Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session

Minnesota Senate Bill SF1473 Compare Versions

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1	1	1.1 A bill for an act
2	2	1.2 relating to taxation; property; establishing a senior citizens' property tax credit;
3	3	1.3 appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, sections 273.1393;
4	4	1.4 275.065, subdivision 3; 276.04, subdivision 2; proposing coding for new law in
5	5	1.5 Minnesota Statutes, chapter 273.
6	6	1.6BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
7	7	1.7 Section 1. [273.1388] SENIOR CITIZENS' PROPERTY TAX CREDIT.
8	8	1.8 Subdivision 1.Definition.For purposes of this section, "normal retirement age" means
9	9	1.9normal retirement age as defined in United States Code, title 42, section 416(l), as amended.
10	10	1.10 Subd. 2.Senior citizens' property tax credit.(a) Property classified as class 1a or 1b
11	11	1.11under section 273.13, subdivision 22, and the portion of property classified as class 2a under
12	12	1.12section 273.13, subdivision 23, consisting of the house, garage, and surrounding one acre
13	13	1.13of land, is eligible for a senior citizens' property tax credit as determined under paragraph
14	14	1.14(c).
15	15	1.15 (b) To qualify for the credit, the property must be owned and occupied as a homestead
16	16	1.16by a person that is retired at the normal retirement age, or retired under a mandatory
17	17	1.17retirement law or policy, but not less than 65 years of age. In the case of a married couple,
18	18	1.18at least one spouse must be 65 years of age or older and the other spouse must be at least
19	19	1.1962 years of age. The property may be titled in the name of one spouse or both spouses or
20	20	1.20titled in another way that permits the property to have homestead status.
21	21	1.21 (c) The credit is equal to the difference between: (1) the net tax on the property computed
22	22	1.22using the market value of the property established for the January 2 assessment in the year
23	23	1.23of application; and (2) the net tax computed on property that is the median market value of
24	24	1Section 1.
25	25	25-01836 as introduced01/22/25 REVISOR MS/VJ
26	26	SENATE
27	27	STATE OF MINNESOTA
28	28	S.F. No. 1473NINETY-FOURTH SESSION
29	29	(SENATE AUTHORS: DRAZKOWSKI)
30	30	OFFICIAL STATUSD-PGDATE
31	31	Introduction and first reading02/17/2025
32	32	Referred to Taxes 2.1owner-occupied housing within the applicant's municipality, as recorded by the county
33	33	2.2assessor in the same assessment year. The maximum credit is capped at $........ The credit
34	34	2.3must be rounded to the nearest whole dollar and may not be less than zero.
35	35	2.4 Subd. 3.Initial application.To qualify for a senior citizens' property tax credit, an
36	36	2.5applicant must file an application with the county auditor by July 1 of the assessment year
37	37	2.6to be effective for taxes payable in the following year. The form must be prescribed by the
38	38	2.7commissioner of revenue. The county auditor must approve or disapprove of the application
39	39	2.8within 30 days after receiving the application. An approved applicant may claim the credit
40	40	2.9for each subsequent taxes payable year until: (1) the applicant no longer owns the property;
41	41	2.10or (2) the applicant no longer qualifies for the credit. The county auditor must indicate the
42	42	2.11amount of the credit on the property tax statement of each applicant receiving a credit under
43	43	2.12this section.
44	44	2.13 Subd. 4.Credit reimbursements.The county auditor must determine the tax reductions
45	45	2.14allowed under this section within the county for each taxes payable year and must certify
46	46	2.15that amount to the commissioner of revenue as part of the data required under section
47	47	2.16270C.85, subdivision 2, clause (4). Any prior year adjustments must also be certified as
48	48	2.17part of the data required under section 270C.85, subdivision 2. The commissioner of revenue
49	49	2.18must review the certifications for accuracy and may make changes that are considered
50	50	2.19necessary or return the certification to the county auditor for correction.
51	51	2.20 Subd. 5.Payment.(a) The commissioner must reimburse each local taxing jurisdiction,
52	52	2.21other than school districts, for the tax reductions granted under this section in two equal
53	53	2.22installments on October 31 and December 26 of the taxes payable year for which the
54	54	2.23reductions are granted, including in each payment the prior year adjustments certified under
55	55	2.24section 270C.85, subdivision 2, for that taxes payable year.
