State Auditor Blaha Releases 2024 Tax Increment Financing County Guide - March 22, 2024

Saint Paul, MN – “Tax Increment Financing can be a powerful tool for local economic development,” said Auditor Blaha. “This guide assists with the equitable and efficient administration of this important tool.”
The Tax Increment Financing County Guide prepared by the Office of the State Auditor (OSA):

• Provides background education for those new to TIF.
• Identifies statutory duties related to districts, district certification and decertification.
• Addresses the handling of violations.
• Includes an extensive checklist with statutory citations.

The 2024 update incorporates changes in statute since the 2019 version of the Guide was released and includes a new recommended form for use in the process of requests for certification of new districts.

Tax increment financing (TIF) is a financing tool for redevelopment, housing, and economic development projects that allows authorities to use the property taxes on the new value generated by a development (i.e. "tax increments"), to help finance the development activities. Counties must certify districts and their values, calculate and distribute increment, account for a variety of special factors, knock down parcels, enforce duration limits, and more.

View the TIF County Guide on the OSA website.