It’s January: Have You Completed Your CRPs?

It’s January in Minnesota, and that means two things for certain; the Vikings are out of the playoffs and its time for Minnesota housing providers to complete their Certificates of Rent Paid (CRP).

If you own or manage a property in which you rent living space in Minnesota, and property tax was payable on the property, you must give each renter a CRP no later than January 31.

You must issue a CRP for each person who lived in the unit during the year. If you have a lot of tenants, the good news is you can import a spreadsheet and the forms will auto populate.

The amount of rent paid should be divided equally among the tenants who shared the space for the amount of time they lived there; not the amount they paid may have been. If the renter paid a reduced rent in exchange for a service like mowing the lawn or shoveling snow, they should be given credit as if they paid without earning a discount.

Failure to provide a timely CRP can result in a $100 fine per tenant.

It’s important not to put this off until the last minute like I usually do, because this year it isn’t as easy as filling out an editable PDF. This year housing providers are required to complete them electronically, which requires an e-services account with the Minnesota Department of Revenue.

It sounds easy enough. However, they need more than a username and login information; they also need how much you owed or were due as a refund on your state taxes.

To get started completing your CRPs, click here.