Property tax in Dakota County, Minnesota
In Dakota County, the property tax bill comes from the Dakota County Property Taxation & Records. 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 Dakota County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Dakota County, Minnesota is $3,749 a year, which is about 0.98% of the county's median home value of $381,000. 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 Dakota County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the Dakota County Property Taxation & Records. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Dakota County Assessing Services, 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.
Minnesota bills a year behind the valuation: the January 2, 2026 value sets the taxes payable in 2027. Dakota County Assessing Services values every property in the county, and the county's single tax statement also carries the taxes for your city, school district and other taxing districts. Late-payment penalties can be removed only for documented hardship, county or postal error and similar cases, and the full amount must be paid first. Online payments go through the county's payment provider, Paymentus, with a 2.29% card fee, a $2.95 Visa debit fee or a $0.35 electronic check fee; mailed checks are payable to Dakota County Property Taxation & Records in Hastings.
When are property taxes due in Dakota County?
For the Taxes payable 2026 bill, Dakota 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. A penalty is added the day after a half is due and rises on set dates while it stays unpaid; the rates replace each other rather than add up. For a homestead or cabin, a late first half is charged 2% on May 16, 4% on June 1, then 1% more each month to 8% on October 1, and 10% on January 2, 2027; a late second half is charged 2% on October 16, 4% on November 1, 5% on December 1 and 7% on January 2, 2027. For non-homestead property, a late first half is charged 4% on May 16, 8% on June 1, then 1% more each month to 12% on October 1, and 14% on January 2, 2027; a late second half is charged 4% on October 16, 8% on November 1, 9% on December 1 and 11% on January 2, 2027. Agricultural second halves start at 2% (homestead) or 4% (non-homestead) on November 17. Taxes still unpaid on January 2, 2027 are delinquent, and monthly interest is then added on the unpaid tax and penalty. Owners then have three years to pay or set up a payment plan before the property forfeits to the state.
| Payment | Due | Note |
|---|---|---|
| First half | May 15, 2026 (passed) | For real estate, including homes, cabins and agricultural property, and for personal property. The tax statement and valuation notice are mailed together once a year in mid-March, and a new owner who buys during the year does not get a second statement. Mailed payments must be postmarked on or before the due date or penalties apply. |
| Second half | October 15, 2026 | For homes, cabins and other non-agricultural real estate. The county lists November 16, 2026 as the second-half due date for agricultural property, because November 15 falls on a Sunday. Manufactured homes are billed on a separate schedule, with the first half due August 31, 2026 and the second half November 16, 2026. |
From Dakota 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 Dakota County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Dakota 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: $3,734 / year
Property tax in Dakota County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $3,749 |
| Median home value | $381,000 |
| 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 Dakota County compare in Minnesota?
Among Minnesota's 87 counties, Dakota County has the 47th highest effective property-tax rate: 46 rank higher and 40 rank lower. That is near the middle for Minnesota. Nationally, it ranks 1172nd of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Minnesota county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Dakota County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Dakota County's 130,675 owner-occupied homes, 66% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 85.3% pay at least $2,000, and 3.3% pay under $800. Another 2.1% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 4,283 | 3.3% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 5,660 | 4.3% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 6,572 | 5% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 25,225 | 19.3% |
| $3,000 or more | 86,195 | 66% |
| No property tax paid | 2,740 | 2.1% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $3,766 and owners without one pay $3,712. That is within 10% either way, so in Dakota County paying off the house does not go with a noticeably different bill. Census table B25103.
How does the Dakota County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $3,749 is about 3% of the median income of Dakota County homeowner households, $125,301 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 74.9% of Dakota 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 Dakota County?
Yes. The median bill went from $2,875 in 2015-2019 to $3,749 in 2020-2024, a 30.4% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 43.2%, from $266,000 to $381,000. 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 Dakota County
Dakota County borders 7 counties, 1 of them across the state line.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pierce County, WI | 1.36% | $4,551 | $333,700 |
| Ramsey County, MN | 1.21% | $3,966 | $326,600 |
| Hennepin County, MN | 1.14% | $4,480 | $392,900 |
| Goodhue County, MN | 1.05% | $2,998 | $285,100 |
| Scott County, MN | 1.01% | $4,230 | $419,400 |
| Washington County, MN | 0.99% | $4,164 | $422,000 |
| Dakota County, MN (this county) | 0.98% | $3,749 | $381,000 |
| Rice County, MN | 0.97% | $3,115 | $320,200 |
How is a home assessed in Dakota County?
Minnesota sets the assessment rules and Dakota County applies them. How Minnesota assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Dakota 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 Dakota County. Minnesota's exemptions and relief programs in full.
On top of the Minnesota programs, Dakota County runs its own:
- Local option disaster abatement and credit: If fire, wind, water or similar damage destroys at least half of a home or other building (and the owner did not cause it), the county can reduce the property tax to reflect the lost value; apply to the county with a Disaster Credit Application soon after the damage.
How to appeal your Dakota County property assessment
In Dakota County you appeal to the Dakota County Assessing Services (open book review), then the Dakota County Special Board of Appeal and Equalization. The deadline: Valuation notices are mailed in mid-March. In 2026 the county took open book appeals from March 11 to May 1, and the Special Board of Appeal and Equalization met June 8, 2026; after that meeting the county can no longer change the 2026 value, so the next county-level appeal is on the 2027 valuation notice. You can instead petition the Minnesota Tax Court any time after the valuation notice arrives and no later than April 30 of the year the tax is payable; for the 2026 value, which sets taxes payable in 2027, that is April 30, 2027. The petition must also be served on the County Auditor/Treasurer, which the county accepts by email. 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 Dakota 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 Dakota County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Dakota 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.