| Minnesota has two property tax refund programs to give
relief to taxpayers with lower incomes or high annual tax increases — the
"circuit breaker" and the targeted refund program.
Homeowners and renters with low to moderate incomes are eligible for a property tax relief program known as the circuit breaker. Under the circuit breaker, homeowners with household incomes below $65,450 and renters with incomes below $38,170 may qualify for property tax refunds. In 1995, Minnesota paid refunds totaling $75 million to homeowners and $87 million to renters. The maximum possible refund in 1997 will be $470 for homeowners and $1,090 for renters. Taxpayers whose property tax bills rise at least 12 percent and at least $100 in a given year are eligible for property tax refunds of up to $1,000 under the targeted refund program. Per capita property tax refunds in 1995 ranged from $53 in Hennepin County to $12 in Lake of the Woods County. |
Amounts were highest in southern Minnesota and lowest in
northern Minnesota. Hennepin and Ramsey counties were among those receiving
the highest refunds. Refunds are highest in areas where property taxes are
high compared to household income. High property tax refunds flow to many areas in Minneapolis, St. Paul and their closest suburbs. These are areas that do not produce large amounts of income tax revenue. Refund amounts are lower in suburban areas that generate large amounts of income tax revenue. The metropolitan-area map shows the total property tax refunds in each ZIP code area. The numbers are not presented per capita because population figures for ZIP code areas are not readily available. A high property tax refund value on this map may reflect a large number of rental units, high population density, high refund amounts or all three. In any case, the central cities receive more property tax refund money than the outer-ring suburbs. |
View: State map of property tax relief
View: Twin Cities map of property tax relief
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