Understanding Your Valuation

2022 Proposed Valuations for Taxes Payable 2023

Mille Lacs County property owners will soon receive their 2022 proposed valuation and classification notices. Most years these notices do not raise much concern from local taxpayers, as market conditions have not been noticeable. However, due to extreme increases in the real estate market, estimated market values have increased substantially. As a result, it is important to remember the following:

• A property’s estimated market value can change year to year due to market conditions, even if no physical changes have been made to the property. There is no limit to the amount of value a property can change.
• The County Assessor must value a property at 100% of its market value on January 2nd of each year. Each jurisdiction must have a median sales ratio between 90-105%.
• The current sales study on residential properties, that is, sales from October 1, 2020 until September 30, 2021, shows that some jurisdictions in Mille Lacs County had median values below 70%, which required a minimum increase of 30% or more to reach acceptable levels. This does not mean property taxes will go up the same percentage.
• Each local unit of government will levy for what is needed the following year, no more and no less. Increasing property values does not increase revenue. The property tax burden is simply redistributed or adjusted.
• The Assessor’s job is not to raise revenue or predict sales, but to reflect what the real estate market is doing and how property is selling under current conditions.

A property owner who questions their estimated market value or classification should first contact the County Assessor’s Office. If a property owner is not satisfied with the Office's explanation, they can appeal at the Local Board of Appeal and Equalization, and possibly the County Board of Appeal and Equalization. An interior inspection of the property must be made in most cases to proceed to the Board of Appeal and Equalization. 

Remember – the County Assessor does not create, charge, collect or determine taxes. The assessor’s job is to value and classify property, as determined by State Statute, so that each taxpayer pays their “fair share” of the overall property tax burden. If property values go up over an entire jurisdiction, the property tax burden for an individual property may only increase or decrease proportional to the increase or decrease in the levy amount determined by that jurisdiction.