Application process

Be prepared to provide specific information about yourself, your property, additional owners and parcels on your deed.

Apply online here

After you apply

• The assessor will review your application and email you if they need more information
• Status and approval or denial of your application will be sent to the email address provided

Complete a paper application:

• Homestead application – English (PDF)
• Homestead application - Hmong (PDF)
• Homestead application – Spanish (PDF)
• Homestead application – Somali (PDF)

Mail your completed application with a copy of your deed (including the legal description) to your city's homestead office.

Homestead classification qualifies your property for:

• A classification rate of 1.00% up to $500,000 in taxable market value (this rate is 1.25% for non-homestead residences)
• A market value exclusion, which may reduce the property's taxable market value
• Other programs such as the disabled veterans’ market value exclusion, senior citizens' property tax deferral, and property tax refund

The homestead market value exclusion applies to all homesteads (on farms, it applies to the house, garage, and one acre of land immediately surrounding the house).

All homesteads valued at less than $413,800 can have their taxable value reduced by the exclusion. For information related to calculating the exclusion, contact your city's homestead office.

• You must own the property, or be a relative or in-law of the owner.
  • Residential property: a qualifying relative includes the child, grandchild, sibling, or parent of the owner or owner's spouse, the owner's uncle, aunt, nephew, or niece
  • Agricultural property: a qualifying relative includes the child, grandchild, sibling, or parent of the owner or owner's spouse
• You or your relative must occupy the property as the primary place of residence.
• You must be a Minnesota resident. If the occupant is a relative of the owner, the owner does not have to be a Minnesota resident.
• You can receive one homestead per married couple. Applications must include information for both spouses, even if just one name appears on the deed. One spouse must have a social security number.
• Disabled Veterans, and people who are blind or permanently disabled may qualify for special homestead programs.

You may need to have the following available when you complete your homestead application:

• Property address or property identification number (PID)
• Deed or other ownership documents
• Electronic certificate of real estate value (eCRV) number
• Social Security number or individual taxpayer identification number for applicants occupying the home
• Mailing address of current and prior owners

If you have questions about commercial or residential property assessors, see the lists on our Find your property assessor page.

Homestead contacts

Special homestead programs are available for people who are blind or permanently disabled.

Disabled Veteran

To qualify for the Veteran market value exclusion on homestead property of Disabled Veterans, a Veteran must have been honorably discharged from the United States armed forces, and certified by the US Department of Veterans Affairs as having a service-connected disability of at least 70 percent.

Blind

People who are certified legally blind may qualify for a reduced class rate of homestead that follows them from one property to another.

Permanently disabled

People who are permanently disabled, and currently receive public assistance, may qualify for a reduced class rate of homestead that follows them from one property to another.

How to apply

Step 1

Complete the online homestead application.

Step 2

Complete the appropriate special homestead application: 

• Veteran with a disability (PDF)
• Surviving spouse of a veteran with a disability (PDF)
• Family caregiver of a veteran with a disability (PDF)
• People who are blind or permanently disabled (PDF)

Step 3

Submit your special homestead application to your city's homestead office.

After you apply for homestead, the assessor’s office will contact you regarding the program requirements.

Notify the county assessor within 30 days if you sell, move, or for any reason no longer qualify for homestead.

Failure to notify results in recalculation of tax as non-homestead. Recalculation could include a penalty equal to 100 percent of the homestead benefits.

Complete the notice of move form (PDF).

Submit notification

Use one of the following submission options:

• Email form to AO.Programs@hennepin.us
• Mail completed form to address listed on the form
• Submit in person or by mail to your city's homestead office