56	56	2.25 (b) The commissioner of revenue must certify the total of tax reductions granted under
57	57	2.26this section for each taxes payable year within each school district to the commissioner of
58	58	2.27education, and the commissioner of education must pay the reimbursement amounts to each
59	59	2.28school district as provided in section 273.1392.
60	60	2.29 Subd. 6.Appropriation.An amount sufficient to make the payments required by this
61	61	2.30section to taxing jurisdictions other than school districts is annually appropriated from the
62	62	2.31general fund to the commissioner of revenue. An amount sufficient to make the payments
63	63	2.32required by this section for school districts is annually appropriated from the general fund
64	64	2.33to the commissioner of education.
65	65	2Section 1.
66	66	25-01836 as introduced01/22/25 REVISOR MS/VJ 3.1 EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective beginning with property taxes payable
67	67	3.2in 2026.
68	68	3.3 Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 273.1393, is amended to read:
69	69	3.4 273.1393 COMPUTATION OF NET PROPERTY TAXES.
70	70	3.5 Notwithstanding any other provisions to the contrary, "net" property taxes are determined
71	71	3.6by subtracting the credits in the order listed from the gross tax:
72	72	3.7 (1) disaster credit as provided in sections 273.1231 to 273.1235;
73	73	3.8 (2) powerline credit as provided in section 273.42;
74	74	3.9 (3) agricultural preserves credit as provided in section 473H.10;
75	75	3.10 (4) enterprise zone credit as provided in section 469.171;
76	76	3.11 (5) disparity reduction credit;
77	77	3.12 (6) conservation tax credit as provided in section 273.119;
78	78	3.13 (7) the school bond credit as provided in section 273.1387;
79	79	3.14 (8) agricultural credit as provided in section 273.1384;
80	80	3.15 (9) taconite homestead credit as provided in section 273.135;
81	81	3.16 (10) supplemental homestead credit as provided in section 273.1391; and
82	82	3.17 (11) the bovine tuberculosis zone credit, as provided in section 273.113.; and
83	83	3.18 (12) senior citizens' property tax credit, as provided in section 273.1388.
84	84	3.19 The combination of all property tax credits must not exceed the gross tax amount.
85	85	3.20 EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective beginning with property taxes payable
86	86	3.21in 2026.
87	87	3.22 Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 275.065, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
88	88	3.23 Subd. 3.Notice of proposed property taxes.(a) The county auditor shall prepare and
89	89	3.24the county treasurer shall deliver after November 10 and on or before November 24 each
90	90	3.25year, by first class mail to each taxpayer at the address listed on the county's current year's
91	91	3.26assessment roll, a notice of proposed property taxes. Upon written request by the taxpayer,
92	92	3.27the treasurer may send the notice in electronic form or by electronic mail instead of on paper
93	93	3.28or by ordinary mail.
94	94	3Sec. 3.
95	95	25-01836 as introduced01/22/25 REVISOR MS/VJ 4.1 (b) The commissioner of revenue shall prescribe the form of the notice.
96	96	4.2 (c) The notice must inform taxpayers that it contains the amount of property taxes each
97	97	4.3taxing authority proposes to collect for taxes payable the following year. In the case of a
98	98	4.4town, or in the case of the state general tax, the final tax amount will be its proposed tax.
99	99	4.5The notice must clearly state for each city that has a population over 500, county, school
100	100	4.6district, regional library authority established under section 134.201, metropolitan taxing
101	101	4.7districts as defined in paragraph (i), and fire protection and emergency medical services
102	102	4.8special taxing districts established under section 144F.01, the time and place of a meeting
103	103	4.9for each taxing authority in which the budget and levy will be discussed and public input
104	104	4.10allowed, prior to the final budget and levy determination. The taxing authorities must provide
105	105	4.11the county auditor with the information to be included in the notice on or before the time it
106	106	4.12certifies its proposed levy under subdivision 1. The public must be allowed to speak at that
107	107	4.13meeting, which must occur after November 24 and must not be held before 6:00 p.m. It
108	108	4.14must provide a website address and a telephone number for the taxing authority that taxpayers
109	109	4.15may call if they have questions related to the notice and an address where comments will
110	110	4.16be received by mail, except that no notice required under this section shall be interpreted
111	111	4.17as requiring the printing of a personal telephone number or address as the contact information
112	112	4.18for a taxing authority. If a taxing authority does not maintain a website or public offices
113	113	4.19where telephone calls can be received by the authority, the authority may inform the county
114	114	4.20of the lack of a public website or telephone number and the county shall not list a website
115	115	4.21or telephone number for that taxing authority.
