St. Louis County Urges Homeowners to Check Property Tax Refund Eligibility

St. Louis County issued a public reminder on March 19 urging homeowners to check their eligibility for two Minnesota state property tax refund programs as 2026 tax statements begin arriving in mailboxes across the region. The two programs are the regular homestead credit refund, based on income and property taxes, and the special homestead credit refund, based on how much a homeowner's property tax has increased. Both are administered by the Minnesota Department of Revenue and are open only to properties that carry homestead classification.

The timing of the county's reminder is deliberate: 2026 property tax statements are landing in mailboxes now and in the coming days, giving homeowners a narrow window to review what they owe before filing season reaches its peak.

The regular refund is calculated against household income and property taxes paid, while the special refund carries a maximum of $1,000 and has no income limit, meaning a homeowner who earns too much to qualify for the regular credit could still collect under the special program. Notably, refunds are not available to homeowners who carry delinquent property taxes.

To qualify for either credit, homeowners must have owned and lived in their home on January 2, 2026, and must have the property classified as homestead, or have already applied for and received that classification. For 2026, the household income limit to qualify for the regular homestead credit refund is $142,490. The special refund kicks in when net property taxes on a homestead increased by more than 12 percent year-over-year and by more than $100.

The stakes for missing out are real. Nearly 37% of residents in the Arrowhead region, which includes St. Louis County, qualified for a property tax refund in 2023, the most recent year for which data is available. That share represents a substantial pool of households that could see their annual tax bills reduced.

Applying requires completing Form M1PR, Homestead Credit Refund; homeowners eligible for the special refund should also see Form M1PR-SR for additional details. Form M1PR should be filed by August 15, 2026. Homeowners may be able to file for free using the Minnesota Department of Revenue's Property Tax Refund Online Filing System.

Additional information on both programs is available at revenue.state.mn.us/property-tax-refund or by calling the Department of Revenue at (800) 652-9094. St. Louis County offices can also be reached by location: Duluth at (218) 726-2000, Ely at (218) 365-2399, Hibbing at (218) 312-8100, Virginia at (218) 749-7100, or toll-free countywide at (800) 450-9777. Those with questions about their homestead classification or who want to schedule an interior inspection with an assessor can contact the nearest St. Louis County Assessor's Office location directly.

Use the property tax statement received from the county in March or April to complete the application, not the Notice of Proposed Taxes. With the August 15 deadline months away, homeowners still have time to confirm their homestead status, gather the right documents, and file, but the county's message is that starting now is the right move.