Today, Jackson County Executive Phil LeVota announced an extension of the payment deadline for 2025 Jackson County property taxes following delays in the mailing of tax bills.
In a typical year, property tax bills are mailed in mid-November. In 2025, the mailing process was not completed until December 15. Because official mailings often require several weeks for delivery, some taxpayers may not have received their bill until late December, and some may not have received it before December 31.
Several factors contributed to this delay. Jackson County did not have an approved 2025 operating budget until May. The contract for the vendor that does the printing and mailing tax bills expired before the budget was adopted, so in September the collections department didn’t even have a vendor to do the mailing.
In September of 2025, the Collection Department asked for an emergency approval of the tax bill printing contract. The request was denied by the former County Executive. As a result, the Collection Department had to try to secure a new vendor by joining another Missouri county’s existing contract.
With nearly 480,000 individual tax bills, Jackson County is a very large and complex customer for a new vendor. This transition required a new bill format, new software, and waiting behind counties with established relationships, all of which added time to the process.
Then the former County Executive was recalled and LeVota took office with this issue pending. Typically, the Jackson County property tax bills are mailed out in mid-November each year but that didn’t happen this year.
“I knew going into this position there were going to be problems to fix and here was yet another. But here we are. The buck stops with me. Even though this problem was created before my arrival, Jackson County government created the circumstances that led to these delays, not our taxpayers,” said County Executive Phil LeVota. “People should not be penalized for something that was beyond their control. This extension is about fairness, accountability, and making sure residents have a reasonable opportunity to pay their taxes without added burden. That is why, under my authority as County Executive, I am extending the deadline to pay 2025 Jackson County property taxes without facing penalties and interest.”
Under the extension:
- If a Jackson County taxpayer was not able to make a payment by December 31, 2025, they now have the ability to make that payment either in person or postmarked by January 31.
- In‑person payments for 2025 property tax bills will be accepted through Friday, January 30, 2026.
- Mailed payments will be accepted if postmarked by Saturday, January 31, 2026.
Online payments cannot be accepted after December 31, 2025 due to system limitations that prevent reopening the payment portal after the calendar year has closed.
The deadline extension applies only to 2025 property tax bills. Unpaid property taxes from prior years, including 2024 and earlier, remain past due and are not affected by this action.
Jackson County encourages residents with questions about their tax bill or payment options to contact the Collection Department or visit the County’s official website.