By Sean Williams, sean.williams@house.mn.gov
Homestead Credit
Refund Program
June 2024
What is the homestead credit refund program?
The homestead credit refund is a state-paid refund that provides tax relief to homeowners whose
property taxes are high relative to their incomes. The program was previously known as the
homeowner’s property tax refund program, or PTR, and sometimes popularly called the “circuit
breaker.” If the property tax exceeds a threshold percentage of income, the refund equals a percentage
of the property tax over the threshold, up to a maximum amount. As income increases:
the threshold percentage increases,
the share of tax over the threshold that the taxpayer must pay (the “copay percentage”)
increases, and
the maximum refund decreases.
The program uses household income, a broad measure that includes most types of income, including
income that is not subject to income tax. Deductions are allowed for dependents and for claimants who
are over age 65 or disabled. The refund is based on taxes payable after subtracting any targeting refund
claimed by the homeowner. (The targeting refund is an additional refund available to homeowners who
have large property tax increases from one year to the next.)
What are the maximums?
For refund claims filed in 2024, based on property taxes payable in 2024 and 2023 household income, the
maximum refund is $3,310. Homeowners whose income exceeds $135,410 are not eligible for a refund.
How are claims filed?
Refund claims are filed using the Minnesota Department of Revenue (DOR) Schedule M1PR, which is
filed separately from the individual income tax form. Claims based on taxes payable in 2024 that are
filed before August 15, 2024, will be paid beginning in late September 2024; claims filed electronically
may be paid a month earlier. The deadline for filing claims based on taxes payable in 2024 is August 15,
2025; taxpayers filing claims after that date will not receive a refund.
How many homeowners receive refunds, and what is the total amount paid?
494,627 homeowners received refunds based on 2022 property taxes payable and 2021 incomes. The
average refund was $1,129, and the total dollar amount of refunds paid statewide was $558.5 million.
The average refund for senior and disabled claimants ($1,188) was slightly higher than the average for
those under age 65 and not disabled ($1,079).
What are the most recent changes to the program?
The 2023 tax law (Laws 2023, chapter 64) reduced co-pay percentages for all filers by three percentage
points. The law also provided a onetime increase of 20.572 percent for all property tax refunds payable
in 2023. Additionally, the law converted the renter’s credit program, which had previously been
administered together with the homestead credit, into a refundable income tax.