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Department of Revenue
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to frequently asked assessment questions can be found on the Assessor’s website.
Appeals
Informal Conferences: The Informal Conferences are held in reassessment years as a courtesy of St. Louis County and are not mandated by law. You do not have to have an Informal Conference before filing an appeal to the Board of Equalization. Informal conferences provide an opportunity for single family residential property owners to review and correct information the Assessor has on their property record. You will be able to discuss the Assessor’s opinion of value of your property, just like at the formal BOE hearing. You can provide information that supports your opinion of your property’s value. Any supporting evidence or documentation must clearly represent current conditions. The back of your Change of Assessment Notice lists a contact phone number to call for making an appointment for an informal conference with the Assessor’s staff.
Board of Equalization (BOE): The deadline for filing an appeal to the BOE is the second Monday in July (July 8, 2013). This date is set by Missouri state law; Saint Louis County has no authority to extend it. Along with your appeal form, you should provide documentation to support your opinion of value. You do not have to be present for your hearing; the Board will consider all evidence submitted with your appeal. If you indicate that you prefer to attend a hearing, the Board will notify you of the date and time scheduled for you. The BOE is located in the Lawrence K. Roos County Government Building, 41 South Central Ave., 2nd floor, Clayton, MO 63105. You can contact the Board at (314) 615-7195 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Appeal forms are available online, at the BOE office in Clayton as well as all three St. Louis County satellite offices starting on May 2, 2011. For further information see Property Value Appeals.
For the first time in 2011, appeals may be filed online at http://revenue.stlouisco.com/AssessmentAppeal/OnlineAsmtAppeal.aspx. The deadline for electronically filed appeals is the same as for all others. Appeals submitted electronically after midnight of July 10, 2011 CANNOT be accepted.
State Tax Commission (STC): If you disagree with the decision of the Board of Equalization, you may file an appeal to the State Tax Commission. Appeals must be filed within 30 days of the Board of Equalization’s decision or by September 30, whichever is later. The STC hearings are held in Saint Louis County. For more information about filing an appeal see Missouri State Tax Commission.
Please remember that the economic conditions of January 1 of the reassessment year apply to all appeals.
Yes, you can file an appeal to the Board of Equalization. However, since reassessment happens every two years, the economic conditions of January 1 of the reassessment year apply to all appeals. That means, even if the real estate market went down after January 1 of the reassessment year, it may not have an impact on the value of your property.
In May 2013, appeal forms are available online, at the BOE office in Clayton as well as all three St. Louis County satellite offices starting on May 1, 2012. For further information see Property Value Appeals. For further information see Property Value Appeals.
File paperless online at http://revenue.stlouisco.com/AssessmentAppeal/OnlineAppeal/OnlineAsmtAppeal.aspx
The deadline for electronically filed appeals is the same as for all other appeals. Appeals submitted electronically after the statutory deadline CANNOT be accepted. Online filers who waive their hearing attendance will be given the opportunity to upload their supporting documents. Those who chose to attend their appeal hearing need to submit their documentation at the hearing. Be prepared to leave your evidence with the BOE after your hearing.
The deadline to appeal is established by Missouri State Statutes, as the second Monday in July (July 8, 2013). Appeal forms are available online, at the BOE office in Clayton as well as all three St. Louis County satellite offices in May 2012. Board of Equalization hearings will be conducted during July and August. For further information see Property Value Appeals.
You should bring any evidence that supports your opinion of value. Documents might include a recent appraisal, sale contract, closing statement, photos, estimates for repairs, a statement of construction costs (if recently built), or comparable sales (if recently sold). Information regarding the selling prices of comparable property in your area is available online at the Saint Louis County Government Website at Real Estate Information.
If your property value does not change and your tax rates do not change, then your taxes will remain the same. However, if either your property value or your tax rates change, the tax amount will change.
The amount of taxes you pay is made up of two components: the assessed value of your property and the tax rates set by your individual taxing authorities, such as school and fire districts. The Assessor is required by law to establish the fair market value of property as of January 1 of the reassessment year, which is every other year in the odd year (such as 2011 and 2013). Taxing authorities set their own rates according to their budgetary needs and voter approval. If property values in their district go down, then taxing authorities may choose to roll up their rates to make up for the loss in value. St. Louis County only sets its own rate (which is about six percent of your total tax amount), and has no control over anyone else's rates.
It is an estimate of what your property taxes may be.
The Missouri Property Tax Credit Claim (MO-PTC) is a state program that provides a partial refund of your paid real property taxes, or if you are a tenant in a rental property, a partial refund of rent paid. Qualification for the program is based on your age and your income. The application for the MO-PTC is usually filed with the annual income tax return, but may be filed for up to three years from the due date (April 15). Residents of Saint Louis County with 100 percent disability may also qualify. For further information, contact the Missouri Department of Revenue at (573)751-3505 or (314)877-0177. The County Older Residents Program (CORP) can assist with questions or filing for the claim: (314)615-4516. Information is also available at Missouri Property Tax Credit.