116	116	4.22 (d) The notice must state for each parcel:
117	117	4.23 (1) the market value of the property as determined under section 273.11, and used for
118	118	4.24computing property taxes payable in the following year and for taxes payable in the current
119	119	4.25year as each appears in the records of the county assessor on November 1 of the current
120	120	4.26year; and, in the case of residential property, whether the property is classified as homestead
121	121	4.27or nonhomestead. The notice must clearly inform taxpayers of the years to which the market
122	122	4.28values apply and that the values are final values;
123	123	4.29 (2) the items listed below, shown separately by county, city or town, and state general
124	124	4.30tax, agricultural homestead credit under section 273.1384, school building bond agricultural
125	125	4.31credit under section 273.1387, senior citizens' property tax credit under section 273.1388,
126	126	4.32voter approved school levy, other local school levy, and the sum of the special taxing
127	127	4.33districts, and as a total of all taxing authorities:
128	128	4.34 (i) the actual tax for taxes payable in the current year; and
129	129	4Sec. 3.
130	130	25-01836 as introduced01/22/25 REVISOR MS/VJ 5.1 (ii) the proposed tax amount.
131	131	5.2 If the county levy under clause (2) includes an amount for a lake improvement district
132	132	5.3as defined under sections 103B.501 to 103B.581, the amount attributable for that purpose
133	133	5.4must be separately stated from the remaining county levy amount.
134	134	5.5 In the case of a town or the state general tax, the final tax shall also be its proposed tax
135	135	5.6unless the town changes its levy at a special town meeting under section 365.52. If a school
136	136	5.7district has certified under section 126C.17, subdivision 9, that a referendum will be held
137	137	5.8in the school district at the November general election, the county auditor must note next
138	138	5.9to the school district's proposed amount that a referendum is pending and that, if approved
139	139	5.10by the voters, the tax amount may be higher than shown on the notice. In the case of the
140	140	5.11city of Minneapolis, the levy for Minneapolis Park and Recreation shall be listed separately
141	141	5.12from the remaining amount of the city's levy. In the case of the city of St. Paul, the levy for
142	142	5.13the St. Paul Library Agency must be listed separately from the remaining amount of the
143	143	5.14city's levy. In the case of Ramsey County, any amount levied under section 134.07 may be
144	144	5.15listed separately from the remaining amount of the county's levy. In the case of a parcel
145	145	5.16where tax increment or the fiscal disparities areawide tax under chapter 276A or 473F
146	146	5.17applies, the proposed tax levy on the captured value or the proposed tax levy on the tax
147	147	5.18capacity subject to the areawide tax must each be stated separately and not included in the
148	148	5.19sum of the special taxing districts; and
149	149	5.20 (3) the increase or decrease between the total taxes payable in the current year and the
150	150	5.21total proposed taxes, expressed as a percentage.
151	151	5.22 For purposes of this section, the amount of the tax on homesteads qualifying under the
152	152	5.23senior citizens' property tax deferral program under chapter 290B is the total amount of
153	153	5.24property tax before subtraction of the deferred property tax amount.
154	154	5.25 (e) The notice must clearly state that the proposed or final taxes do not include the
155	155	5.26following:
156	156	5.27 (1) special assessments;
157	157	5.28 (2) levies approved by the voters after the date the proposed taxes are certified, including
158	158	5.29bond referenda and school district levy referenda;
159	159	5.30 (3) a levy limit increase approved by the voters by the first Tuesday after the first Monday
160	160	5.31in November of the levy year as provided under section 275.73;
161	161	5.32 (4) amounts necessary to pay cleanup or other costs due to a natural disaster occurring
162	162	5.33after the date the proposed taxes are certified;
163	163	5Sec. 3.
