Eden Valley-Watkins Schools Property Tax Information Site

This site provides information for taxpayers of Eden Valley-Watkins Schools regarding how the district's proposed bond referendum will affect their property taxes. The site was prepared by the school district's financial advisors, Ehlers. If you have questions about the information on this site, you may call Ehlers at one of the numbers listed below.

About the Referendum

The district will be holding a referendum on May 24, 2011. If approved, the referendum would authorize the district to issue $9,670,000 in school building bonds. These bonds will finance funds for the acquisition and betterment of school sites and facilities, including the addition of elementary classrooms in Watkins elementary and Eden Valley elementary and a gymnasium in the Eden Valley Secondary School. For more information on how the funds would be used, click on the "Return to School District Website" button above.

Impact on Property Taxes

The district plans to repay the bonds over 18 years, 5 months, and it would affect property taxes beginning with taxes payable in 2012. To determine the estimated impact of the proposed bond issue on your 2012 taxes, follow the steps below. If you own agricultural homestead property, skip to step 5.B below. For all other types of property, we suggest that you first find one or both of the following documents:

• Your 2011 property tax statement ("Your Property Tax Statement for Taxes Payable in 2011," mailed by your County in March, 2011); or
• Your "Notice of Valuation and Classification" (mailed by your County in the spring of 2010).

Step 1. Determine the 2010 Payable 2011 Taxable Market Value of your property. The tax impact of the proposed bond issue will begin with taxes payable in 2012, which will be based on the 2011 Taxable Market Value (TMV). The 2011 TMV is not yet available, but you may use the 2010 TMV to estimate the tax impact on your property.

We suggest you use one of the following methods to determine the 2010 TMV.

1. If you have your Property Tax Statement For Taxes payable in 2011, find the number labeled "Taxable Market Value" for taxes payable in 2011.
2. If you have your 2010 Notice of Valuation available, find the number labeled "Taxable Market Value" in the 2010 valuation column.
3. If you don't have your Property Tax Statement for 2011 or your 2010 Notice of Valuation, follow the instructions below for the county in which your property is located.
   1. Meeker County

      County Auditor - (320) 693-5212

      To retrieve this information from the County's website, go to: http://www.co.meeker.mn.us. Click on Property Tax Online Search (on the left hand side of the page). You will be taken to the Notice of Disclaimer page. Click the "I ACCEPT" button and then "Proceed." You will be taken to the search page where you can search by Parcel Number, Address, or Section Township Range. Once you have entered your information, click the "Search" button. You will then see two choices. Click on the address for the line that one that is listed as "2010 Value for Tax Payable 2011" in the Year column. Then, click on the "Value Information" tab and look for Total MKT. This is your parcel's Taxable Market Value.

   2. Stearns County

      County Auditor - (320) 656-3870

      To retrieve this information from the County's website, go to: http://www.co.stearns.mn.us and click on the tab "Property and Roads." Then, click on "Property Taxes" (the 4th bullet down on the left hand side of the page). In the body of the information, click on "View Your Property Tax Statement." You will then be taken to a screen where you can search by entering either your Property ID number or your mailing address. Make sure "2011" is included in the small drop down box. If you are searching by address, the less detail you enter the better. If you enter just the address number it will pull up all the addresses with that number (i.e. 170) and you can choose yours. When you have located your property, click on the link for the parcel number and your tax statement will appear. Look for the 2011 Taxable Market Value in the upper right corner of the document.

Step 2. Verify what type of property you own. If your property is an owner-occupied home, your property tax statement and your Notice of Valuation will list the Property Classification as "Residential Homestead" or "Res. Hstd." If this is the case, go to step 3. If you own any other type of property, skip to step 5.

Step 3. For residential homestead property only, enter the 2010 Taxable Market Value below to see the estimated tax increase for your property.

Step 4. Review the information below regarding how various state and federal programs may affect the property tax increases.

