St. Louis County is telling seniors not to pay their property tax bills online after a software error posted incorrect amounts for homeowners enrolled in the Senior Property Tax Freeze (STF).

The program has more than 70,000 approved homeowners, but the number affected by the error was not confirmed, according to First Alert 4. The bills posted to the county's online portal the week of Oct. 26 show tax increases that should not be there, county officials said.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that about 200,000 incorrect property tax bills went online county-wide, including those for senior freeze recipients.

Elizabeth Eisele, a spokesperson for St. Louis County, told First Alert 4 the problem traces to a software glitch that applied the wrong base year to freeze enrollees' accounts.

"We are seeing some glitches with some software that didn't apply the right base year for those folks. So, we are working on fixing that, will be a couple of days," Eisele said. "It only affects the bill that shows up online."

Eisele said homeowners will receive a paper tax bill in the mail in November. That paper bill will show the correct amount, she said. The online bills should be corrected sometime the week of Nov. 2.

What residents should do

County Council Vice Chairman Mark Harder issued a resident alert urging all taxpayers to hold off on paying, KSDK reported. Harder called the number of affected properties "unknown but significant."

"Because we know that many bills are inaccurate, we are asking all taxpayers to HOLD OFF on paying the Real Property tax bill that is currently showing (as of 10-27-26) on the county website for their address," Harder stated. "Please allow a week (until November 4th) to access your tax bill to give the county time to accurately generate these bills."

Maplewood homeowner saw $1,950 increase

Amby Stevenson, 75, has lived in her Maplewood home for 36 years. She checked her 2026 property tax bill online and saw a $1,950 increase, even though she had enrolled in the freeze for two years, First Alert 4 reported.

"How am I going to pay it because I definitely don't have an extra $2,000 laying around. I'm on a fixed income, I'm retired," Stevenson said.

Separate issue: missed deadlines

Some homeowners may see a legitimately higher bill because they missed the July 10 deadline to confirm their enrollment for 2026. Eisele said enrollees did not need to resubmit any information. They only needed to check the box confirming their address was still their primary residence.

2027 sign-up opens Nov. 1

The enrollment period for the 2027 STF opens Nov. 1 for anyone who qualifies. The program, which Missouri passed in 2023 and St. Louis County began implementing in 2024, limits increases in general operating taxes on a homeowner's primary residence. It covers real property taxes, not personal property.