164	164	25-01836 as introduced01/22/25 REVISOR MS/VJ 6.1 (5) amounts necessary to pay tort judgments against the taxing authority that become
165	165	6.2final after the date the proposed taxes are certified; and
166	166	6.3 (6) the contamination tax imposed on properties which received market value reductions
167	167	6.4for contamination.
168	168	6.5 (f) Except as provided in subdivision 7, failure of the county auditor to prepare or the
169	169	6.6county treasurer to deliver the notice as required in this section does not invalidate the
170	170	6.7proposed or final tax levy or the taxes payable pursuant to the tax levy.
171	171	6.8 (g) If the notice the taxpayer receives under this section lists the property as
172	172	6.9nonhomestead, and satisfactory documentation is provided to the county assessor by the
173	173	6.10applicable deadline, and the property qualifies for the homestead classification in that
174	174	6.11assessment year, the assessor shall reclassify the property to homestead for taxes payable
175	175	6.12in the following year.
176	176	6.13 (h) In the case of class 4 residential property used as a residence for lease or rental
177	177	6.14periods of 30 days or more, the taxpayer must either:
178	178	6.15 (1) mail or deliver a copy of the notice of proposed property taxes to each tenant, renter,
179	179	6.16or lessee; or
180	180	6.17 (2) post a copy of the notice in a conspicuous place on the premises of the property.
181	181	6.18 The notice must be mailed or posted by the taxpayer by November 27 or within three
182	182	6.19days of receipt of the notice, whichever is later. A taxpayer may notify the county treasurer
183	183	6.20of the address of the taxpayer, agent, caretaker, or manager of the premises to which the
184	184	6.21notice must be mailed in order to fulfill the requirements of this paragraph.
185	185	6.22 (i) For purposes of this subdivision and subdivision 6, "metropolitan special taxing
186	186	6.23districts" means the following taxing districts in the seven-county metropolitan area that
187	187	6.24levy a property tax for any of the specified purposes listed below:
188	188	6.25 (1) Metropolitan Council under section 473.132, 473.167, 473.249, 473.325, 473.446,
189	189	6.26473.521, 473.547, or 473.834;
190	190	6.27 (2) Metropolitan Airports Commission under section 473.667, 473.671, or 473.672; and
191	191	6.28 (3) Metropolitan Mosquito Control Commission under section 473.711.
192	192	6.29 For purposes of this section, any levies made by the regional rail authorities in the county
193	193	6.30of Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, or Washington under chapter 398A
194	194	6.31shall be included with the appropriate county's levy.
195	195	6Sec. 3.
196	196	25-01836 as introduced01/22/25 REVISOR MS/VJ 7.1 (j) The governing body of a county, city, or school district may, with the consent of the
197	197	7.2county board, include supplemental information with the statement of proposed property
198	198	7.3taxes about the impact of state aid increases or decreases on property tax increases or
199	199	7.4decreases and on the level of services provided in the affected jurisdiction. This supplemental
200	200	7.5information may include information for the following year, the current year, and for as
201	201	7.6many consecutive preceding years as deemed appropriate by the governing body of the
202	202	7.7county, city, or school district. It may include only information regarding:
203	203	7.8 (1) the impact of inflation as measured by the implicit price deflator for state and local
204	204	7.9government purchases;
205	205	7.10 (2) population growth and decline;
206	206	7.11 (3) state or federal government action; and
207	207	7.12 (4) other financial factors that affect the level of property taxation and local services
208	208	7.13that the governing body of the county, city, or school district may deem appropriate to
209	209	7.14include.
210	210	7.15 The information may be presented using tables, written narrative, and graphic
211	211	7.16representations and may contain instruction toward further sources of information or
212	212	7.17opportunity for comment.
213	213	7.18 EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective beginning with property taxes payable
214	214	7.19in 2026.
