Missouri Property Tax Receipt

A personal property tax receipt is proof that you paid your personal property taxes. One of the most common reasons you’ll need one is to license your car.

When does Missouri personal property tax apply?

Missouri personal property tax applies to:

• Motor vehicles

• Trailers

• Mobile homes (except when considered real property)

• Watercraft

• Boat motors

• Aircraft

• Livestock

• Farm machinery and equipment

• Other personal property not exempt by law

The tax is based on what you owned on January 1st each year even if you sell property during the year. There is no proration.

The deadline to pay taxes is December 31st.

Licensing Your Car

In order to license a car you recently purchased or renew your license plate, you will need to show a copy of your tax receipt showing you paid your tax bill.

If you buy a car after January 1st, you can show the previous tax receipt without the car listed. If you owned the car on January 1st and forgot to include it in your personal property declaration, contact your local assessor’s office.

If you didn’t need to pay property taxes, you may need to get a personal property tax waiver instead.

Can’t the Missouri Department of Motor Vehicles see if you paid your personal property tax?

Most personal property tax receipts are public records available on government websites. They’re usually maintained by the local tax collector’s office.

Some local DMV offices still require you to show your tax receipts. Others will charge you a fee to look up your records if you don’t obtain your receipt.

It often takes a week for your online account to reflect a recent payment.

How do I get a copy of my personal property tax receipt?

There are two ways to get a copy of your personal property tax receipt in Missouri. You can either visit your local collector’s office or obtain it online.

There is usually a small fee to obtain a receipt in person, while you can usually print a receipt online for free. You can look up your tax receipt online using either your address (entered exactly matching your tax records) or tax account number.

If you still owe property taxes, you can pay online and immediately receive a receipt you can print.

If you choose to mail a payment, remember it will take time to arrive and be accepted by the tax collector. While your payment date will usually be the USPS postmark date, you won’t be able to get a tax receipt until your records are updated.