Individual Income Tax > Refunds > Property tax refund

Renter’s Refund

You may be eligible for a property tax refund based on your household income and on the property taxes paid on your principal place of residence, even if you rent. For purposes of the property tax refund, 17 percent of the rent you paid during the year is considered the portion paid for property tax. Use this information to help determine if you qualify and need to file Form M1PR to claim the refund.

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Eligibility Requirements

You must have been a full- or part-year resident of Minnesota during the year and meet the income limits for renters. Dependents do not qualify.

Income limits for renters
You may be eligible if your household income is under these limits:

  • For households with no dependents, the limit is $54,620.
  • For households with dependents the limit increases with family size, up to $76,820 for households with five or more dependents.
  • Seniors or disabled homeowners may be eligible with household incomes up to $80,520 with five or more dependents.
For subtraction amounts for dependents and for those age 65 or older or disabled, see page 9 of the Minnesota Property Tax Refund booklet.

You do not qualify for a renter’s property tax refund if you:

  • are a dependent
  • are a resident of a nursing homes or other health-care facilities and your total rent is paid by medical assistance or supplemental assistance programs such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Minnesota Supplemental Aid (MSA)
  • live in a building that is exempt from property tax
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Refund amounts
The size of your refund will depend on your household income, the number of dependents and how much property tax you are considered to have paid. The maximum any renter can receive is $1,550.

How to apply
Your landlord is required to give you a completed Form CRP, Certificate of Rent Paid, no later than January 31 of the following year. You will need this CRP when you apply for a property tax refund. To apply, complete Form M1PR. You will also need the M1PR instruction booklet.

For a small fee, you can file your M1PR return online. See online software for filing Minnesota property tax refunds. If you electronically file Form M1PR, you may receive your refund early.

Forms and instructions are available from the department’s website at: http://webprod/prop_refund/pages/forms.aspx. You can also find forms at many libraries after January 1, or request copies to be mailed to you by calling the department's 24-hour forms order service: 651-296-4444 or 1-800-657-3676.

Filing due date is August 15, 2012
Returns can be filed up to a year after the due date. After that, you cannot claim a refund. The deadline for the 2011 return is August 15, 2013. The due date for the 2010 property tax return was August 15, 2011 but you have until August 15, 2012 to file.
*Note: deadline means the last day you can still file to claim this refund.

When to expect your refund
You'll receive your refund by mid-August if you file by June 15, or 60 days after you file, whichever is later.

You may receive your refund 30 days earlier if you:

  • electronically file your return by May 15; and
  • choose the direct deposit option; and
  • filed Form M1PR last year.
See electronic filing options to file your return online.

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Special renter situations

If you were married all year and lived together for the entire year, you must apply for one refund together. Put both names and Social Security numbers and your total joint household income on your form. Do not include income of any other person living with you.

If you were single all year, use your own total household income from the year, but do not include the income of any other person living with you.

Part-year residents: If you and/or your spouse were part-year residents, use only income received during the period you and/or your spouse lived in Minnesota. Include a note of explanation with your return.

If you married during the year, you and your spouse can apply for a refund together or separately.

  • If you apply together, include both your incomes for the year. Add the amounts on line 3 of all the CRPs you and your spouse received and enter the total on line 9 of your Form M1PR. In the space to the left of line 9 write "married" and the date you were married.
  • If you apply for separate refunds:
      1. Each of you will fill out a separate Form M1PR. On lines 1 through 8, each of you will use your income for the entire year plus the spouse's income for the time you were married and living together.

      2. One spouse must add the amount on line 3 of the CRP for the rental unit lived in before the marriage, and the amount on line 3 of the CRP for the rental unit the couple lived in after they were married. Fill in the total on line 9 of Form M1PR.

      3. Using a separate Form M1PR, the other spouse must fill in on line 9 the amount from line 3 of the CRP for the unit lived in before the marriage.

      4. Do not include your spouse's name and Social Security number on your return, even though you included your spouse's income for the time you were married and living together.
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If you divorced or separated during the year, you must apply for separate refunds. Each spouse must use his or her own income for the entire year, plus the income of the spouse for the time you were married and living together.

