HF 636

as introduced - 90th Legislature (2017 - 2018) Posted on 02/23/2017 07:37pm

A bill for an act
relating to taxation; property; allowing land classified as agricultural homestead
and farmed by a beginning farmer to continue to qualify for homestead
classification; amending Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 273.124, subdivision
14.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 273.124, subdivision 14, is amended to read:

Subd. 14.

Agricultural homesteads; special provisions.

(a) Real estate of less than ten
acres that is the homestead of its owner must be classified as class 2a under section 273.13,
subdivision 23, paragraph (a), if:

(1) the parcel on which the house is located is contiguous on at least two sides to (i)
agricultural land, (ii) land owned or administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service, or (iii) land administered by the Department of Natural Resources on which in lieu
taxes are paid under sections 477A.11 to 477A.14;

(2) its owner also owns a noncontiguous parcel of agricultural land that is at least 20
acres;

(3) the noncontiguous land is located not farther than four townships or cities, or a
combination of townships or cities from the homestead; and

(4) the agricultural use value of the noncontiguous land and farm buildings is equal to
at least 50 percent of the market value of the house, garage, and one acre of land.

Homesteads initially classified as class 2a under the provisions of this paragraph shall
remain classified as class 2a, irrespective of subsequent changes in the use of adjoining
properties, as long as the homestead remains under the same ownership, the owner owns a
noncontiguous parcel of agricultural land that is at least 20 acres, and the agricultural use
value qualifies under clause (4). Homestead classification under this paragraph is limited
to property that qualified under this paragraph for the 1998 assessment.

(b)(i) Agricultural property shall be classified as the owner's homestead, to the same
extent as other agricultural homestead property, if all of the following criteria are met:

(1) the agricultural property consists of at least 40 acres including undivided government
lots and correctional 40's;

(2) the owner, the owner's spouse, deleted text begin or deleted text end a grandchild, child, sibling, or parent of the owner
or of the owner's spouse, new text begin or a beginning farmer new text end is actively farming the agricultural property,
either on the person's own behalf as an individual or on behalf of a partnership operating a
family farm, family farm corporation, joint family farm venture, or limited liability company
of which the person is a partner, shareholder, or member;

(3) both the owner of the agricultural property and the person who is actively farming
the agricultural property under clause (2), are Minnesota residents;

(4) neither the owner nor the spouse of the owner claims another agricultural homestead
in Minnesota; and

(5) neither the owner nor the person actively farming the agricultural property lives
farther than four townships or cities, or a combination of four townships or cities, from the
agricultural property, except that if the owner or the owner's spouse is required to live in
employer-provided housing, the owner or owner's spouse, whichever is actively farming
the agricultural property, may live more than four townships or cities, or combination of
four townships or cities from the agricultural property.

The relationship under this paragraph may be either by blood or marriage.

(ii) Agricultural property held by a trustee under a trust is eligible for agricultural
homestead classification under this paragraph if the qualifications in clause (i) are met,
except that "owner" means the grantor of the trust.

(iii) Property containing the residence of an owner who owns qualified property under
clause (i) shall be classified as part of the owner's agricultural homestead, if that property
is also used for noncommercial storage or drying of agricultural crops.

(iv) As used in this paragraph, "agricultural property" means class 2a property and any
class 2b property that is contiguous to and under the same ownership as the class 2a property.

