The Credit Missouri Gives Instead, and the Age Rule That Does Not Apply to You
Program and regulatory figures verified October 10, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
Nearly every description of this credit calls it a seniors' programme. For a veteran that framing is not a simplification, it is wrong, and it costs people the credit.
★★★ The sentence that matters, verbatim
RSMo 135.010(1) sets out who may claim. The relevant limb:
"…or the claimant or spouse is a veteran of any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States or this state who became one hundred percent disabled as a result of such service…"
★★★ Note what is absent: any age. The statute offers several alternative routes, attaining 65, being disabled as defined in the section, reaching 60 while receiving surviving-spouse Social Security, or this veteran limb. They are alternatives, joined by "or".
★★ So a veteran in their thirties with a total service-connected rating qualifies on service. If you have ever skipped this credit because it looked like something for retirees, that is the reason to look again.
★★ What it is worth, from 1 January 2026
| Figure | Through 2025 | ★ From 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Max actual property tax counted | $1,100 | ★★ $1,550 |
| Max rent constituting property tax | $750 | ★★ $1,055 |
| Income limit, single | $27,500 | ★★ $38,200 |
| Income limit, single + owned and occupied all year | $30,000 | ★★ $42,200 |
| Income limit, married filing combined | $27,500 | ★★ $41,000 |
| Income limit, married combined + owned and occupied all year | $30,000 | ★★★ $48,000 |
| Minimum base | $14,300 | $14,300 |
| ★★★ Phase-out above the minimum base | 1/16% per $300, rising to 4% | ★★★ 1/16% per $495, rising to only 2% |
★★ Those 2026 figures come from H.B. 594 & 508 (2025), effective 28 August 2025. What changed and why the last row matters most.
★ How the credit is actually computed
Not as a flat amount. RSMo 135.030 works like this:
- Total your property tax paid, or rent constituting property tax, capped at $1,550 or $1,055.
- If your income is at or below the $14,300 minimum base, the full capped amount is in play.
- ★ Above that, a percentage of income is subtracted, rising by 1/16 of a per cent for each $495 of income, to a ceiling of 2%.
- The Director of Revenue publishes a table, in $25 tax increments and $495 income increments, and your credit is read off it.
★★ We publish no dollar figure for your credit, because the statute gives a formula and a table rather than an answer, and because guessing at it would be worse than useless when you are budgeting a house. Our sourcing rules.
★ A duty on the state that almost nobody knows about
RSMo 135.030.4: the Department of Revenue "shall determine whether any taxpayer filing a report or return… who has not applied for the credit… may qualify… and shall notify any qualified claimant of the claimant's potential eligibility."
★ The state is obliged to tell you. Do not rely on it, but it is a fair thing to raise if you think you have been missing the credit.
★★ Two conditions worth checking before you count on it
- ★★★ A disqualifier pointing at a repealed section. RSMo 135.010(1) still says no property tax credit is allowed if the claimant filed a valid claim under section 137.106 in the year following the year claimed. The Revisor's own footnote to that section reads: "Section 137.106 was repealed by S.B. 975 & 1024 Revision, 2018." ★★ So a provision the legislature re-enacted in 2025 carries a cross-reference to a section that has not existed since 2018. We are not going to guess at what it means for a current claim, and we are not going to tell you what 137.106 used to say, because we did not read it. If a Missouri property-tax freeze is in play for you, that is a question for the Department of Revenue or your tax preparer.
- ★ It is a credit against tax, claimed on a return, not a reduction applied by the assessor. It arrives later and through a different door than an exemption would.
★ Why we raise it
Because it changes your annual cost of owning, even though it does not change the escrowed figure in the monthly payment the way an exemption would. That is an honest distinction and worth stating: this credit helps your year, not your payment. Where it fits in the sequence.
Mike Certo, NMLS #260555. (480) 296-6513 · mcerto@cfmtg.com. We are a lender; the credit is administered by the Missouri Department of Revenue.
Frequently asked questions
Do you have to be 65 to claim the Missouri Property Tax Credit?
No. RSMo 135.010(1) gives several alternative routes, and one of them is being a veteran of any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States or this state who became one hundred percent disabled as a result of that service. That route carries no age requirement.How much is the Missouri Property Tax Credit worth in 2026?
The credit is read off a table rather than being a flat amount. From 1 January 2026 it counts up to $1,550 of actual property tax paid, or $1,055 of rent constituting property tax, with the amount reducing as income rises above the $14,300 minimum base.What are the Missouri Property Tax Credit income limits for 2026?
$38,200 for a single claimant, $42,200 for a single claimant who owned and occupied a homestead for the entire year, $41,000 for married filing combined, and $48,000 for married filing combined owning and occupying a homestead for the entire year. Through 2025 the limits were $27,500, or $30,000 for a homestead owned and occupied all year.Does the Missouri Property Tax Credit lower my mortgage payment?
No. It is a credit claimed on a return rather than a reduction the assessor applies, so it lowers your annual cost of owning rather than the property tax escrowed into the monthly payment. A property tax exemption would change the payment; this credit does not.Will Missouri tell me if I qualify for the property tax credit?
RSMo 135.030.4 requires the Department of Revenue to determine whether a taxpayer who filed a return but did not apply may qualify, and to notify any qualified claimant of their potential eligibility. It is a real duty, but it is not a substitute for claiming.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.