file

1. Get your papers together. Depending on your situation, you may need:
   • Your paid real estate tax receipt (owners).
   • Rent receipts, a signed statement from your landlord, or Form 5674, and Form MO-CRP (renters).
   • All 1099 and W-2 forms, including your Social Security SSA-1099. If you lost it, get a benefit letter at socialsecurity.gov/myaccount or by calling 1-800-772-1213.
   • Letters showing VA, unemployment, or child support payments, if you got them.
   • Form 948 (Assessor Certification) if your land is more than five acres.
2. File the claim. The claim is made on Form MO-PTC (the Department of Revenue also has a related schedule, Form MO-PTS). You can file online through MyTax Missouri (mytax.mo.gov) or on paper.
3. Meet the deadline. The 2025 claim was due April 15, 2026. You have three years from the original due date to file. For example, a 2022 claim must be filed by April 20, 2026.
4. Check your refund on the Department of Revenue's return status page at dor.mo.gov.

If the claimant has died: a surviving spouse may file if the couple filed married filing combined. Otherwise the estate may file. Attach the death certificate, and Form MO-1310D if the check should go to another person.

Back to the page menu

Local senior property tax freeze

State law lets each county freeze property taxes on the homes of residents 62 and older who get Social Security or a public pension. This is a local option. It applies only in counties that choose to adopt it, and the rules can differ. Ask your county assessor or collector whether your county offers it and how to sign up.

Back to the page menu

Things people miss

• You do not need to owe income tax. Many older adults who do not file a tax return can still get this refund.
• You can catch up. If you qualified in past years but never filed, you can still claim up to three years back.
• Renters count. You do not have to own a home.
• Social Security counts as income here. It is added into household income for this credit, so include it.
• Leave fees off. Sewer lateral fees and late penalties on your tax bill are not part of the credit.

Back to the page menu

Free help

• Missouri Department of Revenue: email [email protected] (include your full name, address and the last four digits of your Social Security number). Phone numbers and mailing addresses are on the DOR contact page at dor.mo.gov.
• Senior Resource Line: 1-800-235-5503, to reach your Area Agency on Aging.

For other programs, see all benefits in Missouri. If you get Social Security, have your SSA-1099 ready.

Phone numbers: Free help lines for Missouri agencies

Check what you may qualify for