property taxes - B.I.C. Realty

2025 Property Taxes

Verm4U — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 15:13:55 +0000

We have received lots of texts and calls lately about 2025 property valuation statements!

Property valuation statements are out and B.I.C. Realty has heard of many having big increases in our client’s assessments. Real estate is hyper local and according to St. Louis County, the County had a 6.5% growth in property over vlaue in 2024.

How to Appeal Your Property Tax in Minnesota: Tips and Hints for Success

If you’re a Minnesota homeowner and believe your property taxes are too high, you’re not alone. Fortunately, the state provides a process to appeal property tax assessments. Here’s a guide with useful tips and hints to help you navigate the appeal process effectively.

1. Understand the Assessment Process

Each year, your local assessor estimates the market value of your property as of January 2nd. This value is used to calculate your property taxes. If the assessed value seems too high or doesn’t reflect your property’s condition or market trends, you may have grounds for an appeal.

2. Review Your Valuation Notice

In March or April, you’ll receive a Notice of Valuation and Classification from your county. Review it carefully. This notice includes your property’s estimated market value and classification (residential, commercial, etc.). Compare this with previous years and note any sharp increases.

3. Do Your Homework

Before filing an appeal, gather supporting evidence:

Check comparable sales: Look up recent sale prices of similar homes in your neighborhood.
Get a professional appraisal: A private appraisal can strengthen your case.
Inspect your property record: Visit your county assessor’s website to make sure there are no factual errors (e.g., wrong square footage, incorrect number of bathrooms, etc.).

REALTOR TIP: Contact a realtor to get some sold comparables or go to Zillow.com and you can look up recently sold similar properties there as well.

4. Contact the Assessor First

Start informally. Contact your county or city assessor to discuss your concerns. Thier contact inforamtion should be on your valuation statement. They can explain how they arrived at your property’s value and may adjust it if they find an error.

5. Attend the Local Board of Appeal and Equalization (LBAE) Meeting

If you’re unsatisfied after talking with the assessor, your next step is to attend your township or city’s Local Board of Appeal and Equalization meeting (usually in April or May). This is your first formal appeal opportunity. Dates and times are available from your County.

6. Go to the County Board of Appeal and Equalization (CBAE)

If the LBAE doesn’t change the valuation, you can appeal to the County Board of Appeal and Equalization. Deadlines and procedures vary by county, but this usually happens at the end of June.

7. Consider Tax Court

If the county board denies your appeal, or you missed the earlier steps, you can file a petition with the Minnesota Tax Court. You have until April 30th of the following year to file. Tax court can be complex, and you may want to consider hiring an attorney or tax professional.

8. Explore Refund Programs

If your taxes are high but your income is limited, you may qualify two types of property tax refunds:

The Minnesota Department of Revenue provides for two types of property tax refunds:

Regular Homestead Credit Refund: for homesteaders whose property taxes exceed a specified percentage of household income (less than $128,280 in 2022).
Special Homestead Credit Refund: for homestead properties where the net property tax increase exceeds 12%, from 2022 to 2023 and said increase is $100 or more (the tax increase cannot be due to new construction). There is no income limitation for this refund. The maximum refund is $1,000.

Both of these programs are operated by the State of Minnesota, more information is available at the Department of Revenue website or by calling (800) 652-9094. More information on special programs.

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Property Taxes and Assessed Value

B.I.C. Realty — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 10:57:59 +0000

How does the Assessor determine your property value? It’s property tax assessment letter season. And, this year, many homeowners in our area are surprised to see a spike in their property values — again. Median property values in our area have increased significantly in the last year due to low inventory and low interest rates.

Why is my property worth more money?

First: Congratulations! You and many other property across Minnesota have seen the market value of your home increase from last year.

Assessors estimate the market value of your house/property by looking at the sale prices of homes similar to yours in your area. They also look at building permits filed for your home to account for renovations, additions or other things that would increase its value. This year, the standout factor driving up property values is rock-bottom amount of properties available for sale. There just aren’t a lot of homes for sale — and that drives up prices. In our local area our inventory for properties available for sale is down over 50%.

Doesn’t this mean your taxes are going to go up? Not necessarily.

But are my taxes going to go up?

Maybe.

Unlike income taxes, which rise as your income rises, property taxes aren’t directly related to the market value of your property.

How much you have to pay for all those services corresponds with what portion of the city, county, school district, hospital district, etc., you own. Think of your community as a big pie: The size of your slice determines how much pie you have to pay for. Sometimes your slice gets bigger, but so does the entire pie, so the proportion of the pie you’re responsible for stays the same. You can see this happening across the state: Property values are going up pretty much everywhere. It’s only when the size of your slice grows faster than anyone else’s that the amount of the entire pie you have to pay for goes up.

Homeowners in areas where values are rising the fastest are more likely to see their taxes increase, but that depends on lots of other factors, such as how much money is budgeted for the year and if there are any special levies.

There are also discounts given if you live on your property — it’s called a homestead credit — plus discounts for veterans, people who’ve had severe damage to their homes, and others. All those factors affect how much of the pie you’re responsible for.

For more information, here check out the Fact Sheet produced by the MN Department Revenue on how the Accessor determines your market value:

https://www.revenue.state.mn.us/sites/default/files/2019-06/Fact%20Sheet%202%20Estimating%20Market%20Value.pdf

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Property Tax Changes

B.I.C. Realty — Thu, 27 Feb 2020 18:51:01 +0000

St. Louis County has published a map of changes made to property values in 2019 based on property sales. Most of the area has seen increases ranging from 5% up to 18%. Areas marked in yellow are the areas that were reassessed in 2019. For more information you can call the County Assessor’s Office at 218-749-7147.

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