The Missouri Veteran Property Tax Exemption You Have Read About Is a Bill, Not a Law
Program and regulatory figures verified October 10, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
This page exists because a veteran who budgets a house around a tax exemption Missouri does not grant will find out at the worst possible moment.
★★★ The exemption, in the constitution's own words
Mo. Const. art. X, § 6, subsection 1, exempts:
"…all real property used as a homestead as defined by law of any citizen of this state who is a former prisoner of war, as defined by law, and who has a total service-connected disability…"
★★★ Two conditions, and they are cumulative: former prisoner of war and total service-connected disability. A veteran with the second and not the first is outside it.
★★★ The sentence that explains the last four legislative sessions
Later in the same subsection:
"All laws exempting from taxation property other than the property enumerated in this article, shall be void."
★★★ Read that carefully. It is not merely that the legislature has not extended the exemption. It is that any statute purporting to do so would be void. The exemption list is fixed in the constitution, so only the constitution can change it.
★★ Which means the route is: a joint resolution through the House and the Senate, then a vote of the people. Two gates, one of which only opens at an election.
★★★ The proposals, and where each one actually got to
Here is the pattern, and it is the reason the search results are so misleading:
- 2022: HJR 72
- 2024: SJR 84, HJR 95
- 2025: SJR 46, HJR 6
- 2026: SJR 77, SJR 88, SJR 94, HCS HJR 115
★★ Each would exempt the homestead of a Missouri-resident veteran with a 100% service-connected disability, with continuation for a surviving spouse who keeps the property as a homestead. ★★★ None is law.
★★ Status checked 10 October 2026: SJR 88 stands at "Second Read and Referred S Select Committee on Property Taxes and the State Tax Commission Committee." In committee. Not through either chamber. Not on a ballot.
★★ Why so much of the internet gets this wrong
Legislative bill summaries are written in the present tense and in the language of what the measure would do. Strip one of its heading and it reads exactly like a description of current law. Aggregators restate them, AI answers restate the aggregators, and by the third hop the conditional has vanished.
★★★ The test we apply here, and that you can apply to any claim about any state: can you find the benefit in the enacted constitution or statute, or only in a bill? If a joint resolution is the best source anyone can offer, it is a proposal. Our sourcing rules.
★ What to actually do about it
- ★★ If you were a prisoner of war and hold a total service-connected disability, this exemption is real and you should pursue it. What it covers
- ★★ Otherwise, look at the Missouri Property Tax Credit, which was substantially expanded for 2026 and which far more Missouri veterans can now reach. How it works
- ★ Budget your purchase on the property tax you will actually owe. That is the figure we escrow and underwrite, and it is the figure that decides whether a payment is comfortable.
★ A word about what we are not doing
We are not telling you how to vote, and we take no position on whether the exemption should be extended. We are telling you what the law is today, with the date we checked it, because that is what a mortgage decision has to rest on.
★ We are a lender, not a tax adviser or a lawyer, and we are not affiliated with the VA or any Missouri agency.
Mike Certo, NMLS #260555. (480) 296-6513 · mcerto@cfmtg.com.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a Missouri property tax exemption for 100% disabled veterans?
No. Article X, section 6 of the Missouri Constitution exempts the homestead of a citizen who is a former prisoner of war and who has a total service-connected disability. Both conditions must be met, so a veteran rated 100 percent service-connected who was not a prisoner of war is not covered.Why can't Missouri just pass a law exempting disabled veterans?
Because article X, section 6 of the Missouri Constitution provides that all laws exempting from taxation property other than the property enumerated in that article shall be void. The list of exempt property is fixed in the constitution, so extending it requires a constitutional amendment passed by both chambers and approved by the voters.What happened to SJR 88 and the other Missouri veteran exemption bills?
As checked on 10 October 2026, SJR 88 had been second read and referred to the Senate Select Committee on Property Taxes and the State Tax Commission. Similar joint resolutions were introduced as HJR 72 in 2022, SJR 84 and HJR 95 in 2024, SJR 46 and HJR 6 in 2025, and SJR 77, SJR 94 and HCS HJR 115 in 2026. None has been enacted or placed on a ballot.How can I tell whether a state veteran benefit is real or just proposed?
Look for the benefit in the enacted constitution or statute rather than in a bill. Legislative summaries describe what a measure would do in the present tense, so once the heading is stripped away they read like descriptions of current law. If a joint resolution or bill is the best source available, it is a proposal.Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about VA home loan financing, not a loan commitment and not legal, tax or financial advice. Cornerstone First Mortgage is a private lender and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or acting on behalf of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or any government agency. VA entitlement, funding-fee exemption and disability ratings are determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Missouri's property tax exemption for former prisoners of war is established by article X, section 6 of the Missouri Constitution, and the Missouri Property Tax Credit is governed by sections 135.010 to 135.030 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri and administered by the Missouri Department of Revenue, not by Cornerstone. Proposed constitutional amendments described on this site are proposals and are not law. Figures here carry the date we verified them against primary sources. All loans are subject to borrower, property and program qualification.