Taxes. They are a fact of life. No matter how you feel about them, everyone pays their due. You must pay property taxes if you own commercial real estate.
Commercial property taxes take a chunk out of your budget. State and local governments levy property taxes, as do entities like counties and school districts. You may pay taxes to multiple entities depending on where your property resides.
Researching taxes in your area will help you discover which taxes you owe. Then you can estimate how much of your income to set aside.
In this article, we walk through how Missouri assesses your property and calculates commercial property tax. Keep reading to find out more.
Jump to:
- What’s the assessed value?
- How does Missouri calculate commercial property taxes?
- Average property tax rates
Paying Property Taxes in Missouri
Property taxes are the primary source of income for municipal governments. Tax assessors determine the value of your property. That value affects the amount you pay in taxes.
You will receive two notices before your commercial property tax is due—one about your property assessment and one with your bill.
In Missouri, an assessor will visit your property to measure it. The assessor will use those measurements to estimate its value.
Missouri law states that the assessor can only measure the outside of the property. Assessors cannot go inside the building unless the property owner allows it.
Assessed Value vs. Appraised Value
Property tax, also called a millage tax, is an ad valorem tax. In Latin, ad valorem means “according to value.” Translation: Property owners are taxed based on the assessed value of their commercial property.
A property’s appraised value is not the same as its assessed value. What you paid for the property does not matter in this scenario. State and municipal tax assessors assign a value to the property relative to other properties in the area.
Assessed values are much lower than appraised values. Assessed valuations can be one-half to one-third of the firm market value.
How Are Missouri Commercial Property Taxes Calculated?
Your assessed property value affects how much you’ll pay in property taxes. After the assessor visits your property, they will use a state-required formula to calculate your commercial property taxes. The formula is approved by Missouri law.
Unlike other states, Missouri does not require property owners to complete income and expense forms. The only thing an assessor can request of you is the sale price of the property; however, just because an assessor asks doesn’t mean the property owner must tell.
Many Missouri property owners want the sale price to be unknown, so it doesn’t affect their taxes or become public knowledge. In states like California, you must report when you sell a property. Sale details become public knowledge after you report. Missouri property owners don’t have to report when they sell.
Branson, MO Commercial Property Tax Rates
For Branson property owners, Missouri law assesses commercial property at 32% of a property’s true value. Taney County handles all assessments and tax collections for Branson and the surrounding cities.
Your commercial property may be assessed with additional county surcharges. Any local levies for cities, counties, schools are expressed per $100 of assessed value. On average, county surcharges across Missouri are about $1.02 per $100 of assessed valuation.
An average total commercial property tax rate in Missouri is about $6.89 per $100 assessed valuation.
Find Commercial Property in Branson
Part of owning real estate or land is paying taxes. Property taxes for personal and commercial buildings help fund your community. You can budget and prepare for property taxes just as you plan for rent, employee wages and utilities.
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