Renters need a completed CRP in order to apply for the property tax refund. As a property owner, manager or operator, you are required to issue a Certificate of Rent Paid (CRP) to each person who rented from you during the year. You must give each renter a CRP by January 31 of each year—as long as property taxes (or payments in lieu of property taxes) are made on the property.
Adult Foster Care
If your waiver program/adult foster care facility is exempt from property tax, you do not need to give your residents CRP forms. People living in tax-exempt facilities are not eligible for the property tax refund.
Requirements
Individuals in group residential housing programs are considered to be residing in a residential facility if a portion of their assistance comes from supplemental security income (SSI) or Minnesota Supplemental Aid (MSA)/Group Residential Housing (GRH). The housing must have state and/or federal waivers for housing and other services for persons at risk of needing nursing home services, including persons participating in the adult foster care program.
Individuals who have no income other than SSI and /or MSA/GRH are not eligible for rent refunds. Do not issue CRPs to them.
Individuals who have other income are eligible only if some or all of that income goes to pay their rent. If none of it is used for rent, then they are not eligible. Do not issue CRPs to them.
However, residents with other income, such as Social Security (other than supplemental security income), wage income or any other income other than supplemental assistance grants, may be eligible for a rent refund - as long as some or all of that income goes to pay their rent.
Instructions for Completing Form CRP
Complete the identifying information at the top of CRP for each qualifying resident and follow the instructions below:
- Above Line A: Check the appropriate box to indicate “Adult Foster Care.”
- Line B: Enter the amount of GRH payments received on behalf of the renter. The resident will need this information to apply for the refund.
- Line 1: For rent paid in 2017, all persons living in an adult foster care setting or a similar waiver program are deemed to have paid $760 per month for rent. Multiply the number of months, or fraction of months, the individual lived in the residence by $760 and fill in the result. (The determination that rent is a fixed amount resulted from a 2001 law change. This fixed dollar amount will be annually adjusted for inflation.)
- Line 2 is 17 percent (0.17).
- Line 3 is Line 1 times Line 2.
- Sign and date the form, and include your phone number.
Assisted Living
If your assisted living facility is exempt from property tax, do not give your residents CRP forms. People living in tax-exempt facilities are not eligible for the property tax refund.
Completing the CRP form for Assisted Living Facilities (ALFs)
If payments from residents include amounts for non-rental services, use this alternative method to determine the correct amounts to place on Lines 1 and 3:
- Determine the total property tax paid on the facility.
- Divide that amount by the number of rental units, and put the result on Line 3 of the CRP form.
- Divide the amount from Line 3 by 0.17 (the percentage of rent that is considered to be property tax).
- Enter the result on Line 1 of the CRP form.
Example – Alternative Method for Completing the CRP Form
A resident lives in a 50-unit assisted-living complex. The property tax for 2012 on the complex was $85,000.
- Divide the total property tax by the number of units ($85,000 / 50 = $1700), and enter the result on Line 3.
- Divide the result in step 1 ($1700) by 0.17 (the percentage of rent that is considered to be property tax): $1700 / 0.17 = $10,000. Enter this amount on Line 1. This result is considered the resident’s annual rent.
If the resident lived in the facility for less than the full year, multiply the result from Step 1 by the percent of the year that the resident occupied the unit before continuing with Step 2.
Note: The amount listed on Line 1 of the CRP as rent paid by the resident must not exceed the total amount actually paid by the resident.
If this calculation does not result in what appears to be a reasonable room rent, please contact Minnesota Department of Revenue for assistance. Examples of unreasonably low rent might occur in new buildings where the property tax is based on the value of the land without improvements, or buildings that make payments in lieu of property taxes.
ICF
Multiply the number of months the resident resided in the facility by $490. Enter the result on line 1. You are not required to issue a CRP for short-term or transitional care.
If you need help filling out a Certificate of Rent Paid (CRP) or a Property Tax Refund Return (Form M1PR), call the general assistance number at (651) 296-3781 or 1-800-652-9094.
If you have questions, feel free to contact Barb Turner at bturner@arrm.org or 651-291-1086 ext. 3.
--Barb Turner, Sr. Director of External Affairs