What actually sets Minnesota apart
Minnesota's targeting refund is unusual and widely missed: if your homestead bill rises more than a set percentage over the prior year, the state refunds part of the increase regardless of your income. It has to be claimed, and it is not applied automatically.
Property taxes in Minnesota at a glance
- Average effective tax rate: 1.04% of home value per year
- Median home value: $305,500
- Estimated tax on a median-value home: $3,184 per year (about $265 per month)
- Rank by tax rate: 20th of 50, highest first
- Rank by amount actually paid: 18th of 50, highest first
- Where these figures come from: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, for the Minnesota statewide averages shown above — ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates, last reviewed September 2026.
Rate and bill agree in Minnesota
Minnesota sits 20th of the fifty by tax rate and 18th by the amount a median-value owner actually pays. That agreement is less common than it sounds: 19 of the 50 states move ten places or more between the two rankings, because home values vary far more widely than rates do. In Minnesota the 1.04% headline is a fair summary rather than a figure that needs correcting.
How Minnesota works out what you owe
Minnesota classifies property by use and applies a different class rate to each, so a homestead is taxed on a smaller share of its value than commercial property of the same worth.
Minnesota sets no statutory limit on how fast a home's taxable value can rise, so a Minnesota assessment tracks the market more closely than it would in a capped state.
Exemptions Minnesota homeowners should claim
Each of these reduces a Minnesota bill every year you hold the property, and almost none are granted without a claim:
- Homestead market value exclusion: Excludes a share of the value of an owner-occupied home from taxation, phasing out as value rises so it is worth most on modest homes.
- Property tax refund: A state refund for homeowners whose bill is large relative to income, plus a separate targeting refund when a bill jumps sharply year on year.
Where you buy inside Minnesota changes the bill
A statewide average hides its extremes. Where they show up in Minnesota:
- Hennepin County: Minneapolis and the western suburbs, the largest tax base in the state
- Ramsey County: Saint Paul, physically small and densely built, with higher rates than Hennepin on comparable homes
- Dakota County: southern suburbs with consistently lower combined rates, a long-standing draw for buyers
Minnesota and its neighbours
The same $305,500 — the Minnesota median — taxed at each neighbouring state's average rate:
- Wisconsin at 1.51%: about $4,613 a year, roughly $1,429 more than the $3,184 a Minnesota owner would pay on the same value.
- Iowa at 1.43%: about $4,369 a year, roughly $1,185 more than the $3,184 a Minnesota owner would pay on the same value.
- South Dakota at 1.09%: about $3,330 a year, roughly $146 more than the $3,184 a Minnesota owner would pay on the same value.
- North Dakota at 0.99%: about $3,024 a year, roughly $160 less than the $3,184 a Minnesota owner would pay on the same value.
Appealing a Minnesota assessment
If the assessed value on your Minnesota home overstates what it is worth, the route is an appeal to the local and county Boards of Appeal and Equalization, then the Minnesota Tax Court. The window is the local boards sit in April and May after the spring valuation notice, and it is strict — missing it means waiting a full cycle.
Frequently asked questions
When are Minnesota property taxes due, and when must exemption claims be filed?
Bills are mailed in March, with instalments due 15 May and 15 October. Homestead status is applied for with the county assessor; the refund is claimed with the state, generally by 15 August.
Does this calculator use my exact Minnesota county tax rate?
No — it applies the Minnesota statewide average of 1.04%. Rates are set locally, and the spread inside Minnesota is wide enough to matter: on a $305,500 home, $166 a year separates Minnesota from an averagely taxed state before any county variation is counted. Check the parcel's own rate with its Minnesota county before relying on this figure.
Reference sources
Related calculators
How this estimate is built
Principal and interest come from the standard amortization formula, worked through in full on the formula reference page. Property tax, insurance, PMI and loan-program figures layer on top from published assumptions — each one sourced, dated and listed on the methodology page. Every result here is an estimate built from public data, not a quote: confirm the specifics with a lender before relying on it.
For developers
This calculation is also available as a REST API and through an MCP server, both running the same engine as this page — so the figures match by construction rather than by convention. No key required.