1. Minnesota Property Tax Refund.

   If your adjusted gross income is less than approximately $99,240, you may qualify for the Minnesota Property Tax Refund (also known as the "Circuit Breaker" refund). This program, which has existed since the 1970s, is intended to reduce tax burdens for homeowners with relatively low incomes and relatively high property tax burdens. Some important facts about this program are summarized below.

   • Available to all owners of residential homestead and agricultural property with incomes of approximately $99,240 or less (income limits may be higher if you have dependents)
   • Refund is a sliding scale, based on your income and your total property tax burden
   • The maximum refund is $2,350
   • To determine eligibility and refund amounts, complete Minnesota tax form M1PR (available online at www.taxes.state.mn.us).

   If you qualify for this program, you may receive an additional refund of up to 80% of the amount of the property tax increase caused by the proposed referendum. For example, if the referendum increases your property taxes by $50 per year, your refund may cover up to $40 of this increase..

2. Special Property Tax Refund

   If your total property taxes increase by more than 12% and more than $100 between 2011 and 2012, you may qualify for a state refund equal to a portion of the increase. There is no income limit for this refund. To determine eligibility and refund amounts complete Minnesota tax form M1PR (available online at www.taxes.state.mn.us).

3. Deductibility of Property Taxes for State and Federal Income Taxes

   If you itemize deductions for federal income taxes, you may deduct all property taxes paid. Therefore, any increase in property taxes resulting from the proposed referendum will reduce your income tax liability. The reduction in income taxes may be as much as 42% of the increase in property taxes, depending on your total income and other credits and deductions.

4. Senior Citizen Property Tax Deferral

   If you are 65 years or older and have a household income of $60,000 or less, you may be eligible to defer a portion of the property taxes on your home, through the Senior Citizen Property Tax Deferral Program. Some basic facts about this program are summarized below.

   • The amount of taxes which you pay in any year is limited to 3% of your total household income for the year before you enter into the program; this amount does not change in future years.
   • The additional taxes are not forgiven, but are deferred. The State will charge interest of up to 5% per year on all deferred taxes, and will attach a lien to your property.
   • The accumulated deferred taxes (plus interest charges and filing fees) will need to be paid if the property is sold or transferred, the homeowners die, the property no longer qualifies as a homestead, or the homeowner voluntarily withdraws from the program.

   For more information on this program, click here for a fact sheet from the Minnesota Department of Revenue.

Step 5: For all other types of property (other than residential homestead), follow these steps.

If your property is not classified as residential homestead, there are two methods you may use to obtain estimates of the tax impact of the bond issue.

Method A. Use the table of sample properties below.

Find your type of property in the table, find the sample value that is closest to your property's 2011 Taxable Market Value (TMV), and look up the estimated tax impact for that example. If your TMV is between two of the values shown in the table, you can estimate the tax impact by "interpolating" between the estimates shown in the table.

Method B. Contact Ehlers

If your type of property is not shown in the table, or if you would like a more precise estimate, you may call the Ehlers Property Tax Hotline or send an e-mail message to Ehlers. If you own agricultural homestead property, we recommend that you use this method.

1. First find the Property I.D. number(s) for all parcels of property that you own. This number is normally shown in the upper left corner of your property tax statement.
2. Either call or e-mail Ehlers, as explained below.
   1. Call the Ehlers Property Tax Hotline (see phone numbers below) during regular business hours (8 to 5 Monday - Friday) and ask to speak to any member of the Education Team. Tell the Ehlers representative that you are calling about the tax impact of the den Valley-Watkins Schools bond referendum and read them the Property I.D. number(s) for your property and in what county it is/they are located.
   2. Send an e-mail message to mnschools@ehlers-inc.com. Include the following information in your message: your name, a daytime phone number, the property I.D. number(s) for all parcels of property you own within the school district, and the county or counties in which the property is located.
3. An Ehlers representative will contact your county to find the taxable market value of your property, calculate the tax impact, and either call you back or send you an e-mail message.

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