Legislature Home | Links to the World | Help | Search

House Research home > Minnesota Government in Brief > Government Finance

Major Property Tax Relief Programs

CY11/FY12 Approp. (millions)	Program	Recipients
$527	Local government aid	Cities
324	Property tax refund--homeowners	Individuals
257	Homestead market value credit	All taxing jurisdictions
199	Property tax refund--renters	Individuals
198	County program aid	Counties
73	Referendum equalization aid	School districts
24	Agricultural market value credit	All taxing jurisdictions
21	Disparity reduction aid	Counties, towns, and school districts
20	Debt service equalization aid	School districts

Property Tax Refunds

Property tax refunds provide tax relief to homeowners and renters whose property taxes are high relative to their incomes. If property tax exceeds a threshold percentage of income, the refund equals a percentage of the tax over the threshold, up to a maximum.

For taxes filed in 2009, there were $449.3 million in tax refunds.

		Number of Filers	Refund Amount (millions)	Average Refund per Filer
Homeowners	Nonsenior	221,393	$164.2	$742
	Senior	139,426	$105.1	$754
Renters	Nonsenior	219,898	$125.0	$569
	Senior	84,604	$55.0	$650
	Total	665,321	$449.3	$675

The maximum refund amount and the income brackets for both homeowners and renters are adjusted annually for inflation.

Program Limits, Refunds Filed 2011

Special Property Tax Refund (Targeting)

Targeting provides property tax relief to homeowners whose property taxes increase by more than 12 percent over the previous year. For taxes filed in 2009, there were $6.1 million in refunds.

• Household income of taxpayer not considered
• For returns filed in 2009:
  - 41,800 returns
  - $6.1 million total amount
  - $146 average refund

Originally published January 2011. Fiscal year 2011 data are from Minnesota Management and Budget, November 2010 forecast. Other data are from the Department of Revenue, unless otherwise noted.