Mo. Rev. Stat. » Chapter 514
Missouri Revised Statutes

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 514.260 (2026)

Duty of clerk in taxing bill of costs

✓ current as of May 2026
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  514.260.  Duty of clerk in taxing bill of costs. — The clerk shall tax and subscribe all bills of costs arising in any cause or proceedings instituted or adjudged in the court of which he is the clerk, agreeably to fees which shall, for the time being, be allowed by law, and shall in no case allow any item or charge, unless the service for which it was made was actually performed in the cause.

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(RSMo 1939 § 1427)

Prior revisions: 1929 § 1263; 1919 § 1715; 1909 § 2284

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 15 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1991–2025 · leading case: Solberg v. Graven, 174 S.W.3d 695 (Mo. Ct. App. 2005).
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Solberg v. Graven, 174 S.W.3d 695 (Mo. Ct. App. 2005). · cites it 6× “This duty is imposed by section 514.260, which states: The clerk shall tax and subscribe all bills of costs arising in any cause or proceedings instituted or adjudged in the court of which he is the clerk, agreeably to fees which shall, for the time being, be allowed by law, and…”
Leslie Riggs v. State of Missouri Dep't of Soc. Servs., 473 S.W.3d 177 (Mo. Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 4× “We observed that section 514.260 imposes the mandatory duty on the circuit clerk, not the trial court, to tax statutory court costs.”
Fisher v. Spray Planes, Inc., 814 S.W.2d 628 (Mo. Ct. App. 1991). · cites it 6× “” Section 514.260 RSMo 1986 imposes a duty on the clerk to tax costs: “The clerk shall tax and subscribe all bills of costs arising in any cause or proceedings instituted or adjudged in the court of which he is the clerk, agreeably to fees which shall, for the time being, be…”
Harrison v. Volkswagen Grp. of Am., Inc., 541 S.W.3d 33 (Mo. Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 10× “First, Appellants argue that the trial court lacked authority to enter its February 9, 2017 judgment ordering specific costs to be taxed to Appellants because Section 514.260 1 provides that only the circuit clerk may tax costs.”
Montoya v. A-1 Mufflers, Inc., 331 S.W.3d 702 (Mo. Ct. App. 2011). · cites it 3× “Section 514.260, RSMo 2000, imposes this duty and states: The clerk shall tax and subscribe all bills of costs arising in any cause or proceedings instituted or adjudged in the court of which he is the clerk, agreeably to fees which shall, for the time being, be allowed by law,…”
Starling v. Union Pac. R.R., 22 S.W.3d 213 (Mo. Ct. App. 2000). · cites it 3× ““It is well-established that where costs are definite and fixed by statute, the court clerk is required pursuant to § 514.260[, RSMo 1994, 1 ] to tax the costs, as a ministerial duty.”
Collector of Revenue v. Wiley, 529 S.W.3d 42 (Mo. Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 2× “On July 6, 2016, Whey filed a motion to tax or retax court costs, pursuant to Section 514.260 (tax) or Section 514.270 (retax).”
Wiley v. Daly, 472 S.W.3d 257 (Mo. Ct. App. 2015). “§ 514.260. The clerks who are responsible for collecting court costs shall strictly examine the accounts of all court costs accruing during any suit and shall correct the same if wrong in any manner and, if a litigant neglects or refuses to pay, then the clerk shall take such…”
Quality Bus. Accessories, Inc. v. Nat'l Bus. Prods., Inc., 880 S.W.2d 333 (Mo. Ct. App. 1994). “It is well-established that where costs are definite and fixed by statute, the court clerk is required pursuant to § 514.260 to tax the costs, as a ministerial duty.”
Greg Wiley, & Julia Mittelstadt, Individually & On Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated v. Gregory F.X. Daly, Collector of Revenue for the City of Saint Louis, Defendants/Respondents. (Mo. Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 16× “Count II, entitled “Refund of Court Costs Improperly Collected,” requested a “refund of court costs improperly collected” under sections 514.260, 514.270, & 488.014. Specifically, Count II alleged that Respondents unlawfully collected “court costs” from Appellants and the…”
The Curators of the Univ. of Missouri v. Galen J. Suppes (Mo. Ct. App. 2019). · cites it 2× “A "memorandum of costs present[s] nothing for the trial court to decide because the circuit clerk ha[s] not yet issued a bill of costs. Until the circuit clerk taxes costs in [a] case, no party is in a position to file a Rule 77.”
Hull v. Pleasant Hill Sch. Dist., 526 S.W.3d 278 (Mo. Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 2× “In the ordinary course of events, the judgment states that costs will be awarded, a bill of costs is submitted to the court clerk, the clerk taxes statutory costs under section 514.260, and an aggrieved party then files a motion under Rule 77.”
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