Jackson County is sending out property tax assessments soon. What to know about yours

Natalie Wallington
Emily Curiel/ecuriel@kcstar.com

Property tax assessment season is almost upon us. Property owners should receive their notices of their property’s assessed market value in mid-April — that’s the county’s estimate of roughly how much your house or land is worth.

This valuation will be used to calculate your property tax bill later this year. That means you don’t have to do anything with the value notice for now, unless you disagree with it and want to appeal.

If you are a renter, you don’t have to worry about this process — your landlord will be charged property tax on the building where you live.

Many homeowners have questions about the property assessment process. That’s why the Jackson County assessment office has scheduled a handful of in-person information sessions to answer residents’ questions.

Where can I get my questions about property assessment answered?

Here are the three upcoming meetings property owners can attend:

  • Monday, March 27, 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Morningstar Youth & Family Life Center located at 2525 E 27th St. in Kansas City

  • Wednesday, March 29, 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Fleming Meeting Hall located at 21906 SW Woods Chapel Road in Blue Springs

  • Wednesday, April 5, 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Mid-Continent Public Library – North Independence located at 317 W 24 Highway in Independence

“A representative from the Assessor’s Office will be present at each meeting to share information and to answer questions,” the office wrote in a news release.

These meetings are about “real” property, meaning non-movable property like houses and plots of land. The tax you pay on this property goes towards school boards, fire and water services, local governments, libraries and various county funds.

How does property assessment work?

State law requires counties to perform “real” property assessments every odd-numbered year. Jackson County’s assessment office uses a variety of factors to determine the market value of your property, including the size and age of your home, recent improvements to your neighborhood and changes in the housing market.

The county will first evaluate the value of your home as of Jan. 1 of this year. Property owners will get a notice of this valuation in the mail in the next few weeks. If it looks right to you, there’s nothing more you have to do until your property tax bill is due this fall.

If you disagree with the valuation of your home, you have the right to appeal it before your tax bill is due. You can learn more about the appeals process here.

The market value of your property will then be multiplied by a classification rate to arrive at your assessed value — that’s the amount you’ll be taxed on this fall.

For residential property, this rate is 19%. For agricultural land, it’s 12%. All other types of property, including commercial property, are assessed at 32%.

Finally, your assessed value will be taxed as a specific property tax rate that’s determined at the local level. We don’t know yet what that tax rate is: Most taxing authorities like schools, libraries and fire and water districts won’t decide on them until later this year.

Your property tax rate will depend on where precisely you live — homeowners even a few blocks away from you may pay a different rate because they fall under a different combination of taxing authorities. Property taxes also go to county funds for services like mental health, assistance for the blind and other public benefits.

Do you have more questions about property tax assessment in the Kansas City area? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.

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