Property tax petitions

Minnesota Tax Court Form 7 (Regular Division or Small Claims Division) along with instructions can be obtained:

• Online at http://mn.gov/tax-court/. Click on “Forms”, choose MN Tax Court Form 7 – Real Property Tax Appeal and Property Tax Appeal Fact Sheet, or 
• By calling the Minnesota Tax Court (651) 539-3260.

Regular Division

The advantage of the Regular Division is that a decision by the Minnesota Tax Court in a property tax petition brought through the Regular Division can be appealed to the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Filing fee for Regular Division $297. Make checks payable to "District Court Administrator."

Small Claims Division

The Small Claims Division is a low-cost way to appeal property tax issues. To file a Small Claims Division petition, you must meet one of these conditions:

• The issue is a denial of a current-year application for the homestead classification for the taxpayer's property.
• Only one parcel is included in the petition, the entire parcel is classified as residential homestead, and the parcel contains no more than one dwelling unit.
• The assessor's estimated market value of the property included in the petition is less than $300,000.

If one of these conditions is met, you may appeal in either the Small Claims Division or Regular Division. If not, you may only file in Regular Division.

Filing fee for Small Claims Division = $162.00. Make checks payable to "District Court Administrator."

Petitions may be filed after May 1 of the year before the tax is payable. Petitions must be filed on or before April 30 of the year in which the tax is payable. If the deadline falls on a weekend, petitions will be accepted the following Monday. If your value or classification is changed other than by an abatement or a court decision after February 28 of the year in which the tax is payable, you must file a petition on or before 60 days from the mailing of the notice of the change.

Fill in the blanks on the front of the Minnesota Tax Court Form 7, making sure that you have included all information required by the form. Staple a copy of the notice of valuation you are contesting, the property tax statement, or a legal description of the property with a property identification number to each copy of the petition.

Taxpayers may serve Hennepin County and obtain proof of service by emailing a copy of the petition to CA.PetitionService@hennepin.us.

Alternatively, taxpayers may serve the petition by personally delivering a copy to the office of the Hennepin County Auditor-Treasurer.  Bring two copies to the public service counter on the 6th floor of the Administration Tower of the Hennepin County Government Center, 300 South Sixth Street, Minneapolis, Monday-Friday between 8:00 and 4:30 P.M.  A clerk will stamp both copies to indicate service of the Petition has been accepted by Hennepin County.  The clerk will keep one copy, and return the second to you.

After receipt of your petition, the Tax Court will issue a scheduling order with further instruction. It typically takes more than a year before a case is scheduled for trial. However, petitioners often settle cases with assessors while a case is pending. Each case will be assigned an assessor with whom you may directly discuss your petition.

Regardless of the status of your petition, you must continue to pay property taxes. Failure to pay the taxes in full (or the lesser amount permitted by law) in a timely fashion will result in the automatic dismissal of the petition under Minnesota Statute. The tax may be paid in full or in the following manner:

First-half tax due (May 15)

• In full

Second-half tax due (October 15)

• If the total second-half tax is $2,000 or less, 50% of the second-half tax plus the balance of special assessments must be paid.
• If the total second-half tax is greater than $2,000, 80% of the second-half tax plus the balance of the special assessments must be paid

Please note that special assessments are shown as principal and interest on the tax statement. Even if the law permits a lesser amount of taxes to be paid on October 15, failure to pay the full amount of tax will cause property tax records and statements to indicate that there are delinquent taxes. This may present problems in:

• Selling the property
• Filing for the Minnesota Homestead Credit Refund and Renter's Property Tax Refund
• Acquiring or renewing a liquor license

If the decision of the Tax Court is in the petitioner's favor and a refund is due, it will include any overpayment plus interest calculated to the date the check is issued. If a new property value is processed before the tax becomes due, a corrected tax statement will be mailed. If there is a tax balance due to the county, a statement will be mailed to the taxpayer with 20 days to make the payment.

If a property produces income, you must provide certain information to the assessor by August 1 following the filing deadline. Failure to provide income and expense figures specified in Minnesota Statute to the assessor by the deadline may result in the petition's dismissal. Send this information directly to the Hennepin County Assessor's Office, not the Hennepin County Attorney's Office.