The Warren County Collector’s office has been accepting applications for the Senior Tax Credit, made available by SB 190, since March 3 and Collector Julie Schaumberg said the process is running smoothly. 

The application window for this year will be open until June 30 and applications can be filled out at the County Collector’s office on the first floor of the Warren County Administration Building. 

The applications have been a long time coming, as the bill was passed by the state legislature in July 2023, and the ordinance was approved by the Warren County Commission last year. 

There were questions when the bill originally passed the legislation and it lacked specifics on age requirements and which taxing entities would be affected. Those questions were cleared up with the passage of SB 756 in July of last year, which is when Warren County got to work on the credit. 

To apply, seniors must have been 62 or older, and declared the relevant property as their primary residence in Warren County before Jan. 1, 2024. Eligible applicants will receive a tax credit covering the difference between their 2025 and 2024 tax bills, excepting the state tax portion and any tax related to bond indebtedness from local taxing entities. 

Once taxpayers’ applications are accepted, that credit will appear on their bills later this year, according to Schaumberg. 

She continued saying her office is hard at work to simplify the process so eligible taxpayers receive their credits. 

“We’re trying to keep it as easy as possible. If somebody can’t make it into the building themselves, they can call and we’ll come out to the car and take care of them,” said Schaumberg. “We’ve had a couple of people who’ve taken the application home to the person and brought back their ID and signed.”

She clarified that for seniors who are homebound, they can have a caretaker bring the application home for them and return it, although she said they will need the caretaker’s ID as well as the applicant’s for their records. 

Outside of a driver’s license, the only other documentation she has required in some cases is trust paperwork when the name of the trust does not match with the name of the taxpayer. 

That paperwork can be retrieved at the county recorder of deeds office on the second floor of the county building. 

In the case of married couples only one spouse needs to apply. 

She said so far her office has processed over 300 applications. 

“It literally takes less than five minutes to do as of right now, we haven’t run into any major issues,” said Schaumberg. 

She said they wanted 2024 to be the base year for the first year of applications since 2025 is a reassessment year. Property values in Missouri are reassessed on every odd-numbered year. 

Applicants will be required to reapply annually, but the credit will still be based on the difference between their tax bill during that year and their base year. 

For applicants after this year, their base year will be the first year they applied for the credit. 

Schaumberg did point out that even in non-reassessment years, changes in tax rates could still impact the tax credit so it is unlikely it will be exactly the same each year. 

“The main comment that (applicants) have said is, any bit helps,” said Schaumberg. “So they’re happy to see what that’ll be this year.”