What tax information is available to me?
The Taxation Section of the Property Taxation & Records Department is responsible for calculating property taxes, mailing of the current year property tax statements, processing tax payments, distributing funds to the appropriate municipalities, school districts and other taxing agencies, levied special assessments, and calculating and mailing Truth-in-Taxation notices.
When will I receive my 2010 property tax statement?
Real Estate and Personal Property tax statements are mailed early March each year. The statutory deadline is March 31, 2010.
Manufactured Home tax statements are also mailed in March each year. The statutory deadline is July 15, 2010.
What if I haven't received a tax bill?
If you have not received a property tax statement by the statutory mailing deadline, it is your responsibility to contact the Property Taxation and Records Department to have a duplicate statement sent to you.
How do I change the mailing address on my tax statement?
If your property tax statement has an incorrect address, contact the Property Taxation & Records Department in writing with the correct address information.
How are my property taxes calculated?
The Property Taxation & Records Department
computes your property taxes by multiplying the value of your property by the total tax rate of the district in which your property is located. Residential homesteads receive market value homestead credit, which directly reduces your property taxes up to a maximum of $304.00. Agricultural properties also receive an credit.
The value and classification of your property is determined by the Assessing Services Department.
Where do my property tax dollars go? Property tax dollars are received by the County, school district, municipality and other local taxing districts in which you live.
The county portion of your property tax dollars are used to fund services such as county libraries, parks, county roads and community services.
When are property taxes due? May 15 First half of the annual real estate and personal property tax payment (or the entire amount if stated on your tax statement) is due.
August 31 First half of the annual manufactured home tax payment (or entire amount if stated on your tax statement) is due.
October 15 Second half of the annual real estate and personal property tax payment is due (non-agricultural parcels only).
November 15 Second half of the annual real estate (agricultural parcels only) and manufactured home tax payment is due.
If the due date falls on a weekend, the payment is due the following business day. Payments mailed to our office must be postmarked on or before the tax due date.
Can I make a partial payment on my current year taxes?
The Dakota County Property Taxation & Records Department accepts payments of more or less than the exact amount of a tax installment due for the current year. If the accepted payment is less than the amount due, it is applied first to the penalty accrued for the year that the payment is made (M.S. 277.01; 279.01, SUBD. 1).
What if my property tax payment is late?
If you pay your tax after the due dates, a penalty will be added to your tax (M.S. 277.01). The later you pay, the greater the penalty you must pay. For details, check the back of your property tax statement or refer to the schedule of penalties for late payment of property tax.
What if I become delinquent in my property taxes?
Property taxes become delinquent in the year following the payable year. Interest and penalty accrue on a monthly basis. The property is put into judgment and the forfeiture process begins.
Residential homestead property will forfeit into the name of the State of Minnesota if it remains delinquent for five years. All other property types go into forfeiture after three years of delinquency.
What if I overpay my taxes?
If there is an overpayment of your current year taxes, you must send a written request for a refund to the Property Taxation and Records Department.
Overpayments do not always belong to the owner of the property. Incorrect payments can be made by mortgage companies and other lending institutions. Also, payment made at the time of a closing may cause an over payment which belongs to the previous owner. For these reasons, refunds will be sent to the party making the payment.
What is a Truth-in-Taxation (TNT) Notice?
The Truth-in-Taxation (TNT) Notice, also called the Proposed Tax Notice is mailed to property owners during November of each year. This notice indicates the anticipated property tax you will pay in the following year if your local jurisdictions approve the budget amounts they are considering. Property owners are invited to attend meetings held by their local jurisdictions to express their opinion on local budgets.
Can the amount of property tax due on my tax statement be different from the amount on my proposed tax notice?
Yes, for the following reasons:
The proposed tax notice does not include special assessments.
Referendums passed could result in increasing the tax amounts.
Property owners who occupy their property by December 1 can file for homestead classification for the following year.
What is a Fiscal Disparity tax?
Fiscal Disparity is a program that provides for tax base sharing throughout the seven-county metro area. A percentage of the value of each commercial/industrial parcel in the seven-county area is taxed at a uniform rate. That portion of the tax is listed on the tax statement as Fiscal Disparity tax. The remainder of the value is taxed at the local tax rate. Fiscal Disparity tax is not an additional tax; rather, commercial/industrial property is taxed at two different rates. The Fiscal Disparity amounts are then redistributed to all taxing districts in the seven-county metro.
What is Tax Increment tax?
A number of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts have been created within Dakota County. TIF is a program which allows the increased property taxes generated by a development to pay for development costs.
Tax Increment Financing is not an additional tax. Tax Increment Financing does not affect the calculation of the tax amount; rather, it affects the distribution of the tax. The tax due is calculated the same as for a property that is not in a TIF district, but money that would normally go to the county, city, school, and special taxing districts is instead diverted to the TIF district.
What are Special Taxing Districts? The Metropolitan Special Taxing Districts consist of the Metropolitan Council, Metropolitan Council Transit Authority, and the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District.
The other special taxing districts consist of watershed districts, the Dakota County Community Development Agency, local Housing and Redevelopment Authorities, and the Dakota County Regional Railroad Authority.
What is a Special Assessment?
A Special Assessment is an improvement (such as streets, etc.) which directly benefits the property. It is shown as a separate amount on the property tax statement. The amount is based on how much the property benefits from the improvement and the cost of doing the project. It is not based on the value of the property.
How many parcels of property are in Dakota County?
Dakota County had approximately 145,200 taxable real estate parcels in 2010.
Who do I contact with tax questions?
Dakota County Property Taxation & Records
Attn: Taxation
1590 Highway 55
Hastings, MN 55033-2392
Phone: 651-438-4576
Fax: 651-438-4399
Email: Taxation@co.dakota.mn.us