Missouri Property Tax Credit: Up to $750 for Renters and $1,100 for Owners
Missouri's "circuit breaker" pays back part of the rent or property tax that older and disabled residents paid last year. Renters can get up to $750 and homeowners up to $1,100, and you can still claim past years you missed.
AT A GLANCE
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How the credit works
The Missouri Department of Revenue (DOR) calls this the Property Tax Credit Claim, and it's widely known as the circuit breaker. It returns a share of the real estate tax or rent you paid on the home you lived in. The amount depends on two numbers: what you paid and your total household income, counting both taxable and nontaxable income.
It's a refundable credit, so you can get a check even if you owe no income tax. If you owe Missouri other tax, DOR can apply the credit to that debt first and will notify you.
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Do you qualify?
You need to clear four hurdles.
1. One of four qualifying groups
The MO-PTC asks you to pick one box:
Box | Who | Proof to attach |
|---|---|---|
A | You or your spouse were 65 or older by December 31 and lived in Missouri the entire year | Form SSA-1099 |
B | You or your spouse are a veteran 100% disabled as a result of military service | VA letter |
C | You or your spouse are 100% disabled | Letter from Social Security or Form SSA-1099 |
D | You were 60 or older by December 31 and received surviving spouse Social Security benefits | Form SSA-1099 |
"Disabled" follows Missouri law (Section 135.010(2), RSMo): you can't do any substantial gainful activity because of a medically determined physical or mental impairment expected to cause death or to last at least 12 months. Minor children don't qualify on their own.
If your spouse turned 65 and died during the year, you still qualify under Box A even if you're younger.
2. Income under the limit
Your situation | Single | Married filing combined |
|---|---|---|
Rented, or owned part of the year | $27,200 | $29,200 |
Owned and lived in your home all year | $30,000 | $34,000 |
Married couples get a built-in deduction: $2,000 for renters and $4,000 for owners who lived in the home all year. That's why the married limits are higher. Single filers and married people living apart all year get no deduction.
3. You paid property tax or rent on the home you lived in
Owners claim the real estate tax on their primary residence. Second homes don't count, and neither does a home you own but don't live in.
Renters claim rent, but only if the property owner pays property tax on the building. According to DOR, if no one pays property tax on the property, no one living there can claim the credit.
4. The employer statement
Every claimant must be able to state truthfully that they don't employ illegal or unauthorized aliens. For most retirees and disabled residents, that's a simple yes.
The credit is for a maximum of $750 for renters and $1,100 for owners who owned and occupied their home.
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What counts as household income
Household income covers you, your spouse and your minor children, taxable or not. The MO-PTC asks for five kinds of income:
Social Security before any deductions, including Medicare premiums taken from your check, plus Social Security–equivalent railroad retirement (Tier I).
Wages, pensions, annuities, alimony, dividends, interest, rental income, unemployment and other income.
Railroad retirement Tier II.
VA payments and benefits, unless the veteran is 100% disabled because of military service.
Public assistance, SSI, child support and TANF (Missouri calls it Temporary Assistance). If your minor children get SSI, include it.
DOR says these don't count: prior-year refunds, food stamps, heating assistance, life insurance benefits, foster grandparent pay, senior companion stipends, stipends for caring for children with social services, and the sale of your home if it isn't in your adjusted gross income.
Veteran details: if a veteran is 100% disabled but not from military service, VA benefits count as income. If a surviving spouse's late husband or wife was 100% disabled from service, the surviving spouse must include all VA payments.
A homeowner tip: if other adults (other than your spouse) live with you and pay rent, that rent counts as income.
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How much you'll get
Owners
Take the real estate tax on your paid tax receipt, up to $1,100. Leave out sewer lateral fees, special assessments, penalties, interest and service charges. Only up to five acres around the home count; with more land, or a mobile home taxed as personal property, attach the assessor's Form 948.
