(The Center Square) – The City of St. Louis is ready to handle the property tax freeze for seniors while St. Louis County is making preparations for the process.

Missouri Republican Gov. Mike Parson signed Senate Bill 756 into law earlier this month to change how seniors can be eligible for a property tax freeze. When the law was passed last year, it limited the definition of an eligible taxpayer to someone eligible for Social Security retirement benefits.

The 2023 law, Senate Bill 190, prohibited teachers, firefighters, railroad employees and others who don’t contribute to Social Security to be eligible for the property tax freeze. This year’s bill changes the eligibility to a taxpayer 62 years of age or older. After counties authorize the credit, it will equal the difference between the amount of tax owed in the current year minus the tax owed the previous year. Taxpayers are eligible for a credit only on their primary residence.

“With thousands of applications already submitted, we’re excited to expand eligibility for the senior property tax freeze to all residents 62 and older,” St. Louis Alderman Michael Browning said in a statement. “St. Louis will be among the first cities to incorporate this change, offering much needed relief to seniors in our city.”

Eligible taxpayers in the City of St. Louis will have until Aug. 31 to apply. The application period for next year and the following years will be from Jan. 1 to June 30.

“We want our older residents to age in place without the fear of being priced out of their neighborhood as we build a stronger St. Louis,” Mayor Tishaura Jones said in a statement announcing city beginning to take applications. “I hope eligible seniors will take advantage of this additional opportunity to apply.”

The St. Louis County Council passed an ordinance to repeal last year’s ordinance regarding the property tax freeze and adopting a new one corresponding to the new state law. The county announced its in the process of hiring staff and working with technology vendors to create new software to implement the application for the property tax freeze. The county council approved $600,000 to implement the process and is in addition to $300,000 approved for the project last year.

The county also removed from this year’s ordinance a $550,000 cap for property value in order to be eligible for the freeze.

The county ordinance set a June 30, 2025, deadline to apply for the property tax program.

This year’s state law also sets the initial base year as the later of the year a taxpayer turns 62 or the year an ordinance or petition is passed. It also states any tax year with a lower liability than the base year will become the new base tax year.

The new law clarifies that any political subdivision – not just a county – impacted by the property tax freeze can’t increase the tax levy to compensate for lost revenue due to the property tax credit.