Minnesota Tax Court Grants Couple Separate Homestead Tax Breaks

A husband and wife who live more than 70 miles apart by car for most of the year are entitled to property tax benefits for both of their residences, the Minnesota Tax Court ruled.

Judge Bradford S. Delapena rejected St. Louis County’s argument that the distance between the residences is 40 miles as the crow flies, which is under the 50-mile threshold imposed by state law.

“Taxpayers are not crows,” he said in a May 22 opinion. “As a practical matter, when considering the distance between two geographic locations in Minnesota, human beings reference the distance they must travel ...