Taxes
Personal property taxes are based on where you reside and what property you own on January 1 of each taxing year. This includes vehicles, trailers, boats and motors, etc. for individuals, as well as office furniture, tools and equipment for businesses.
Personal property owners residing in Saint Louis County on January 1 are required by state law to declare personal property, including any state-titled vehicles, boats, aircraft and livestock. The information on the declaration form is used to correctly prepare the personal property tax bills mailed later in the year. Property owners must return the form, even if there has been no change in assets from the prior year.
Signed and dated Personal Property Declaration forms must be received by the Assessor's Office before March 1 or a penalty of up to $100 may be added to the tax bill. If mailed, the envelope must be postmarked by the United States Postal Service on or before the last business day in February.
Beginning in 2011 individual personal property may be declared online at the Online Individual Personal Property Declaration page.
The St. Louis County Department of Revenue accepts tax payments via online payments, by mail, in person, and by telephone.
Online
For your convenience, the St. Louis County Revenue Department accepts tax payments online using a checking or savings account, credit card or VISA ® or MasterCard ® debit card.
Debit and credit card payments are processed through a third party provider and are subject to a convenience fee.
VISA debit payments are charged a fixed fee of $3.95. MasterCard debit and all credit card payments are charged a fee equal to 2.45% of the tax amount due or the minimum fee of $3.95, which ever is greater.
Note that if your debit card requires a pin number to be entered then you cannot make a debit payment as only pinless debit cards are allowed.
Credit cards that are accepted are Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover.
To pay taxes online visit: Pay Your Taxes Online
Mail
Mail check or money order for tax payments to: Collector of Revenue, 41 S Central Ave, St Louis MO 63105.
In Person
You can pay your tax amount in person at the Collections office in Clayton. The Clayton office accepts payments by cash, check or money order.
You can also pay your taxes at one of the St. Louis County's satellite offices. All satellite offices accept payments by check or money order. Only the North County satellite office can accept cash payments. Cash payments are not accepted at the South and West County satellite offices.
By Phone
VISA and MasterCard debit and credit card payments can also be made by telephone by calling 1-877-309-9306. Debit and credit card payments are processed through a third party provider and are subject to the same convenience fee as described under the Online payment option above.
Personal Property
If you purchase a vehicle or move to Saint Louis County after January 1, you will not be taxed on the vehicle until next year. A tax waiver is issued to new residents of the State of Missouri, or to people who are buying their first vehicle. In order to apply for a tax waiver, you must present proof of ownership such as a title, title application or a title registration from for the Missouri Department of Revenue (pink slip). Tax waivers for businesses may be obtained only at the Saint Louis County Collector of Revenue's Office in Clayton. Tax waivers for individuals and leased vehicles may be obtained at the Saint Louis County Collector of Revenue's Office or at any of the Saint Louis County Government satellite offices.
Real Estate Property
At the time real estate is purchased, the taxes due are negotiated between the buyer and the seller. Usually the amount is prorated for the number of months each person owns the property.
Yes. There are two kinds of partial payments.
- Early or pre-payment of taxes
- Late payment of delinquent taxes
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For early payment, or, in other words, to spread out the tax payment into smaller increments throughout the year, you can apply to pre-pay upcoming taxes on a quarterly basis. To utilize this option, your taxes must be current.
This is how pre-payment works: Last year’s tax amount is divided by four to provide a basis for three quarterly payments. The payment amount for the last quarter will be adjusted to reflect any changes in the current tax amount due. It may be higher or lower than the previous three payments, depending on any changes in the current year tax rates and/or assessment.
Please contact the Collection Division for more details or to apply for pre-payment: 314/615-7192.
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Partial payments for late payment of delinquent taxes are accepted at the Collector of Revenue's office in Clayton (located on the street level of 41 S. Central Avenue), at any of the satellite offices, and by mail. Payments will first be applied to interest and penalties, and then to the unpaid balance of the tax amount.
We will take any amount, but late charges will continue to accrue on the unpaid balance up to 18% interest per year, plus a 2% penalty. Partial payments do not prevent future collection efforts such as selling real estate in a tax sale or filing suit to collect personal property taxes.
If you would like to make partial payments, you will need to bring your tax bill each time you make a payment. You will receive a paper receipt for the amount paid for your records, but your tax bill will not be stamped “paid” until it is paid in full. This is important to remember if a personal property tax receipt is needed for license plate renewal.
When you pay your taxes, the Collector's office will send you a tax receipt by mail.