new text begin (c) For purposes of paragraph (b), "beginning farmer" means a person who, at the time
the person begins actively farming the agricultural property or in 2017, whichever is later,
has a net worth that does not exceed the limit provided under section 41B.03, subdivision
3, paragraph (a), clause (2), and who has not actively farmed agricultural property as a sole
proprietor or with others for more than ten years in the person's lifetime. A person seeking
to qualify as a beginning farmer must file an affidavit with the assessor asserting that they
meet these criteria. Agricultural property farmed by a beginning farmer may only be classified
as the owner's homestead if the property was classified as agricultural homestead immediately
prior to when the beginning farmer began farming the property.
new text end

deleted text begin (c) deleted text end new text begin (d) new text end Noncontiguous land shall be included as part of a homestead under section 273.13,
subdivision 23, paragraph (a), only if the homestead is classified as class 2a and the detached
land is located in the same township or city, or not farther than four townships or cities or
combination thereof from the homestead. Any taxpayer of these noncontiguous lands must
notify the county assessor that the noncontiguous land is part of the taxpayer's homestead,
and, if the homestead is located in another county, the taxpayer must also notify the assessor
of the other county.

deleted text begin (d) deleted text end new text begin (e) new text end Agricultural land used for purposes of a homestead and actively farmed by a
person holding a vested remainder interest in it must be classified as a homestead under
section 273.13, subdivision 23, paragraph (a). If agricultural land is classified class 2a, any
other dwellings on the land used for purposes of a homestead by persons holding vested
remainder interests who are actively engaged in farming the property, and up to one acre
of the land surrounding each homestead and reasonably necessary for the use of the dwelling
as a home, must also be assessed class 2a.

deleted text begin (e) deleted text end new text begin (f) new text end Agricultural land and buildings that were class 2a homestead property under
section 273.13, subdivision 23, paragraph (a), for the 1997 assessment shall remain classified
as agricultural homesteads for subsequent assessments if:

(1) the property owner abandoned the homestead dwelling located on the agricultural
homestead as a result of the April 1997 floods;

(2) the property is located in the county of Polk, Clay, Kittson, Marshall, Norman, or
Wilkin;

(3) the agricultural land and buildings remain under the same ownership for the current
assessment year as existed for the 1997 assessment year and continue to be used for
agricultural purposes;

(4) the dwelling occupied by the owner is located in Minnesota and is within 30 miles
of one of the parcels of agricultural land that is owned by the taxpayer; and

(5) the owner notifies the county assessor that the relocation was due to the 1997 floods,
and the owner furnishes the assessor any information deemed necessary by the assessor in
verifying the change in dwelling. Further notifications to the assessor are not required if the
property continues to meet all the requirements in this paragraph and any dwellings on the
agricultural land remain uninhabited.

deleted text begin (f) deleted text end new text begin (g) new text end Agricultural land and buildings that were class 2a homestead property under
section 273.13, subdivision 23, paragraph (a), for the 1998 assessment shall remain classified
agricultural homesteads for subsequent assessments if:

(1) the property owner abandoned the homestead dwelling located on the agricultural
homestead as a result of damage caused by a March 29, 1998, tornado;

(2) the property is located in the county of Blue Earth, Brown, Cottonwood, LeSueur,
Nicollet, Nobles, or Rice;

(3) the agricultural land and buildings remain under the same ownership for the current
assessment year as existed for the 1998 assessment year;

(4) the dwelling occupied by the owner is located in this state and is within 50 miles of
one of the parcels of agricultural land that is owned by the taxpayer; and

(5) the owner notifies the county assessor that the relocation was due to a March 29,
1998, tornado, and the owner furnishes the assessor any information deemed necessary by
the assessor in verifying the change in homestead dwelling. For taxes payable in 1999, the
owner must notify the assessor by December 1, 1998. Further notifications to the assessor
are not required if the property continues to meet all the requirements in this paragraph and
any dwellings on the agricultural land remain uninhabited.

deleted text begin (g) deleted text end new text begin (h) new text end Agricultural property of a family farm corporation, joint family farm venture,
family farm limited liability company, or partnership operating a family farm as described
under subdivision 8 shall be classified homestead, to the same extent as other agricultural
homestead property, if all of the following criteria are met:

(1) the property consists of at least 40 acres including undivided government lots and
correctional 40's;

(2) a shareholder, member, or partner of that entity is actively farming the agricultural
property;

(3) that shareholder, member, or partner who is actively farming the agricultural property
is a Minnesota resident;

(4) neither that shareholder, member, or partner, nor the spouse of that shareholder,
member, or partner claims another agricultural homestead in Minnesota; and

(5) that shareholder, member, or partner does not live farther than four townships or
cities, or a combination of four townships or cities, from the agricultural property.

