Sherburne County

Assessor

Rural Preserve Property Tax Program

The Rural Preserve Property Tax Program was enacted into law by the state legislature in 2009 and is codified in Minnesota Statutes, section 273.114. Rural Preserve is designed to work in conjunction with the changes that were made to the Green Acres program in 2008 and 2009. Rural Preserve provides property tax relief to taxpayers with eligible class 2b rural vacant land.

The Department of Revenue has prepared a Rural Preserve Property Tax Program fact sheet.

The following is a brief description of the program.

The assessor determines two values on land enrolled in Rural Preserve:

1. The Estimated Market Value based on sales of similar property taking into consideration all outside factors that influence its market value.
2. The “value without regard to outside influences: or “Rural Preserve Value” which must not exceed the class 2a tillable value for the county.

Taxes are calculated on both values, but paid on the lower value each year.

Qualifications

If you own class 2b rural vacant land that was grandfathered into Green Acres for the 2010 Assessment or that is part of an agricultural homestead, you may be eligible for Rural Preserve.

The enrolled acres must:

• have been properly enrolled in Green Acres for taxes payable in 2008, or be part of an agricultural homestead;
• the property is contiguous to class 2a property enrolled in Green Acres under the same ownership;
• the property is not also enrolled for valuation and deferment in Green Acres, Open Space, Sustainable Forest Incentive Act, or Metropolitan Agricultural Preserves;
• have no delinquent property taxes owed on the land

How to apply

Application forms are available at the county Assessor's Department. Applications must be filed by May1 for the next taxes-payable year.

Applications for the Rural Preserve program will be filed with and approved by the county assessor. The assessor will require that a copy of an aerial photo outlining the property that is being requested to be put into the Rural Preserve program be submitted with your application. The aerial photo can be obtained from the FSA Office or the Assessor's Department.

Questions

If you have any questions regarding the application process please contact the Assessor’s Department at 763-765-4900.

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