Duplicate personal property tax receipts are available either by mail, online, at the Saint Louis County Collector of Revenue's Office in Clayton or at any of the Saint Louis County Government satellite offices.
The charge for a duplicate receipt by mail or at the Collector's office is $1.00. If you need a duplicate tax receipt mailed to you, send in your request along with a check or money order for $1.00 and another receipt will be mailed to you. Be sure to include your name, address, account number (if known) and a daytime phone number, in case we have questions.
You can also get a tax receipt online at the St. Louis County's website for every year in which taxes are paid. Online receipts are free of charge. Like the duplicate tax receipts by mail or from the Collector's office, the online tax receipt can be used at the Missouri Department of Revenue license offices when licensing your vehicle. To get a tax receipt online go to http://revenue.stlouisco.com/Collection/ppInfo/. Find your account in the lower right frame and click on the account number. In the top frame your account information will be shown for the current tax year. If your taxes have been paid then there will be a print tax receipt link at the top of the page. Click on the link and a popup window will appear showing your tax receipt, which can then be printed. To change tax years select another year in the tax year drop down button shown on the main page.
Owners of real estate in Saint Louis County can now retrieve up to ten years of tax history information online from their computer. This feature will be most useful for people who need to get something in writing while preparing income tax, to those whose taxes are paid by a mortgage company, or to property owners simply wanting to compare their tax amounts over the years.
To get a tax history statement online go to http://revenue.stlouisco.com/ias/. Find your account in the lower right frame and click on the locator number. In the left margin click on the tax history link. When the tax history page shows click on the print tax history statement link at the top of the page. A popup window will appear showing your tax history statement, which can then be printed.
Taxes - Paying Online
You may pay your taxes online with a checking, savings or credit card account. Credit cards that are accepted are Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. A convenience fee may apply to online payments.
If you are paying with a checking or savings account you will need your address, contact, identification and bank account information. The contact information includes your email address and phone number. The identification information will be, in most cases, your driver's license number. Your bank account information includes your account number and your bank's routing number.
If you are paying with a credit card account you will need your address, contact and account information. The contact information includes your phone number and the account information includes the credit card number and the expiration date.
For more information see Begin Online Tax Payment.
When paying your taxes online, none of your personal or account information is saved or recorded by any person employed by St. Louis County or in any database maintained by St. Louis County. Personal information includes your email address, phone number and identification information such as your driver’s license number or social security number. Account information includes your bank or credit card account information.
This electronic transfer functions very similarly to clearing a check. St. Louis County will notify its bank of your authorization for electronic payment of taxes as soon as we can. They, in turn, will notify your bank of the transaction. However, the impact of weekends, holidays or other factors could delay the actual debit appearing on your account for up to 72 hours, just as some checks take more time to clear. In general, an electronic debit should be faster than ordinary check processing. Therefore, it is all the more important that sufficient funds be in your account when you authorize the transfer. Remember, fraudulently authorizing an electronic debit is every bit as serious as writing a bad check. It could result in criminal charges.
When paying taxes online, you will get a "confirmation page" which you should print and retain for your records. The State license office will NOT accept this confirmation page as a paid receipt to license vehicles. A paid tax receipt will be mailed to the address on record within ten days of making a payment. It may take up to five business days for your payment to be posted when paying online. If you require a faster turnaround time, we recommend that you pay in person at one of our offices.
Everyone has his or her own individual concept of safety and e-commerce.
Some people choose not to participate in Internet transactions. Others are completely comfortable
ordering and paying online, especially with organizations they know and trust. To ensure that
your personal and bank account information is passed through a secure channel our web server
uses a Secured Socket Layer (SSL) certificate, which is a very powerful encryption technology.
St. Louis County values your financial safety and your privacy.
SSL technology has become an industry standard for sending encrypted information
securely across the Internet. Our SSL Certificate from DigiCert ®
provides the strongest 2048-Bit and SHA-2 encryption available. A web server
with a SSL certificate has an URL address starting with https. When you
first request a web page secured by SSL your browser and the web
server establish secret keys used for the encryption/decryption process.
Only your browser and the web server know the secret keys so that no one else can view
your information by scanning the data packets as they travel across the Internet.
Recording of Deeds and Other Documents
The Office of Recorder of Deeds records and files instruments of writing
affecting real property or personal property, military discharge documents and
other instruments of writing.
The original notarized document must be presented to the Recorder of Deeds. The
original notarized document will be returned to you within three weeks of the
recording date. Documents may be filed in-person or by mail:
Recorder of Deeds
41 South Central Avenue, 4th Floor
Clayton, MO 63105-1799
Please include a self-addressed stamped envelope.
