Olmsted County rolls out COVID-19 property tax hardship abatement policy

On December 15, 2020, the Olmsted County Board of Commissioners approved a temporary COVID-19 property tax hardship abatement policy for commercial/industrial property owners. The policy is intended to provide some relief to business owners having difficulty paying their 2020 property taxes due to COVID-19 impacts on their businesses. This will defer payment of some of the taxes and abate some of the penalties and interest to help those businesses recover.

Commercial/industrial property owners who meet the qualification criteria and would like to seek abatement must apply by 5 p.m. on February 15, 2021. Applications must be submitted by the property owner and all applications will require approval from the Olmsted County Board of Commissioners. Approved applicants will be allowed a 6- to 18-month period to pay back taxes which are in arrears, starting January 1, 2021.

Qualification criteria

Following is the criteria to qualify for the COVID-19 property tax hardship abatement program.  

• Properties must be classified as a commercial or industrial property in Olmsted County. Apartment and agricultural properties will not qualify. 
• Property owners need to have paid at least 25% of abatement year property taxes prior to the time of application.
• Property owners must have been current on their property taxes as of March 1, 2020.
• Business revenue must have decreased by 30% or more as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to 2019.
• The business must have been in operation as of March 1, 2020.
• The business must have been in good standing with Minnesota Secretary of State as of March 1, 2020.

For more information

To view the full COVID-19 property tax hardship abatement policy and/or to fill out an application, please visit our Olmsted County website.

Media Contact: Gretchen Williamson, Communications Coordinator, 507-328-6024