Senior citizens may begin applying on April 1 to file for a tax credit at the Audrain County Collector’s Office.

The Audrain County Commission passed an ordinance on March 13 that provides a process for residents who are 62 years of age or older in their primary residence to qualify for a tax credit. The commissioners' action comes in response to the Missouri legislature passing Senate Bill 190 in 2023 and Senate Bill 756 in 2024. 

Residents who meet the qualifications may apply for the tax credit beginning April 1 through the Audrain County Collector’s Office, located on the first floor of the courthouse, and applicants must provide proof of their birthdate, have a copy of their property deed and turn in a notarized completed application prior to June 30, the commissioners stated in a news release.

“It is important to note that this is not a tax freeze,” Associate Commissioner Leslie Meyer said in the release. “It is a credit and will appear on your tax bill at the end of the year. There are exceptions to this ordinance. For example, new construction is not included.”

Presiding Commissioner Alan Winders said in the release there exist many misconceptions about the law.

“This does not eliminate real estate taxes in their entirety or eliminates property taxes,” he explained. “It was a measure from the Missouri legislature to give senior citizens a break on their taxes.”

The Audrain County Commission, along with Audrain County Clerk Lisa Smith, Audrain County Recorder of Deeds Teresa Allen, Audrain County Collector Amy LeCount, and Audrain County Assessor Melissa Maupin worked together to find the best process and application for county residents.

“It took all of us to find the best path forward,” Associate Commissioner Tracy R. Graham said in the release. “We are confident we have a process that will work for our residents. Our collector tested a variety of applications on people who qualify to see what they preferred and did not understand on other counties’ materials. This helped us find a combination that we feel will greatly help.”

The Audrain County Collector’s office will accept applications beginning April 1. The last day to complete and turn in the tax credit application with all additional documents is June 30. Applications mailed with a postmark of June 30 will be accepted.

The tax credit depends on the appraised value of the home, Meyer said during a discussion with the Ledger at the commissioners’ office. Even though this is a tax credit, it will not come to a huge savings, she said, explaining “we’re not talking hundreds or thousands of dollars.” 

Graham said 62 is the age when people can start receiving Social Security benefits, so that was why that age was chosen. One of the qualifications for the tax credit is that it has to be on a person’s primary residence, Meyer said.

As far as the legislation itself, lawmakers need to take a long view of issues, Graham said. Officials here took time to develop a “very good process with minimal impact on the workload that a collector has to deal with. So it's a straightforward process,” he said.

“If they would take their time to submit good legislation that doesn’t require a lot of fixes, I would be supportive,” Graham said. “I’m supportive of giving people tax breaks - that’s not a question. The original bill was so vague that there were people just waiting in line to file lawsuits because they couldn't apply because of one thing or another that was not in the bill that should have been. So, my opinion, legislators down in Jeff City really need to get a handle on how what they’re doing affects or impacts local residents of any county, because they don’t seem to look that far ahead.”

He said the tax credits are good for the people getting them, but then, they take revenue from the school district, health district, ambulance district and other entities that survive on those taxes, Graham said.

“It really hurts that part of the process,” he said.

Meyer said officials here saw the lawsuits coming and a process had to be developed here, because the legislation places the process responsibility on county officials. 

“If the legislators would educate themselves on how the county processes work, then these types of bills won’t be such a smorgasbord of ‘well, what are we supposed to do here?’” she said. 

Audrain's policy and application process is “vastly different” from that of other counties, she said.