Renters
Your "tax" is figured as 20% of the rent you paid, up to $750. The rent itself must exclude utilities, deposits, late fees and returned-check fees. Some living situations use only part of the rent:
Where you live | Share of rent used |
|---|---|
Apartment, house, mobile home, duplex or mobile home lot | 100% |
Low-income housing (your rent can't exceed 40% of household income) | 100% |
Boarding home or residential care | 50% |
Skilled or intermediate care nursing home | 45% |
Hotel (50% if meals are included) | 100% |
Sharing rent with 1, 2 or 3 other adults (not your spouse or children under 18) | 50%, 33% or 25% |
If you get housing assistance, use only the rent you paid.
Turning that into a credit
Find where your income and your tax or rent figure meet on DOR's Property Tax Credit Chart. With household income of $14,300 or less, the credit equals the full allowable amount. Above that, it shrinks as income rises.
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Examples from the 2025 chart
The first is DOR's own example. The rest are our own lookups in the 2025 chart.
Situation | Allowed amount | Household income | Credit |
|---|---|---|---|
Owner paid $1,200 tax | $1,100 (cap) | $15,000 | $1,059 (DOR example) |
Renter paying $6,000 a year | $750 (20% is $1,200, capped) | $14,000 | $750 |
Renter paying $6,600 a year | $750 (capped) | $18,000 | $591 |
Owner paid $800 tax | $800 | $20,000 | $552 |
Renter paying $4,800 a year | $750 (20% is $960, capped) | $22,000 | $381 |
DOR's part-year example: Ester owned a home for three months and paid $100 in tax, then rented for nine months at $4,000 total. Her rent credit is capped at $750, so her total is $850.
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Which form to file
MO-PTC (short form): if you're not required to file a Missouri income tax return and only want the property tax credit.
MO-1040 with MO-PTS: if you must file a Missouri return. DOR says not to use MO-PTC in that case. You can't use MO-PTC if you had to file a federal return and you had Missouri adjusted gross income of $1,200 or more as a resident, or if you want back Missouri tax that was withheld.
Unsure? DOR's online Tax Form Selector will point you to the right one.
Ways to file
E-file through a tax preparer who's an authorized e-file provider. DOR says you can e-file if you also file federal and MO-1040 returns.
Fill-in form with a 2-D barcode from DOR's forms page. It does the math, and you can choose direct deposit. Mail barcode returns to Department of Revenue, P.O. Box 3385, Jefferson City, MO 65105-3385.
Paper MO-PTC: mail it with attachments to Department of Revenue, P.O. Box 2800, Jefferson City, MO 65105-2800. Don't staple it.
Before you file
☐ Form SSA-1099 or RRB-1099 (wait until January so it covers the whole year)
☐ SSI statement or Social Security letter, if you get SSI or public assistance
☐ VA letter, if you're claiming as a disabled veteran or report VA benefits
☐ All W-2s and 1099s for the household
☐ Owners: paid real estate tax receipt for the year, plus Form 948 if needed
☐ Renters: Form MO-CRP for each rental, plus Form 5674 signed by your landlord
☐ A note explaining if your rent is more than your household income, or more than 40% of it in low-income housing
Tax year matters. If you paid your 2025 real estate tax in 2026, claim it on a 2025 claim, not the 2026 one.
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Missed it? Claim past years
DOR lets you file up to three years after the original due date. The cutoff for 2022 claims was April 20, 2026, so the oldest year most people can still claim is 2023. Use that year's form and chart.
Filing for someone who died
A surviving spouse can file if the status was married filing combined. If there's no surviving spouse, the estate files. Attach a death certificate. If the check will be in someone else's name, add Form MO-1310D.
WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK
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More help in Missouri
Official sources
Last checked: October 30, 2026. Income limits, maximums, qualification boxes, rent percentages, chart figures, deadlines, addresses and phone numbers come from Missouri DOR's Property Tax Credit pages, the 2025 MO-PTC instructions and chart, and the 2025 Income Tax Reference Guide.
This is general information, not tax advice. The Missouri Department of Revenue decides who qualifies and how much each credit is.
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