Property Tax

In Minnesota, property tax is an annual tax paid for real estate you own. It is an ad valorem tax, which means it is based on the value of the property. You can pay your bill online or we also offer conventional payment options.

Property Tax Calculator

The Online Property Tax Calculator allows users to view market values for any city in the Minnesota, calculate the tax amount on a home or business and find out how property taxes are distributed among cities, counties and schools.

Where Your Taxes Go

Counties sometimes get a bad rap on property taxes because the county mails the tax statements. However, only a portion of your property tax goes to the county government. If you live in a city, part of your payment goes to the city. If you live in a township, part goes to the township. All property is in a designated school district and part of your payment may go to the school district to fund special referendums.

Visible Uses of Tax Dollars

Some of the most visible county services funded by property tax are:

  • County Roads
  • Courtrooms
  • Jail
  • Juvenile Detention Center
  • Law Enforcement
  • Public Health

Unusual Purposes

Other government-type units, organized for limited purposes (called special districts or taxing authorities), exist in most parts of the state and they can levy property taxes too. Examples are watershed districts, library districts, hospital districts, housing and redevelopment authorities, etc.

Consolidated Tax Statements

The county collects these various taxes using 1 tax statement billing. Therefore, it is called a consolidated tax. Some states do not have consolidated tax statements. When each taxing authority mails a separate tax statement with different due dates it can cause confusion and additional collection expense.

Unpaid Property Taxes

Unpaid property taxes from prior years are called delinquent tax. The Clay County Auditor administers the delinquent tax and forfeited property system. If you would like further information about delinquent taxes or tax forfeited property, go to the Clay County Auditor page.

Property Values

If you would like information about how property values are determined for taxation purposes, go to the Clay County Assessor page. If you would like to know the value on a specific piece of property, see property search.