Property Tax Relief Programs

The Homestead Market Value Exclusion is a property tax reduction intended to keep taxes lower on owner-occupied or qualified relative-occupied homes.

Important notes about applying for homestead:

• You must own & occupy the property by December 31st and submit an application by December 31st of the current year to receive the homestead benefit for the following year’s property taxes.
• You must be a Minnesota resident to qualify for homestead.
• Your driver’s license must reflect the address where you reside.  If it doesn’t, you must update and provide a copy of the renewal with your application. MN Statute 171.11 requires MN residents to update their driver’s license within 30 days of changing their name or address.
• All occupants, owners & their spouses must sign the application and provide their Social Security Numbers (SSNs). SSNs are used by the MN Department of Revenue to verify you are not receiving homestead elsewhere in Minnesota.

Class 1b provides a reduced class rate for homestead property of any person who qualifies as blind or as permanently and totally disabled. The Class 1b blind/disabled homestead is different than other homesteads because the qualification is specific to a person (and the disabling condition), rather than being predicated on the use of the property. As a result, 1b homestead classification follows the blind/disabled individual from one property to another. Class 1b is not an exemption from property taxes; it is a reduction in taxes.

Contact the Assessor's Office for more information on the 1b Blind/Disabled Homestead program.  

Applications can be found under Applications & Forms.

The Market Value Exclusion for Veterans with a Disability program provides property tax relief to disable veterans with service-connected disability ratings of 70% or greater, as determined by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The program excludes up to $150,000 or $300,000 from taxation, dependent on the veteran's disability rating. Once enrolled in the program, surviving spouses of qualifying veterans may also qualify to continue to receive the same value exclusion for up to 8 years after the death of the veteran.

Contact our office at (218) 732-2232 for more information.

Applications are available under Applications & Forms.

Special Agricultural Homestead (also referred to as "Actively-Engaged in Farming") allows non-contiguous parcels of productive farmland to be linked to the owners' agricultural homestead under certain circumstances. Some of the requirements include:

• The owner must live within four cities, townships, or combination thereof
• The owner (or qualifying person or relative) must actively farm the land (or be actively engaged in the farming)
• The owner must be a MN resident
• The owner must have no other ag homesteads in MN
• The agricultural parcels must be at least 40 acres (or correctional 40’s)

A tax relief program for large tracts of forested property, providing a 35% tax reduction on qualifying acres. Applications for this program are due before May 1 annually to be effective for the current assessment/following year's taxes. 

• The property must be no less than 20 acres (excluding any structure sites)
• Total enrolled acreage is limited to 1,920 acres statewide.
• The property must also be managed under a qualifying forest management plan that was developed by a DNR approved forest management plan writer within the last ten years and covering at least 20.00 acres.
• The forest management plan must be registered with the DNR.
• Property receiving this classification cannot be enrolled in the Sustainable Forest Incentive Act (SFIA) program, CRP, CREP, RIM, Green Acres or the Rural Preserve program. 

Property owners can receive an incentive payment for each acre of qualifying forest land they enroll in SFIA. In return, they agree not to develop the land and to follow a forest management plan while they are in the program. All enrolled land must remain in SFIA for 8 years, 20 years, or 50 years with increased incentive payments for longer terms of enrollment. Application is made directly to the MN Department of Revenue. (Unlike 2c Managed Forest Lands, this is NOT a county-administered program.)

What properties qualify for SFIA? Qualifying properties must: 

• Be current on property taxes
• Have 20 or more contiguous acres 
• Be at least 50 percent forest land as defined in Minnesota Statutes 88.01, subd. 7
• Have a forest management plan in place
• Have an agreement (“covenant”) in place limiting the property’s use to forest management activities.

Further, qualifying properties cannot:

• Be classified as 2c Managed Forest Land by the assessor or enrolled in:
• Be enrolled in Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM), Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Green Acres, Agricultural Preserves, Rural Preserves
• Be used for residential or agricultural purposes
• Be improved with a structure, pavement, sewer, campsite, or road used for purposes that are not in the forest management plan
• Be covered under a Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council easement or similar easement granted after May 30, 2013

A tax deferral program for certain agricultural property which has a higher estimated market value than other agricultural land due to an outside influence.

• Example: A productive field or pasture by a lake where the land is valued as lakeshore.

A tax deferral program for non-productive acres on agricultural property which has a higher estimated market value than other agricultural land due to an outside influence.

• Example: Non-productive wooded land by a lake where the is valued as lakeshore.

Under this deferral program, the property taxes on newly platted land are phased in over a seven year phase-in period until the taxable value reaches 100% of estimated market value. This phase-in period expires when the developer sells the property or it is improved with a structure.

Insitutions of Purely Public Charity may qualify for property tax exemption. The County Assessor reviews and approves/denies all exempt applications. Contact the Assessor's Office for more information.