MN Property Tax Refund Eligibility Requirements

Eligibility Requirements for the Minnesota Property Tax Refund

The Minnesota Property Tax Refund is actually THREE refunds: one for renters and two for homeowners. To apply for this refund, you need to:

meet the basic eligibility requirements; and
crunch the numbers to see if you qualify.

IMPORTANT: Every year, thousands of Minnesotans who are otherwise eligible to receive the refund fail to file. Why? Because they misunderstand the income requirements for filing and don't realize that they are indeed eligible. Read below for more information on how the eFile Express™ Property Tax Refund Calculator can help you avoid this common mistake.

Basic Eligibility Requirements

The basic eligibility requirements as set forth by the Minnesota Department of Revenue are:

You must have been either a full- or part-year resident of Minnesota during the tax year you are filing for.
You cannot be a dependent.
If you are a homeowner or mobile home owner:
— your property must be classified as your homestead, or you must have applied for homestead classification and had it approved, and
— you must have paid or made arrangements to pay any delinquent property taxes on your home.
If you are a renter, you must have lived in a building in which the owner:
— was assessed property taxes, or
— paid a portion of the rent receipts in place of property tax, or
— made payments to a local government in lieu of property taxes.
If you are not sure whether property taxes were assessed on the building, check with your building owner.

Additional eligibility requirements require you to crunch the numbers to see if you qualify for the refund.

Crunching the Numbers

What is your "total household income"? How much did your property tax increase by? If you don't have the CORRECT answers to these questions, then you can't really tell if you qualify for the property tax refund.

Most taxpayers think that "total household income" is the same as the "adjusted gross income" they reported on their federal tax return. Big mistake! Total household income is actually your federal adjusted gross income plus most nontaxable income minus a subtraction if you have dependents or if you or your spouse are age 65 or older or disabled. This subtraction, if it applies to you, can reduce your income by between $3,400 and $23,800 on 2007 returns and between $3,300 and $23,100 on 2006 returns!

And, while homeowners may find the percent increase in property taxes to be a straight forward calculation, a quick glance at all of the numbers on one's property tax statement can make even that seem a little daunting.

The bottom line: To know for sure, you need to crunch the numbers. And that's what the eFile Express™ Property Tax Refund Calculator can do for you.

Other Eligibility Requirements

Now that you understand the need to crunch the numbers, here are the other eligibility requirements as defined by the Minnesota Department of Revenue.

To qualify for the 2007 refund:

as a renter, your total household income for 2007 must be less than $50,430.
as a homeowner, you may be eligible for one or both of the following refunds, if you owned and lived in your home on January 2, 2008. To qualify for the:
— regular property tax refund, your total household income for 2007 must be less than $93,480.
— special property tax refund, you must have owned and lived in your home both on January 2, 2007, and on January 2, 2008; your net property tax on your homestead must have increased by more than 12 percent from 2007 to 2008; and the increase must be at least $100. There is no income limit for the special property tax refund.

To qualify for the 2006 refund:

as a renter, your total household income for 2006 must be less than $49,160.
as a homeowner, you may be eligible for one or both of the following refunds, if you owned and lived in your home on January 2, 2007. To qualify for the:
— regular property tax refund, your total household income for 2006 must be less than $91,120.
— special property tax refund, you must have owned and lived in your home both on January 2, 2006, and on January 2, 2007; your net property tax on your homestead must have increased by more than 12 percent from 2006 to 2007; and the increase must be at least $100. There is no income limit for the special property tax refund.

Special Situation

Minnesota law allows homestead status for a home occupied by a relative of the owner, if certain qualifications are met. However, neither the owner of the property nor the relative may claim the property tax refund or the special refund if the property qualifies as a homestead under this law.