Property tax in Benton County, Minnesota
In Benton County, the property tax bill comes from the Benton County Auditor-Treasurer. The Taxes payable 2026 bill is paid in 2 installments, and the next one is due October 15, 2026. You can look up and pay the bill on the county's own payment page. Taken from Benton County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Benton County, Minnesota is $2,651 a year, which is about 0.98% of the county's median home value of $271,000. That effective rate is lower than the typical Minnesota county (0.99%) and higher than the national median (0.81%). These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024); your own bill depends on your home's assessed value and any exemptions.
Who sends the property tax bill in Benton County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the Benton County Auditor-Treasurer. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Benton County Assessor's Office, which is who to ask if the value looks wrong. For how to look up and pay the bill, go to the county's own payment information.
Tax statements are mailed once a year by March 31, and manufactured home statements by July 15 with no second notice. The county bill carries the county, city or township, school district and other local taxes on one statement. You can pay online, by mail to the Auditor-Treasurer at PO Box 129, Foley, MN 56329, in person or at the drop box to the right of the front door of the Government Center at 531 Dewey St in Foley, by automatic withdrawal, or through a mortgage escrow account. Partial payments are accepted at any time, but penalty still builds on any unpaid balance. A returned check or electronic payment costs $30.
When are property taxes due in Benton County?
For the Taxes payable 2026 bill, Benton County splits the bill into 2 payments, the first due May 15, 2026 and the last October 15, 2026. The next one due is the second half, on October 15, 2026. Under state law, a penalty is added the day after each due date and grows on the first of each month. For a homestead, a late half is charged 2% at first, another 2% on the first of the next month, then 1% more each month, up to 8%; an unpaid second half reaches 5% on December 1. Non-homestead property is charged 4%, another 4%, then 1% a month, up to 12%. Taxes still unpaid in January become delinquent and carry more penalty and interest.
| Payment | Due | Note |
|---|---|---|
| First half | May 15, 2026 (passed) | If the whole year's tax is $100 or less, all of it is due on this date (state law). Manufactured homes follow their own schedule, with the first half due August 31, or the whole tax if it is $50 or less. |
| Second half | October 15, 2026 | October 15, 2026 is a Thursday. Agricultural property and manufactured homes have a second-half due date of November 15 instead; November 15, 2026 is a Sunday, and the county says that when the 15th falls on a weekend or legal holiday the due date is the next business day, Monday, November 16, 2026. |
From Benton County's published schedule, checked September 23, 2026. If a date falls on a weekend or holiday, the county's own rules on the next business day apply.
Estimate the property tax on a home in Benton County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Benton County's average effective rate of 0.98% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $2,656 / year
Property tax in Benton County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $2,651 |
| Median home value | $271,000 |
| Effective tax rate | 0.98% |
| Typical Minnesota county rate | 0.99% |
| National median county rate | 0.81% |
Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.
How does Benton County compare in Minnesota?
Among Minnesota's 87 counties, Benton County has the 45th highest effective property-tax rate: 44 rank higher and 42 rank lower. That is near the middle for Minnesota. Nationally, it ranks 1170th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Minnesota county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Benton County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Benton County's 11,157 owner-occupied homes, 39.1% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 67.9% pay at least $2,000, and 6.8% pay under $800. Another 1.7% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 762 | 6.8% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 1,358 | 12.2% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 1,272 | 11.4% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 3,215 | 28.8% |
| $3,000 or more | 4,364 | 39.1% |
| No property tax paid | 186 | 1.7% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $2,713 and owners without one pay $2,536. That is within 10% either way, so in Benton County paying off the house does not go with a noticeably different bill. Census table B25103.
How does the Benton County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $2,651 is about 2.6% of the median income of Benton County homeowner households, $101,627 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 66.7% of Benton County's occupied homes are lived in by their owners; renters pay property tax too, just folded into rent.
Have property taxes gone up in Benton County?
Yes. The median bill went from $2,057 in 2015-2019 to $2,651 in 2020-2024, a 28.9% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 54.9%, from $174,900 to $271,000. Bills rose more slowly than values, which is what assessment caps and falling millage rates do: the county is taxing a smaller share of each home's worth.
Two Census ACS 5-year periods with no survey years in common, in each period's own dollars. A change counts only if it exceeds the combined 90% margin of error.
Property tax in counties next to Benton County
Benton County borders 4 counties.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mille Lacs County, MN | 1.04% | $2,698 | $258,300 |
| Stearns County, MN | 1% | $2,742 | $273,400 |
| Sherburne County, MN | 0.99% | $3,560 | $361,400 |
| Benton County, MN (this county) | 0.98% | $2,651 | $271,000 |
| Morrison County, MN | 0.88% | $2,190 | $248,500 |
How is a home assessed in Benton County?
Minnesota sets the assessment rules and Benton County applies them. How Minnesota assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Benton County?
Yes, on a sliding scale. Minnesota's Homestead Market Value Exclusion is worth up to $38,000 on homes worth $95,000 or less and shrinks to nothing at $517,200. That is the Minnesota rule, and it applies in Benton County. Minnesota's exemptions and relief programs in full.
Benton County does not add relief programs of its own beyond the Minnesota ones (checked September 23, 2026).
How to appeal your Benton County property assessment
In Benton County you appeal to the Local Board of Appeal and Equalization (the township or city board named on your valuation notice). The deadline: Appeals follow the spring Notice of Valuation and Classification, and the value set each spring is used for the following year's tax bill. First ask the Assessor's Office to review the value. If that does not settle it, make an appointment with the township or city clerk for the local board meeting printed on your notice; you may send a representative or a letter instead. You must go to the local board before you can go to the County Board of Appeal and Equalization, which you reach by calling the Auditor's Office for an appointment; state law has it meet in June, so the 2026 round is over until spring 2027. A petition to the Minnesota Tax Court must be filed by April 30 of the year the taxes are payable, so for the 2026 valuation, by April 30, 2027. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against the official appeal rules.
How Minnesota's appeal process works, including the next level if the first one turns you down.
Minnesota rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the Minnesota page.
Work out your own numbers
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How much house can I afford?
Your income, debts and down payment against the 28/36 rule lenders actually use, with Benton County's tax rate to hand.
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Mortgage calculator
Monthly payment with principal, interest, tax and insurance, plus what an extra payment saves you.
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Minnesota income tax
Brackets, standard deduction and what Minnesota actually taxes.
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Sales tax in Benton County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Benton County, Minnesota: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020-2024), tables B25103, B25077, B25102, B25119 and B25003; the five-year comparison uses the 2015-2019 estimates. Neighboring counties: Census county adjacency file.