Elk River Area School District
Property Tax Information Site

This site provides information for taxpayers of the Elk River Area School District regarding how the district's proposed referendum will affect their property taxes. The site was prepared by the school district's financial advisors, Ehlers & Associates, Inc. If you have questions about the information on this site, you may call Ehlers at one of the numbers listed below.

To determine how much the proposed referendum is estimated to increase your property taxes, follow the steps below. We suggest that first you find one or both of the following documents:

• your 2003 property tax statement ("Statement of Property Taxes Payable in 2003", mailed by your county in February or March of 2003); or
• your "Notice of Valuation" (mailed by your local assessor in the spring of 2003).

Step 1. Determine the 2003 Taxable Market Value of your property. Taxable Market Value (or TMV) is a figure used by your county to calculate property taxes. It is usually less than the fair market value or the actual price if you were to sell your property. Your tax statement for 2003 will show the 2002 TMV.

Taxes on the proposed referendum will begin with taxes payable in 2004, which will be based on the 2003 TMV. We suggest you use one of the following methods to determine or estimate the 2003 TMV.

1. If you have the 2003 Notice of Valuation available, find the number labeled "Taxable Market Value" in the 2003 valuation column.
2. Look up the 2002 TMV from your 2003 property tax statement. In most cases, this will be toward the upper right corner of the statement. Be sure to pick the number labeled "Taxable Market Value" in the 2003 column. Once you have found this figure, you may estimate the increase in value for the next year.
3. Call your home county, and ask them what the actual 2003 Taxable Market Value of your property is, for purposes of taxes payable in 2004. Following are phone numbers to use:

   Anoka County	763-323-5400
   Hennepin County	612-348-3046
   Sherburne County	763-241-2880
   Wright County	763-682-7572 or 763-682-7573

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 type of property 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 Taxable Market Value below and click on the "Calculate" box to see the estimated tax increase for your property.

Taxable Market Value:   

Step 4. Review the information below regarding the effect of the proposed tax increases on state tax refunds and your state and federal taxes.

1. Minnesota Property Tax Refund.

   If your adjusted gross income is less than approximately $82,000, 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 $82,000 or less
   • Refund is a sliding scale, based on your income and your total property tax burden
   • The maximum refund is $1,530
   • 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 $100 per year, your refund may cover up to $80 of this increase.

2. Special Property Tax Refund

   If your total property taxes increase by more than 12% and more than $100 between 2003 and 2004, 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 percent of the increase in property taxes, depending on your total income and other credits and deductions.

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 referendum.

Method A. Use the table of sample properties.

Find your type of property in the table, find the sample value that is closest to your property's 2003 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 "extrapolating" 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 Elk River Area School District referendum, and read them the Property I.D. number(s) for your property.
   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. The Ehlers representative will contact your home 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.

© 2003 Ehlers & Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.