The full version of this issue brief includes a table of data on the impact of the Renters’ Credit in each Minnesota county and for the state as a whole. A related map shows, for each county, the importance of the Renters' Credit to seniors and people with disabilities.
Like all Minnesotans, Minnesota’s renters want safe, affordable homes for themselves and their families. But some folks earning low wages or on fixed incomes struggle to afford the cost of housing and other basic necessities. By providing property tax refunds to qualifying homeowners and renters, the state of Minnesota helps bring down one of the costs of housing and creates a more equitable tax system.
The property tax refund for renters is often called the Renters’ Credit. It is a tax refund for low- and moderate-income renters whose property taxes are considered high for their income level. The Renters’ Credit refunds a portion of the property taxes that renters have paid through their rents. The credit is particularly targeted to the state’s lowest-income households; over 60 percent of households receiving the credit have incomes of $40,000 or less.[1]
For the 2019 tax year, over 305,000 Minnesota households received the Renters’ Credit, and the average amount of credit received was $704.[2] Thirty percent of the households receiving the Renters’ Credit included senior citizens and/or people living with disabilities; they received a larger average credit of $788. As in previous years, the share of participating households that include seniors or people living with disabilities tends to be higher in Greater Minnesota. In fact, in 18 Greater Minnesota counties, at least half of the participating households included seniors and/or persons living with disabilities.[3]
The Renters’ Credit helps advance racial equity. In Minnesota, people of color are more likely to be earning lower incomes and more likely to be renters. This reflects current barriers to wealth-building and a history of policies that excluded African Americans and other people of color from homeownership.[4]
By Nan Madden and Joo Ning Lim