M1REF: Refundable Credits (2025)
Minnesota · Minnesota DOR · Used for tax years 2025
The 2025 Minnesota Schedule M1REF reports refundable credits, including child and working family, education, renter’s, and certain investment and business-related credits. It totals these credits for Form M1 and must be included with that return. These credits may allow you to re
Who files this form
Use 2025 Schedule M1REF to report refundable credits on your Minnesota Form M1. If you use this schedule, you must include it with Form M1. These credits may allow you to receive a refund even if you have no tax liability.
The schedule covers:
- Child and Dependent Care Credit
- Child and Working Family Credits
- K–12 Education Credit
- Renter’s Credit
- Credit for Parents of Stillborn Children
- Refundable credit for taxes paid to Wisconsin
- Credit for Historic Structure Rehabilitation
- Enterprise Zone Credit
- Angel Investment Credit
- Pass-Through Entity Tax Credit
- Claim of right
- Credit for Sustainable Aviation Fuel
- Refundable credit for increasing research activities
Each credit has its own requirements. Married people filing separate returns cannot claim the Child and Dependent Care Credit or the K–12 Education Credit.
What you'll need
Complete and include the documents that apply to the credits you claim:
- Child and Dependent Care Credit: Schedule M1CD.
- Child and Working Family Credits: Schedules M1DQC and M1CWFC.
- K–12 Education Credit: Schedule M1ED.
- Renter’s Credit: Schedule M1RENT. You need your 2025 Certificate of Rent Paid (CRP), issued by your property owner or manager, to complete it.
- Credit for Parents of Stillborn Children: Schedule M1PSC. You must have received a Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth from the Minnesota Department of Health, Office of Vital Records. You may be asked to provide a copy.
- Taxes paid to Wisconsin: Schedule M1RCR.
- Historic Structure Rehabilitation: A copy of the credit certificate from the State Historic Preservation Office. Use Schedule KPI, KS, or KF for a credit received through a partnership, S corporation, estate, or trust.
- Enterprise Zone Credit: A copy of the documentation from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).
- Angel Investment Credit: A copy of the Angel Investment Tax Credit Certificate issued by DEED.
- Pass-Through Entity Tax Credit: The applicable Schedules KS, KPI, or KF. Have each entity’s Minnesota Tax ID Number and credit amount available. Attach a statement if you claim more than three of these credits.
- Claim of right: A copy of the recomputed prior-year tax return showing tax liability without the repaid income.
- Sustainable Aviation Fuel Credit: Attach the applicable Schedule KS, KPI, or KF, and use its reported amount and certificate number.
- Refundable credit for increasing research activities: Use the Worksheet for Line 16 of Schedule M1C to determine the amount.
How to file
- Enter your name and Social Security number on Schedule M1REF.
- Complete the lines for the credits you claim, including any requested qualifying-person counts, identification numbers, or certificate numbers.
- Include the required schedules, certificates, and statements for those credits.
- Add lines 1 through 13. Enter the total on line 14 of Schedule M1REF and line 22 of Form M1.
- Include Schedule M1REF with your Form M1.
The supplied text does not give a mailing address or e-filing directions.
Common mistakes
- Leaving out Schedule M1REF: You must include it with Form M1.
- Missing pass-through entity schedules: Your refund will be delayed or denied if you do not provide the applicable Schedules KS, KPI, or KF. Attach a statement if you claim more than three Pass-Through Entity Tax Credits.
- Missing the research credit election box: If you elect the refundable credit for increasing research activities, check the box on line 13. If you do not check it, do not enter an amount on that line. Do not use the nonrefundable credit’s carryover amount to calculate the refundable portion.
- Claiming rent for a place where you did not live: That rent does not qualify for the Renter’s Credit.
- Claiming an assigned historic rehabilitation credit: You cannot claim the portion assigned to another taxpayer. You also cannot claim the credit if you received a grant instead of the credit for the entire amount.
- Fraudulently claiming a credit: A penalty equal to 50% of the refund attributable to fraud may apply. If the fraudulent credit reduced your tax liability, a penalty equal to 50% of the unpaid tax may also apply.
Questions people ask
Can these credits give me a refund if I owe no tax?
Yes. The instructions say these credits may allow you to receive a refund even if you have no tax liability.
Can a part-year Minnesota resident qualify for any of these credits?
Yes. Part-year residents may qualify for the Child and Working Family Credits and the Credit for Parents of Stillborn Children based on their percentage of income taxable to Minnesota. Part-year residents may also qualify for the Renter’s Credit if they meet its other requirements.
What do I need to qualify for the Renter’s Credit?
You must have been a full-year or part-year Minnesota resident and paid rent on your primary residence in Minnesota. You must have lived in a building where property taxes or payments in lieu of property taxes were payable in 2025. You must not be a dependent, and nobody can be able to claim you as a dependent on their 2025 income tax return.
Can I claim a credit for income I repaid in 2025?
You may qualify for the claim-of-right credit if you repaid more than $3,000 in 2025 for income received in a prior year. Calculate the credit by comparing your tax liability for that prior year with and without the repaid income. A repayment of $3,000 or less does not qualify for this credit.
Where does the total from Schedule M1REF go?
Add lines 1 through 13 and enter the result on line 14. Also enter that total on line 22 of Form M1.