Homestead treatment applies under this paragraph for property leased to a family farm
corporation, joint farm venture, limited liability company, or partnership operating a family
farm if legal title to the property is in the name of an individual who is a member, shareholder,
or partner in the entity.

deleted text begin (h) deleted text end new text begin (i) new text end To be eligible for the special agricultural homestead under this subdivision, an
initial full application must be submitted to the county assessor where the property is located.
Owners and the persons who are actively farming the property shall be required to complete
only a one-page abbreviated version of the application in each subsequent year provided
that none of the following items have changed since the initial application:

(1) the day-to-day operation, administration, and financial risks remain the same;

(2) the owners and the persons actively farming the property continue to live within the
four townships or city criteria and are Minnesota residents;

(3) the same operator of the agricultural property is listed with the Farm Service Agency;

(4) a Schedule F or equivalent income tax form was filed for the most recent year;

(5) the property's acreage is unchanged; and

(6) none of the property's acres have been enrolled in a federal or state farm program
since the initial application.

The owners and any persons who are actively farming the property must include the
appropriate Social Security numbers, and sign and date the application. If any of the specified
information has changed since the full application was filed, the owner must notify the
assessor, and must complete a new application to determine if the property continues to
qualify for the special agricultural homestead. The commissioner of revenue shall prepare
a standard reapplication form for use by the assessors.

deleted text begin (i) deleted text end new text begin (j) new text end Agricultural land and buildings that were class 2a homestead property under section
273.13, subdivision 23, paragraph (a), for the 2007 assessment shall remain classified
agricultural homesteads for subsequent assessments if:

(1) the property owner abandoned the homestead dwelling located on the agricultural
homestead as a result of damage caused by the August 2007 floods;

(2) the property is located in the county of Dodge, Fillmore, Houston, Olmsted, Steele,
Wabasha, or Winona;

(3) the agricultural land and buildings remain under the same ownership for the current
assessment year as existed for the 2007 assessment year;

(4) the dwelling occupied by the owner is located in this state and is within 50 miles of
one of the parcels of agricultural land that is owned by the taxpayer; and

(5) the owner notifies the county assessor that the relocation was due to the August 2007
floods, and the owner furnishes the assessor any information deemed necessary by the
assessor in verifying the change in homestead dwelling. For taxes payable in 2009, the
owner must notify the assessor by December 1, 2008. Further notifications to the assessor
are not required if the property continues to meet all the requirements in this paragraph and
any dwellings on the agricultural land remain uninhabited.

deleted text begin (j) deleted text end new text begin (k) new text end Agricultural land and buildings that were class 2a homestead property under
section 273.13, subdivision 23, paragraph (a), for the 2008 assessment shall remain classified
as agricultural homesteads for subsequent assessments if:

(1) the property owner abandoned the homestead dwelling located on the agricultural
homestead as a result of the March 2009 floods;

(2) the property is located in the county of Marshall;

(3) the agricultural land and buildings remain under the same ownership for the current
assessment year as existed for the 2008 assessment year and continue to be used for
agricultural purposes;

(4) the dwelling occupied by the owner is located in Minnesota and is within 50 miles
of one of the parcels of agricultural land that is owned by the taxpayer; and

(5) the owner notifies the county assessor that the relocation was due to the 2009 floods,
and the owner furnishes the assessor any information deemed necessary by the assessor in
verifying the change in dwelling. Further notifications to the assessor are not required if the
property continues to meet all the requirements in this paragraph and any dwellings on the
agricultural land remain uninhabited.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective beginning with assessment year 2017.
new text end