215	215	7.20 Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 276.04, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
216	216	7.21 Subd. 2.Contents of tax statements.(a) The treasurer shall provide for the printing of
217	217	7.22the tax statements. The commissioner of revenue shall prescribe the form of the property
218	218	7.23tax statement and its contents. The tax statement must not state or imply that property tax
219	219	7.24credits are paid by the state of Minnesota. The statement must contain a tabulated statement
220	220	7.25of the dollar amount due to each taxing authority and the amount of the state tax from the
221	221	7.26parcel of real property for which a particular tax statement is prepared. The dollar amounts
222	222	7.27attributable to the county, the state tax, the voter approved school tax, the other local school
223	223	7.28tax, the township or municipality, and the total of the metropolitan special taxing districts
224	224	7.29as defined in section 275.065, subdivision 3, paragraph (i), must be separately stated. The
225	225	7.30amounts due all other special taxing districts, if any, may be aggregated except that any
226	226	7.31levies made by the regional rail authorities in the county of Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin,
227	227	7.32Ramsey, Scott, or Washington under chapter 398A shall be listed on a separate line directly
228	228	7.33under the appropriate county's levy. If the county levy under this paragraph includes an
229	229	7Sec. 4.
230	230	25-01836 as introduced01/22/25 REVISOR MS/VJ 8.1amount for a lake improvement district as defined under sections 103B.501 to 103B.581,
231	231	8.2the amount attributable for that purpose must be separately stated from the remaining county
232	232	8.3levy amount. In the case of Ramsey County, if the county levy under this paragraph includes
233	233	8.4an amount for public library service under section 134.07, the amount attributable for that
234	234	8.5purpose may be separated from the remaining county levy amount. The amount of the tax
235	235	8.6on homesteads qualifying under the senior citizens' property tax deferral program under
236	236	8.7chapter 290B is the total amount of property tax before subtraction of the deferred property
237	237	8.8tax amount. The amount of the tax on contamination value imposed under sections 270.91
238	238	8.9to 270.98, if any, must also be separately stated. The dollar amounts, including the dollar
239	239	8.10amount of any special assessments, may be rounded to the nearest even whole dollar. For
240	240	8.11purposes of this section whole odd-numbered dollars may be adjusted to the next higher
241	241	8.12even-numbered dollar.
242	242	8.13 (b) The property tax statements for manufactured homes and sectional structures taxed
243	243	8.14as personal property shall contain the same information that is required on the tax statements
244	244	8.15for real property.
245	245	8.16 (c) Real and personal property tax statements must contain the following information
246	246	8.17in the order given in this paragraph. The information must contain the current year tax
247	247	8.18information in the right column with the corresponding information for the previous year
248	248	8.19in a column on the left:
249	249	8.20 (1) the property's estimated market value under section 273.11, subdivision 1;
250	250	8.21 (2) the property's homestead market value exclusion under section 273.13, subdivision
251	251	8.2235;
252	252	8.23 (3) the property's taxable market value under section 272.03, subdivision 15;
253	253	8.24 (4) the property's gross tax, before credits;
254	254	8.25 (5) for agricultural properties, the credits under sections 273.1384 and 273.1387;
255	255	8.26 (6) any credits received under sections 273.119; 273.1234 or 273.1235; 273.135;
256	256	8.27273.1388; 273.1391; 273.1398, subdivision 4; 469.171; and 473H.10, except that the amount
257	257	8.28of credit received under section 273.135 must be separately stated and identified as "taconite
258	258	8.29tax relief"; and
259	259	8.30 (7) the net tax payable in the manner required in paragraph (a).
260	260	8.31 (d) If the county uses envelopes for mailing property tax statements and if the county
261	261	8.32agrees, a taxing district may include a notice with the property tax statement notifying
262	262	8.33taxpayers when the taxing district will begin its budget deliberations for the current year,
263	263	8Sec. 4.
264	264	25-01836 as introduced01/22/25 REVISOR MS/VJ 9.1and encouraging taxpayers to attend the hearings. If the county allows notices to be included
265	265	9.2in the envelope containing the property tax statement, and if more than one taxing district
266	266	9.3relative to a given property decides to include a notice with the tax statement, the county
267	267	9.4treasurer or auditor must coordinate the process and may combine the information on a
268	268	9.5single announcement.
269	269	9.6 EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective beginning with property taxes payable
270	270	9.7in 2026.
271	271	9Sec. 4.
272	272	25-01836 as introduced01/22/25 REVISOR MS/VJ