If one person moved out and the other person remained in the same rental unit, the landlord may issue a single CRP to the person who remained in the unit. That person can apply for the refund and enter on line 9 the full amount from line 3 of the CRP.

If both persons moved out of the unit, the landlord will issue the CRP to the first person who requests it. That person may enter on line 9 the full amount listed on line 3 of the CRP form. The other person may not apply for a refund based on rent paid for that unit.

If you lived with a roommate, each person must apply for a separate refund. Do not include the income of the other person living with you. Your landlord is required to issue separate CRPs showing that each person paid an equal portion of the rent, regardless of the portion you actually paid or whose names are on the lease.

If you are a mobile home owner and rent the land it is located on, do not apply for a refund as a renter, even though you received a CRP from the owner of the mobile home park. Complete Worksheet 1 on page 12 of the M1PR instructions.

If you were both a renter and a homeowner: If you owned and lived in your home on January 2, 2011, but not on January 2, 2012, you must apply for the property tax refund as a renter. If you rented during the year and then bought and lived in your home on January 2, 2012, go through the steps for both renters and homeowners. You must include all your 2011 CRPs but DO NOT need to include your Statement of Property Taxes Payable in 2012 when you file your Form M1PR. This information will be provided by your county. You do, however, need to add your property ID number and county of residence in the area just above line 11 of your return.

If you lived in a nursing home, or other health care facility and the government paid part of your nursing home costs, follow the steps below:

    1. Mark an “X” in the box near the top of your Form M1PR for nursing home resident.

    2. Complete lines 1 through 9 of Form M1PR.

    3. To determine line 10, complete Schedule 2 on the back of Form M1PR.

    4. On line 32, enter the amount from line B of your CRP and include this amount on line 4 of Form M1PR.

    5. Complete the rest of your Form M1PR.

If you rented out part of your home or used it for business, or you claimed a portion of your rent as a business expense, complete Worksheet 2 on page 12 of the M1PR instructions to determine the amount to enter on line 9.

If you paid rent for more than one unit for the same months, you cannot include the amounts from both CRP forms on line 9. Instead:

    1. Take the CRP for one unit and divide the amount on line 3 by the number of months you rented the unit.

    2. Multiply step 1 by the number of months you actually lived in the unit.

    3. Add step 2 to line 3 of the CRP for the other unit.

    4. Enter step 3 on line 9 of Form M1PR.

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Certificate of Rent Paid (CRP)

Your landlord is required by law to give you a completed CRP no later than January 31 of the following year. The CRP shows the amount of rent you paid and the amount of property taxes your unit is considered to have covered. You will need the CRP to determine your refund and you must include it when filing your property tax return. Renters who are unable to obtain a CRP from their landlord/s by March 1 should call our tax help line to obtain a Rent Paid Affidavit (RPA).

The RPA must be included along with cancelled checks or receipts for rent paid when filing Form M1PR.

Rent Paid Affidavit (RPA)

If your landlord refuses to give you a CRP by March 1, or gives you an incorrect CRP and refuses to correct it, you may request a Rent Paid Affidavit (RPA) from the Department of Revenue. You should make every attempt to obtain a correct CRP from your landlord before requesting an RPA. When filing Form M1PR with the RPA, you must include receipts and/or canceled checks as proof of rent paid.
Note. You cannot electronically file Form M1PR when you have contacted us and requested an RPA. If you receive a correct CRP after requesting an RPA, you must file your return by paper (this may delay the processing of your return). To electronically file you must have received a correct CRP from your landlord.

You will need the CRP (or RPA) to determine your refund, and you must include it with your completed Form M1PR.

How to get an RPA
Call our tax help line with the following information:

  • Landlord’s name, address and phone number (required information)
  • Address of rental unit
  • County in which the property is located
  • Your Social Security number
  • Your name and present address
  • Spouse’s name and Social Security number
  • Your daytime phone number
  • Number of renters in unit
  • Is rent subsidized (Section 8, HUD, etc.)?
  • Is this an assisted living facility?
  • Amount of rent paid per month
  • Dates rented
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