Fewer Jackson County homeowners contest their valuations after state-ordered cap
On the heels of a contentious tax assessment cycle marked by legal back-and-forth and promised caps on residential assessments, some Jackson County property owners have turned to the appeal system over what they still see as inflated valuations for their homes and businesses.
But because the state required the county to effectively lower property valuations across the board, the outrage — at least from homeowners — was noticeably tamer than past years.
Property owners filed nearly 11,000 appeals to the county Board of Equalization as of July 15, one day after the county’s deadline, according to data obtained by The Star. This included 5,086 appeals on the assessed value of commercial properties, and 5,816 for residential properties.
The numbers are significantly lower than in 2023, when more than 50,000 residents filed appeals to their residential and commercial property valuations. That cycle was marked for many by a steep increase in assessed property values, which were then rolled back this year by a contested but imposed order from the Missouri State Tax Commission.
However, some appellants, particularly business owners, have publicly raised the alarm about high assessed values again in 2025, since the state’s order didn’t affect commercial properties. In areas including the West Bottoms and around the Chiefs and Royals stadium, business owners reported their commercial properties were valued 600% or 1100% higher than last cycle.
Appeals were due on July 14. Many property owners who filed appeals this year were engaging with the Board of Equalization appeals process for the first time, former Board of Equalizations chair Forestine Beasley said at an informational meeting on the appeals process in June.
According to county spokesperson Marshanna Smith, 12% of this year’s commercial appeals and 13.68% of the residential appeals were resolved as of July 28. Hundreds more were on the docket last week or this week.
On Tuesday, 150 appeals were planned on the BOE calendar in person, offered in four time slots with around 36 hearings scheduled for each. Another 40 took place by phone.
In-person hearings with the Board of Equalization take place exclusively at the Jackson County Assessment office at 1300 Washington Street.
During appeal hearings, a Board of Equalization officer hears arguments from both residents and assessment staff on how much a property ought to be valued before making their own final decision. Before each formal hearing, both parties will meet to see if they can agree on a property value number in a more casual setting.
For appeals related to a residential property, assessment staff have to prove that they accurately valued a property. For commercial properties, business owners are responsible for proving that their land or building should be valued lower.
Backlog of appeals
In 2023, Jackson County residents paid an average of $2,448 per household in property taxes, with the county assessor’s office handing down a median home valuation of $213,300.
Just under 54,500 residents flooded the appeals process that year, with the Board of Equalization ruling on 9,967 residential and commercial property appeals.
In 30,853 of appeals submitted in 2023, residents reached an agreement on the value of their property with Board of Equalization staff without a formal hearing, while 5,623 residents withdrew their appeals. As of March 1, 2025, more than 8,000 appeals filed by residents in 2023 were still active and had not been heard by the Board of Equalization.
The appeals program was much less active in 2024. By the July 8 deadline that year, 1,616 residents appealed their residential or commercial tax value, leading to 148 hearings, 770 less-formal agreements and 343 withdrawals.
Along with pending appeals from 2023, the Board of Equalization entered the 2025 tax cycle with 355 active and unresolved appeals from 2024. Hearing dates for both 2023 and 2024 appeals were previously extended to January 2025 to resolve some of the backlog.
Residents heading into an appeal hearing can check their 2023 and 2025 valuations online through the county’s new Public Property Access Portal.
Before, during and after
Property tax values in 2025 were not based on either of the previous two troubled cycles, with the county assessor introducing a new formula based on 2022 values.
As the result of an order from the Missouri State Tax Commission, Jackson County officials announced in April that residential properties’ assessed values would not increase more than 15% from the previous cycle even if their market value rose at a higher rate. The county did not pass a similar protection for commercial properties, though the Jackson County legislature continues to discuss a proposed ordinance in that direction.
Tax payments are due on December 31 regardless of whether a resident’s appeal has been heard by that time. The county will mail tax bills to residents in November based on various tax levies set around Jackson County in October, by city governments, school districts and other bodies.
The amount of tax dollars residents pay will be determined by multiplying the assessed value of their property by the tax rate.
According to a March report from the assessor’s office, the median increase in the value of residential property in Jackson County from 2023 to 2025 was 10.17%, while commercial property increased by a median rate of 3.4%.
