§ 139.053 RSMo — Property taxes, how paid — estimates — interest — refunds — exemption for property taxes paid by financial institutions

1. The governing body of any county, excluding township counties, may by ordinance or order provide for the payment of all or any part of current real and personal property taxes which are owed, at the option of the taxpayer, on an annual, semiannual or quarterly basis at such times as determined by such governing body.

2. The ordinance shall provide the method by which the amount of property taxes owed for the current tax year in which the payments are to be made shall be estimated. The collector shall submit to the governing body the procedures by which taxes will be collected pursuant to the ordinance or order. The estimate shall be based on the previous tax year's liability. A taxpayer's payment schedule shall be based on the estimate divided by the number of pay periods in which payments are to be made. The taxpayer shall at the end of the tax year pay any amounts owed in excess of the estimate for such year. The county shall at the end of the tax year refund to the taxpayer any amounts paid in excess of the property tax owed for such year. No interest shall be paid by the county on excess amounts owed to the taxpayer. Any refund paid the taxpayer pursuant to this subsection shall be an amount paid by the county only once in a calendar year.

3. If a taxpayer fails to make an installment payment of a portion of the real or personal property taxes owed to the county, then such county may charge the taxpayer interest on the amount of property taxes still owed for that year.

4. Any governing body enacting the ordinance or order specified in this section shall first agree to provide the county collector with reasonable and necessary funds to implement the ordinance or order.

5. Subsection 1 of this section shall not apply to payment for real property taxes by financial institutions, as defined in section 381.410 , who pay tax obligations which they service from escrow accounts, as defined in Title 24, Part 3500, Section 17, Code of Federal Regulation, as amended.