Minneapolis, Minnesota
Hennepin County commercial property tax appeals
Appeals start with the Hennepin County Assessor's Office and city assessors (including the Minneapolis Assessor's Office) and go to the Local Board of Appeal and Equalization, then the Hennepin County Board of Appeal and Equalization. Here is how commercial evidence is built, filed and heard in Hennepin County.
- Assessor
- Hennepin County Assessor's Office and city assessors (including the Minneapolis Assessor's Office)
- First-level board
- Local Board of Appeal and Equalization, then the Hennepin County Board of Appeal and Equalization
- Filing deadline
- Minnesota Tax Court: petition filed with proof of service by April 30 of the year the taxes are payable (Minn. Stat. §278.01). Local and county boards: appear at the city's Local Board in April or May (Minneapolis 2026 filings due April 9) and book a county board appointment by the county's May deadline.
- Commercial assessment level
- Market value converted to net tax capacity at the class 3a commercial-industrial rate: 1.5% of the first $150,000 and 2.0% above (Minn. Stat. §273.13, subd. 24), plus the state general tax
- Value standard
- Market value (Minn. Stat. §272.03, subd. 8; §273.11)
- Valuation date
- January 2 of the assessment year (Minn. Stat. §273.01)
- Assessment cycle
- Annual assessment as of January 2; values set in the assessment year apply to taxes payable the following year
- Notices mailed
- Notices of valuation and classification are mailed each March; informal review and local board appeals follow in April and May, and the county board meets in June by appointment
How Hennepin County assesses commercial property
Hennepin County values every parcel as of January 2 each year and mails notices of valuation and classification in March. The work is split between the Hennepin County Assessor's Office and city assessing offices, including Minneapolis. Minnesota then converts market value to net tax capacity, with commercial-industrial property at 1.5% of the first $150,000 and 2.0% above, and adds the state general tax, which is why commercial bills in Minneapolis carry a heavy effective rate.
There are two tracks. The administrative track runs from an informal review with the assessor to the city's Local Board of Appeal and Equalization in April or May and the Hennepin County Board of Appeal and Equalization in June, and an owner must appear at the Local Board before taking the case to the County Board. The judicial track is a chapter 278 petition heard by the Minnesota Tax Court, filed by April 30 of the year the taxes are payable. Commercial owners usually choose the Tax Court because no board appearance is required and the case can be built around a full appraisal.
Once filed, a petition has its own deadlines. Income-producing property must deliver year-end financials, a rent roll and a budget to the assessor by August 1, and part of the tax must be paid by May 16 and October 16 while the case is pending, or the petition is dismissed. Most cases settle once appraisals are exchanged, and the rest are tried before a Tax Court judge.
Major commercial submarkets
- Downtown Minneapolis CBD
- North Loop and the Mill District
- Bloomington and the I-494 corridor
- Eden Prairie and Minnetonka (southwest suburban office)
- Plymouth and Maple Grove (northwest industrial)
- Edina and the Southdale area
Uniformity authority
Minn. Const. art. X, §1 (taxes uniform upon the same class of subjects); Minn. Stat. §278.01, subd. 1 (property partially, unfairly or unequally assessed)
Appeal statute
Minn. Stat. §§278.01 to 278.05 (Tax Court petitions); §274.01 and §274.13 (local and county boards of appeal and equalization)
After the board
Minnesota Tax Court (chapter 278 petition by April 30 of the payable year, or a direct chapter 271 appeal); Tax Court decisions are reviewed by the Minnesota Supreme Court on certiorari
Official forms ATALI ELECTRIC fills for Hennepin County
| Form | Filed with | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Petition under Minnesota Statutes chapter 278 (real property tax petition) | Hennepin County District Court administrator, served on the county auditor (heard by the Minnesota Tax Court) | Contests market value, classification or unequal assessment for the taxes payable year. Must be filed with proof of service by April 30. |
| Income-producing property information under §278.05, subd. 6 | Hennepin County Assessor | Year-end financial statements for the year before and the year of the assessment date, a rent roll near the assessment date, net rentable area, and the following year's budget, due by August 1 of the payable year or the petition is dismissed. |
| Local Board of Appeal and Equalization appeal | The city's Local Board (in Minneapolis, through the Assessor's Office) | Formal local appeal of the January 2 value. Appearing at the Local Board is required before taking the case to the Hennepin County Board. |
Filing system: Tax Court petitions filed with the Hennepin County District Court administrator through the Minnesota Judicial Branch eFile and eServe system, with a copy served on the county auditor
Hearings and evidence
Local Boards are city council or appointed boards that meet in April and May (the Minneapolis Local Board convened April 14, 2026) and hear appellants briefly in turn. The Hennepin County Board of Appeal and Equalization meets in June by appointment. Commercial disputes usually go to the Minnesota Tax Court, where a petition proceeds on a scheduling order with appraisal exchange and discovery, and unsettled cases are tried before a Tax Court judge with appraiser testimony. Most settle before trial.
- 01Income-producing property: by August 1 of the taxes payable year, provide the county assessor with year-end financial statements for the prior year and the assessment-date year, a rent roll, unlisted leases, net rentable square footage and a budget for the following year, or the petition is dismissed (§278.05, subd. 6).
- 02If the assessor later asks for the leases themselves, the petitioner has 60 days to produce them.
- 03If the case is not resolved before May 16, 50% of the year's tax must be paid, and further payments are due by October 16; a missed payment automatically dismisses the petition unless the court waives it (§278.03).
- 04The petition must be served on the county auditor and filed with proof of service by April 30 of the payable year; there is no requirement to appear at the local or county board first.
Income evidence
The Tax Court weighs all three approaches but, for leased commercial property, usually gives the most weight to an income approach built on market rent, stabilized vacancy, market expenses and reserves, and a cap rate drawn from comparable sales and investor surveys. The §278.05 package (two years of year-end financials, the rent roll and the next year's budget) is the county's first look at actual operations, so the normalization in the appraisal needs to reconcile to those statements line by line. Because Minnesota taxes net tax capacity at class rates, convert the indicated market value through the class 3a tiers before estimating savings.
Practitioner notes
- Mind the payable-year shift: the January 2, 2026 value is taxed in 2027, so the Tax Court deadline for that value is April 30, 2027.
- Commercial owners usually skip the boards and file in Tax Court, which has no exhaustion requirement and lets a petition run while later years are added by new petitions.
- Calendar the August 1 income filing and the May 16 and October 16 tax payments for every open petition; both failures cause automatic dismissal.
- Many Hennepin cities run their own assessing offices, so confirm which assessor valued the parcel before contacting staff or booking a Local Board appearance.
Hennepin County appeal questions
Last verified October 2026 against the assessor, board and statute.
What is the deadline to appeal a Hennepin County commercial value to Tax Court?
April 30 of the year the taxes are payable. For the January 2, 2026 assessment, taxes are payable in 2027, so the petition is due April 30, 2027.
Do I need to go to the Local or County Board before Tax Court?
No. A chapter 278 petition can be filed without any board appearance. The board track is a separate option, and the County Board requires a prior Local Board appearance.
What income information must I give the assessor?
Year-end financial statements for the year before and the year of the assessment date, a rent roll near the assessment date, any leases not on the rent roll, net rentable square footage and a budget for the following year, by August 1 of the payable year.
Do I still have to pay taxes while the petition is pending?
Yes. If the case is not resolved before May 16, 50% of the tax is due, and a further payment is due by October 16. Missing a required payment dismisses the petition automatically.
Nearby jurisdictions
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