The Recorder of Deeds Division is located on the fourth floor of the Lawrence
K. Roos County Government Building.
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The recording fee for a single page document is $24. The fee for each
additional page is $3. A $25 non-standard fee will be added if the document
does not meet the Missouri standard formatting requirements.
For the convenience of our customers, the following policy has been established for over-payments of the stated price:
Amounts under $10.00 do not warrant the administrative cost of a refund. Overages are automatically
deposited into Saint Louis County's General Funds account.
Amounts over $10.00 will be issued a check refunding the overage amount to the customer.
Although stationery and office supply companies sell legal forms and reference
books, it is highly recommended that an attorney licensed in Missouri be
consulted for the completion of any legal form.
The Office of Recorder of Deeds receives many inquiries from surviving spouses
and other interested parties about removing the name of a deceased owner from a
deed. Many factors should be considered prior to removing the name of a
deceased owner, including: Trusts, future interests, taxes, etc. Although
stationery and office supply companies sell legal forms and reference books, it
is highly recommended that an attorney licensed in Missouri be consulted for
the completion of any legal form.
The staff may check the document for the minimum statutory requirements for
recording, however, the staff may not verify that the documents
fulfills the intentions of the party filing the document.
The staff of the Office of Recorder of Deeds may not provide
legal advice.
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May not provide title searches.
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May not complete or type deeds.
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May not provide notary public services.
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May not supply blank legal forms.
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May not render a determination on ownership of a property.
You may obtain an official copy by visiting the Recorder of Deeds office or by
mail. To obtain a copy by mail complete the
Deed Copy Order Form  .
You can protect your property by enrolling in the Property Fraud Alert program, which is available to St. Louis County residents free of charge. After you enroll, you will be notified every time a document is recorded that contains your name. Enroll online or by calling 1-800-728-3858.
The Recorder of Deeds Division maintains records of liens that may be recorded
against property. Lien research can be done in person at the Office of the
Recorder of Deeds. For address and contact information click here. The Recorder now offers remote access to real estate records. More information see Deed Search Remote Access Solutions.
Marriage Licenses
In order to be legally married in the State of Missouri, a marriage license
must be obtained prior to the ceremony. The marriage license is valid in any
county in Missouri and is valid ONLY in Missouri.
The bride and groom must appear in person (at the same time) at the Recorders
of Deeds Office in Clayton. The marriage license section is open from 8 a.m. to
5 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday; and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday
and Thursday.
| Marriage License Address: |
Recorder of Deeds
41 South Central Avenue
Clayton, MO 63105-1799 |
| The marriage license section is located on the fourth floor of the
Lawrence K. Roos County Government Building.
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Both parties must be at least 18 years of age. Each applicant must present some
form of government issued (federal or state) identification (e.g. valid
driver's license, a state identification card, a passport, etc.). Also, each
applicant must provide proof of a valid social security number (e.g. social security card or a tax return statement).
If an applicant does not have a social security number, a statement must be signed
stating that fact. Blood tests are NOT required to apply for a marriage
license.
The fee for a marriage license is $48. Payment is accepted in CASH ONLY.
The $48.00 cash only fee includes $47.00 for the marriage license and $1.00 for the keepsake certificate. The fee is non-refundable.
Couples may apply and obtain their Marriage License on the same day. The marriage ceremony must occur within 30 days from the date of issuance of the license or the license is void.
Saint Louis County Circuit Court judges perform civil marriage ceremonies every Wednesday (excluding holidays), starting at approximately 1 p.m. in the Saint Louis County Courts Building (located next to the Lawrence K. Roos County Government Building) 7900 Carondelet Avenue Clayton MO 63105-1766.
Applicants must arrive by noon with the marriage license and two witnesses.
For more information see Circuit Court Civil Marriage Ceremonies.
A judge presiding over any municipality may perform a civil marriage
ceremony. Municipal judges may be found in the telephone directory blue pages
under "city offices" by locating a municipality and finding a phone number for
the municipal court. An appointment is required.
A certified copy of the marriage license can be ordered when applying for the marriage
license if the bride plans to change her name. The certified copy can be used at the
Missouri Department of Revenue (motor vehicle and driver licensing) offices and most
Social Security offices. Please contact the Missouri Department of Revenue or Social Security
office for their specific needs.
Saint Louis County marriage license records, from 1877 to the present, are
available at the Recorder of Deeds Office. Helpful information includes: full
name of the groom, full name of the bride at the time of the marriage ceremony
and the approximate date of the marriage ceremony. Requests may be made
in-person or by mail. To obtain a copy by mail complete the
Marriage License Copy Order Form .
The fee for a photocopy of the marriage license is $2, a certified copy is $9.
Please add the cost of postage with the payment or send a self addressed stamped standard size
envelope when ordering by mail.
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