Last chance to seek Minnesota property tax refund

There are 700,000 Minnesotans who could have state tax money coming back to them - if they ask for it.

Monday is the last day homeowners and renters can apply for state property tax refunds, which go to people who pay a relatively high amount of taxes compared with their income.

The Minnesota Department of Revenue figures 410,000 homeowners and 307,000 renters are eligible. The average payout is $585 for renters and $695 for homeowners, with the maximum just above $2,300.

No one with a household income above $97,000 is eligible.

There's also a special tax refund for homeowners who experienced a property tax increase of more than 12 percent from 2008 to 2009. There are no income limits for that program.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)