Property tax in Pennington County, Minnesota
In Pennington County, the property tax bill comes from the Pennington 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 Pennington County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Pennington County, Minnesota is $2,458 a year, which is about 1.26% of the county's median home value of $195,500. That effective rate is higher 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 Pennington County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the Pennington County Auditor-Treasurer. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Pennington 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.
The Auditor-Treasurer mails about 9,500 tax statements a year and collects real estate, mobile home and personal property taxes; the statement carries the county, city or township, school district and other local taxes together. Mailed payments go to the Pennington County Government Center, 101 Main Ave N, PO Box 616, Thief River Falls, MN 56701. Online payment runs through the county's property records search, linked from the Auditor-Treasurer page.
When are property taxes due in Pennington County?
For the Taxes payable 2026 bill, Pennington 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). Personal property is due May 15. Mobile homes follow their own schedule, with the first half due August 31. |
| Second half | October 15, 2026 | October 15, 2026 is a Thursday. Agricultural property and mobile homes have a second-half due date of November 15 instead; November 15, 2026 is a Sunday, and under state law a payment due on a weekend is on time on the next business day, Monday, November 16, 2026. |
From Pennington 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 Pennington County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Pennington County's average effective rate of 1.26% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $2,463 / year
Property tax in Pennington County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $2,458 |
| Median home value | $195,500 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.26% |
| 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 Pennington County compare in Minnesota?
Among Minnesota's 87 counties, Pennington County has the highest effective property-tax rate. That places it among the most heavily taxed counties in the state. Nationally, it ranks 657th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Minnesota county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Pennington County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Pennington County's 4,479 owner-occupied homes, 34.3% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 60.9% pay at least $2,000, and 9.7% pay under $800. Another 2.5% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 434 | 9.7% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 711 | 15.9% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 492 | 11% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 1,191 | 26.6% |
| $3,000 or more | 1,538 | 34.3% |
| No property tax paid | 113 | 2.5% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $2,426 and owners without one pay $2,511. That is within 10% either way, so in Pennington County paying off the house does not go with a noticeably different bill. Census table B25103.
How does the Pennington County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $2,458 is about 2.5% of the median income of Pennington County homeowner households, $97,523 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 72.2% of Pennington 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 Pennington County?
Yes. The median bill went from $1,736 in 2015-2019 to $2,458 in 2020-2024, a 41.6% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 26%, from $155,100 to $195,500. Bills rose faster than values, which usually means local rates went up or an exemption shrank.
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 Pennington County
Pennington County borders 5 counties.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennington County, MN (this county) | 1.26% | $2,458 | $195,500 |
| Polk County, MN | 1.01% | $2,245 | $222,800 |
| Red Lake County, MN | 1% | $1,622 | $162,000 |
| Beltrami County, MN | 0.97% | $2,309 | $237,500 |
| Marshall County, MN | 0.8% | $1,315 | $164,500 |
| Clearwater County, MN | 0.67% | $1,295 | $192,100 |
How is a home assessed in Pennington County?
Minnesota sets the assessment rules and Pennington County applies them. How Minnesota assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Pennington 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 Pennington County. Minnesota's exemptions and relief programs in full.
Pennington County does not add relief programs of its own beyond the Minnesota ones (checked September 23, 2026).
How to appeal your Pennington County property assessment
In Pennington County you appeal to the Open Book or Local Board of Appeal and Equalization meeting (the one printed on your valuation notice). The deadline: Valuation notices are mailed in the spring, and the value set each spring is used for the following year's tax bill. Call the Assessor's Office first, then attend the Open Book or Local Board of Appeal and Equalization meeting on your notice, then the County Board of Appeal and Equalization, which met June 15, 2026, so that round is over until spring 2027. A petition to the Minnesota Tax Court is due by April 30 of the year the taxes are payable, which for the 2026 valuation is 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 Pennington 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 Pennington County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Pennington 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.