M1RENT: Renter's Credit (2025)
Minnesota · Minnesota DOR · Used for tax years 2025
Minnesota Schedule M1RENT calculates your renter’s credit for 2025 using household income and rent reported on your Certificates of Rent Paid (CRPs). Include it with Schedule M1REF and copies of your CRPs with Form M1.
Who files this form
Use Schedule M1RENT to calculate and claim the Minnesota renter’s credit for 2025.
To qualify:
- You must have been a full-year or part-year Minnesota resident. Full-year nonresidents do not qualify.
- You must have lived in a building where property taxes or payments in lieu of property taxes were payable in 2025.
- You must not have been claimed, or been eligible to be claimed, as someone else’s dependent.
You are not eligible if all your rent was paid by Medical Assistance (Medicaid), Supplemental Security Income, Minnesota Supplemental Aid, or Minnesota Housing Support. Residents of tax-exempt care facilities are not eligible.
If you owned a mobile home and rented only the lot, use Form M1PR instead. If you rented both the mobile home and the lot, you may use Schedule M1RENT.
When it's due
For tax year 2025, the instructions say to request a Certificate of Rent Paid (CRP) from your property owner or managing agent if you have not received it by February 1. If they do not provide it, contact the department. The text does not specify a calendar year for this February 1 checkpoint.
The supplied text does not state a deadline for filing Schedule M1RENT.
What you'll need
- Form M1 and Schedule M1REF: File Schedule M1RENT with these forms.
- Copies of your Certificates of Rent Paid (CRPs): Include them with your return. If you rented both a mobile home and its lot, include both CRPs.
- Schedule M1DQC: Complete it if you claim the dependent subtraction on line 7.
- The Renter’s Credit table in the M1 instructions: Use it to determine the amount for line 13.
- Spouse’s income information, if applicable: Married taxpayers filing separately must include their spouse’s adjusted gross income for the time they lived together.
- Nontaxable income details, if applicable: If total rent from your CRPs exceeds line 1 of Form M1, list the income types and amounts in Section 1.
Include an explanation if line 1 of Schedule M1RENT differs from line 1 of Form M1. Also provide an explanation if you include rent from an adult dependent’s CRP.
How to file
- Enter your name and Social Security number, then check all applicable boxes in Section 1.
- Complete the rent credit calculation in Section 2. Use the Renter’s Credit table in the M1 instructions for line 13.
- If your CRP has an amount on line A, complete lines 14 through 17. Enter the credit from line 17 on line 4 of Schedule M1REF. Otherwise, enter the credit from line 13 on line 4 of Schedule M1REF.
- Include Schedule M1RENT, Schedule M1REF, and copies of your CRPs with Form M1. Keep a copy for your records.
The supplied text does not give a mailing address or e-filing instructions.
Common mistakes
- Leaving out an explanation when income amounts differ: If line 1 of Schedule M1RENT does not match line 1 of Form M1, enclose an explanation. The instructions warn that your refund will be delayed or denied without it.
- Putting nontaxable income on line 1: Do not include it there. Report it in Section 1 when required.
- Reducing line 1 for part-year residency: Enter full adjusted gross income on line 1 and use line 4 for income received while a nonresident.
- Filing a separate schedule for each CRP: Use one Schedule M1RENT. Complete the Worksheet for Multiple CRPs if you lived in more than one rental unit.
- Overstating rent: Do not enter more on line 11 than the total rent reported on your CRPs. Only use rent for the time the unit was your primary residence.
- Doubling the age or disability subtraction: Line 6 cannot exceed $5,200, even if both spouses qualify. This subtraction does not apply to dependents.
- Forgetting CRP copies: You must include them with your return.
Questions people ask
What if my CRP is incorrect?
Request a corrected CRP from your property owner or managing agent. If they do not provide one, contact the department.
Can I claim the credit if I lived with a roommate?
Generally, the property owner or managing agent must give each roommate a separate CRP showing an equal share of the rent, regardless of who actually paid it or whose name is on the lease. Include only your own income when claiming the credit.
Can both spouses claim the credit if we file separately?
If you lived together all year, only one spouse may claim the credit, using combined rent and adjusted gross income. If you lived separately all year, each may claim a credit using only their own rent and income. If you lived together for only part of the year, only one may claim the shared-period rent, and both spouses’ income for that period must be included.
Can I claim both a renter’s credit and a homeowner property tax refund?
If you rented during 2025 and then owned and lived in your home on January 2, 2026, you can claim the homeowner refund using Form M1PR and the renter’s credit using Schedule M1RENT and Form M1. Include only income received while you were a renter on line 1 of Schedule M1RENT.
What happens if someone fraudulently claims the credit?
A fraudulent claim resulting in a refund may lead to a penalty equal to 50% of the refund attributable to fraud. If the fraudulent credit reduced tax liability, a penalty equal to 50% of the unpaid tax may also apply.