Jackson County must roll back property tax assessments that hiked bills. What will that mean?

By Steve Kraske,

Published April 5, 2025 at 4:00 AM CDT

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A row of houses stretch along the left side of the image. A sidewalk lies in front of them, leading to a row of tall, established trees. — After Jackson County's 2023 property tax assessments, homes saw an average of 30% increase in assessed values, with some homes receiving a hike of 100% or more.

This week, a judge ruled the Missouri State Tax Commission was correct in ordering Jackson County to reverse its property assessment values from 2023. Now, the Jackson County Legislature has to figure out how that will impact taxpayers moving forward.

For many Jackson County homeowners, property values spiked in 2023.

Homes in the county had been undervalued for years. To try to address the issue, reassessments that year raised property values by an average of 30%, though in some cases, the increase was more than 100%.

Many taxpayers were hit with significantly higher bills, and cities sued to challenge the assessments.

This week, a judge confirmed that Jackson County must roll back those 2023 assessments. The Jackson County Legislature must also figure out how to address the over-taxation that took place in 2023 and 2024.

"By the preliminary calculations that were done when this order first came out in August of 2024, we overtaxed people by $118 million in 2023," said Sean Smith, who represents the 6th district in the Jackson County Legislature. "And then we did the same thing again in 2024."

Refunds are unlikely for taxpayers, as the money has already been spent by the school districts, fire departments and other bodies that rely on property tax revenue.