Homestead Information and Application

What is a Homestead Tax Credit?

A homestead credit is a statutory reduction to the general property tax for certain property that is occupied as a person’s primary place of residence.

Eligibility Requirements for Homestead

You must occupy the home by December 1 to be eligible for the homestead tax credit for taxes payable the following year.

To qualify for a homestead credit, you must meet all of the following requirements:

You must be one of the owners of the property, or be a qualifying relative of at least one of the owners.
To be a qualifying relative of the owner, you must be the owner’s son, daughter, parent, grandchild, grandparent, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, niece, or nephew. This relationship may exist through marriage.
You or your qualifying relative must occupy the property as a primary place of residence; and
You must be a Minnesota resident. (If a residential class property is the primary residence of a qualifying relative of an owner, it is not necessary for the owner to be a Minnesota resident.)

You may be considered a Minnesota resident if all or some of the following apply:

You are registered to vote in Minnesota;
You have a valid Minnesota driver’s license or Minnesota picture I.D. card;
You list a property in Minnesota as your permanent mailing address;
You are employed by a business located in Minnesota;
Your children, if any, attend school in Minnesota; and or
You are not a legal resident of any other state or County.

Additional Requirements

You need only apply for the Homestead Classification once. Once granted, the Homestead status should remain in effect as long as you own and occupy the property as your primary residence. However, the assessor may, at any time, require a homestead application to be filed in order to verify that any property classified as homestead continues to be eligible for homestead status.

The law requires that a Certificate of Real Estate Value must be filed before a homestead can be granted (Minn. Statute 272.115).

Even though Social Security numbers are private information, under Minnesota State law (Minnesota Statute 273.124 Subd. 13), they must be provided before a homestead credit will be granted. Social Security numbers will be used to determine if owners or relatives of owners have applied for more than one homestead in the state.

Moving / Homestead Status Change

If at any time the property is sold or you change your primary residence, state law requires that you notify the Assessor within (30) days. If you fail to notify the Assessor as required, the homestead will be removed and penalties will be imposed.

Minnesota law also requires that you notify the City when your homestead status changes. This will keep your records on the property up-to-date.