Property Tax Relief

Homeowners

Minnesota has two property tax refund programs for homeowners. You may qualify for either or both of these refunds depending on your income and property tax increase.

1. Regular Homestead Credit Refund
To qualify for the regular Homestead Credit Refund, all of the following must be true:

• You have a valid Social Security number.
• Your property is classified as your homestead.
• You have paid your property taxes.
• You owned and lived in your home on January 2, 2018.
• Your household income for 2017 was less than $110,650.

2. Special Homestead Credit Refund
To qualify for the special Homestead Credit Refund, all of the following must be true:

• You have a valid Social Security number.
• Your property is classified as your homestead.
• You have paid your property taxes.
• You owned and lived in the same home on January 2, 2017, and on January 2, 2018.
• Your homestead's net property tax increased by more than 12 percent from 2017 to 2018.
• The net property tax increase was at least $100.
• The increase was not due to improvements you made to the property.

NOTE: There is no income limit for the special refund. You may qualify for the special refund even if you do not qualify for the regular refund. 

Renters

As a renter, you may qualify for the Renter’s Property Tax Refund. Your refund is based on your household income, number of dependents, and how much property tax you paid through rent on your principal residence.

To qualify, all of the following must be true:

• You are a Minnesota resident, or you are not a Minnesota resident but spent more than 183 days in the state.
• You cannot be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s federal tax return.
• Your household income for 2017 was less than $59,960.
• You lived in a building where the owner was assessed property taxes or made “payments in lieu of property taxes.” If you are unsure if either of these are true, contact the property owner.

Senior Citizens

You may qualify for the Senior Citizens Property Tax Deferral Program if you meet certain requirements and have difficulty paying your homestead’s property taxes.

To qualify, both of the following must be true:

• You or your spouse are age 65 or older.
• Your household income is $60,000 or less.

Resources

More information is available on the Minnesota Department of Revenue website.