Dear neighbors,
The deadline for homeowners and renters to apply for a property tax refund is this Thursday, August 15.
You can complete your application online or by mail. While the deadline to file is August 15, homeowners and renters have an additional one year grace period to claim a refund for 2013.
To find out if you qualify for a property tax refund, or to complete your application online, visit the Minnesota Department of Revenue’s website by clicking here.
The legislature made property tax relief a priority this session, providing over $400 million in middle-class property tax relief for Minnesotans through the Homestead Credit Refund (beginning in 2014), retooled renters’ credit and increased aid to counties, cities and townships.
As many of you know, the previous legislature eliminated the Market Value Homestead Credit Refund in 2011, driving up property taxes by over $330 million statewide. To replace this gap in direct property tax relief, we created the Homestead Credit Refund this session, which will go into effect next year
In 2014:
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More than 300,000 homeowners (75% of filers) will see an average refund increase of $212
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More than 137,000 additional homeowners will be eligible for a refund
In addition to aiding homeowners, we enhanced the Renters’ Credit this session, which provides property tax relief to Minnesota renters so that renters with the greatest need will see the greatest benefit (including many seniors and students).
Under the expanded credit:
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66,000 filers will see a bigger refund
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10,000 additional renters will qualify
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The average renter will see their refund increase by $179
In addition to direct property tax relief, like the property tax refund, the city of Brooklyn Center will receive $1,352,252 in LGA in 2014, thanks to a new formula passed by the legislature. That is an increase of $940,874 over the old formula. Brooklyn Park will receive $1,022,348, an increase of $1,022,348. The LGA reforms we made will make it more need-based and stable, and we also enacted a sales tax exemption for local governments. These changes are projected to reduce local government expenses by an estimated $172 million across the state, with the intention of reducing local burdens on property taxpayers.
And we have received good news—the Minnesota Department of Revenue recently released information showing property taxes are projected to decrease for the first time since 2002, due to the 2013 state budget. These measures are projected to reduce property taxes next year by $121 million.
If you have any further questions about your property tax refund, or the changes recently enacted by the legislature that will be coming next year, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I appreciate hearing from you.
Take care,
Mike