Eligibility Requirements

You may be eligible for a property tax refund based on your household income and the property taxes paid on your principal place of residence in Minnesota. Generally, house­hold income is 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.

To qualify:

• as a renter, your total household income for 2011 must be less than $54,620. The maxi­mum refund is $1,550.
• 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, 2012. To qualify for the: 1) regular property tax refund, your total household income for 2011 must be less than $100,780. The maximum refund is $2,460. 2) special property tax refund, you must have owned and lived in your home both on January 2, 2011, and on January 2, 2012; your net property tax on your home­stead must have increased by more than 12 percent from 2011 to 2012; and the increase must be $100 or more. There is no income limit for the special property tax refund, and the maximum refund is $1,000.

If you meet the above qualifications as a renter or homeowner, read the other requirements below to determine if you still qualify. If you do not qualify, there is no need for you to complete Form M1PR.

Other Requirements Include:

You must have been a full- or part-year resident of Minnesota during 2011 - If you are a renter and a permanent resident of another state, but are consid­ered to be a resident of Minnesota for income tax purposes because you lived in Minnesota more than 183 days, you may apply for this refund. Full-year residents of Michigan and North Dakota cannot apply for the refund.

You cannot be a dependent - A dependent is a person who meets at least one of the following three require­ments:

• 1) could be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s 2011 federal income tax return.
• 2) lived with a parent, grandparent, sib­ling, aunt or uncle for more than half the year, and — was under age 19 at the end of the year (24 if a full-time student), and — did not provide more than 50% of his or her own support.
• 3) had gross income of less than $3,700 in 2011, and had more than 50% of his or her support provided by: — a person he or she lived with for the entire year, or — a parent, grandparent, child, grand­child, aunt, uncle, sibling, niece or nephew.

Note: You cannot claim a refund if you are a nonresident alien living in Min­nesota, your gross income was less than $3,700 and you received more than 50% of your support from a relative.

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.
• You must have a valid Social Security number to apply for homestead classification with the county. If you do not have a valid Social Security number or use an Individual Tax­payer Identification Number (ITIN) to file your tax return, you do not qualify for the property tax refund as a homeowner.
• 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 on 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.

Relative Homesteads DO NOT Qualify

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 occupant may claim the property tax refund or the special refund.

When Can You Expect to Receive Your Refund?

• Renters and Mobile Homeowners - By mid-August for properly completed returns filed by June 15 or 60 days after you file, whichever is later.
• Homeowners - By the end of September for properly completed returns filed by August 1 or 60 days after you file, whichever is later.

For additional information pertaining to the Minnesota Property Tax Rebate (M1PR), please refer to the Forms and Instructions.