Moorhead's Make Moorhead Home program refunds two years of property taxes on a newly built home. It has no cap on construction value, it counts land value, and a home is enrolled automatically when the building permit is issued. The City of Moorhead's homebuyer incentives page also carries one more line: "Program expires 12/31/2026 unless extended." That end date is built into the program on purpose, and the date the program is renewed matters most to people who start a build this fall.
The rebate check follows the deed
Before getting to the renewal question, there's a detail in the program rules that catches people mid-transaction. According to the city, the rebate check goes to whoever is the owner of record when the rebate is processed. If a home sells during its two-year rebate term, the city says the parties should spell out who gets the rebate in the sales agreement.
The timing explains why this happens. Property taxes are still due on the normal schedule, May 15 and October 15. The eligible portion is refunded in December of each year the home qualifies. So the owner pays the full bill first and the money comes back later. Picture a builder or first owner who sells in the middle of the term. They may have paid the May and October installments, and the December check then goes to the buyer, unless the purchase agreement says otherwise.
The program also runs on a lag. The FM Extra reported that the rebate is based on the assessed value on Jan. 2 of each of the two years after a new home is completed. If a house is finished in 2026, those two valuation dates are Jan. 2, 2027 and Jan. 2, 2028. Both fall after the program's printed expiration.
Why Moorhead's version is structurally different
Across the river, the new-construction exemptions are built on a different model. Here's how the three programs compare on paper:
| Moorhead, MN | Fargo, ND | West Fargo, ND | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Length | Two years | First two full years owned | Two years |
| Value covered | No construction cap; land included | First $150,000 of building value | Capped at $150,000 of dwelling value; land excluded |
| How you enroll | Automatic at building permit | Assessor mails an application after closing | Application plus assessor's appraisal |
| Who qualifies | New home or one not yet occupied; no first-time buyer or income limits | First owner-occupant | Owner-occupied |
Sources for the table are the city of Moorhead's program page, the City of Fargo's new construction exemption page, and West Fargo's tax incentive form.
The North Dakota programs stop at $150,000 of building value. Moorhead's has no ceiling and includes the lot. So the more a home and its land are worth, the wider the gap between the programs.
To put a dollar figure on it, the most recent published example comes from coverage of the renewal that ran the program through 2026. The FM Extra reported that a $300,000 single-family homestead would have an estimated annual tax bill of $4,278.71, a rebate of $3,671.13, and a net tax of $607.58 after the rebate. Today's city page puts the two-year total on a new $300,000 home at more than $7,500, and calls that an estimate. Special assessments and special-function levies are left out of the rebate.
A program designed to expire every two years
The end date is deliberate. Speaking to The FM Extra, Lisa Bode, the City of Moorhead's governmental affairs director, described how it works:
"We sunset the program every two years so that the local policymakers can review the program."
Each renewal needs several bodies to act. Here's how the most recent cycle went, as The FM Extra reported:
| Step in the renewal through 2026 | What happened |
|---|---|
| Moorhead City Council | Approved a resolution supporting a seventh two-year extension, through 2026 |
| Moorhead School District | Gave its official support right afterward |
| Clay County Board | Approved the two-year extension on Nov. 12, then approved it countywide at a public hearing |
| Other Clay County cities | Asked to send their own resolutions to the county auditor-treasurer by Dec. 31 |
That article said the council acted the month before the county's November vote. As of today, the Moorhead City Council's published agendas for its August 10, September 14, and October 13, 2026 meetings show no item to extend, change, or end Make Moorhead Home. The school district's September 28 packet doesn't have one either. That doesn't mean the program will lapse. It means no renewal has shown up in the public record yet. The city page still lists 12/31/2026 as the end date.
What the program has meant for Moorhead's building pipeline
During that same renewal, Clay County Administrator Stephen Larson told The FM Extra that more than 1,500 homes had been built under the program countywide. Those homes had added $503 million in taxable value and generated more than $7 million a year in taxes. The same coverage quoted Karen Lauer, Barnesville's economic development director, who said the program "has helped to level the playing field" with Cass County.
The city's 2025 Annual Development Report shows the program still busy as building slowed. In 2025, 142 homeowners received the rebate. Moorhead issued 72 permits for single-family attached and detached homes in 2025. That compares with 111 in 2023, 104 in 2024, and a 10-year average of about 111 a year. The 142 rebates in 2025 went largely to homes started in earlier, busier years. That's the two-year lag at work.
The report also counted 117 fully serviced, buildable lots across Moorhead subdivisions going into the 2026 construction season. Based on the 10-year average, the city calls that roughly a one-year supply, with Partridge Creek Addition lots expected by the end of the 2026 season. Jordahl Custom Homes pulled 43 permits in 2025 and Brookstone Companies pulled 26, making them the busiest single-family builders in the report.
Price matters here too. For full-year 2025, the report lists median sale prices of $269,950 in Moorhead, $315,000 in Fargo, and $344,950 in West Fargo, using FM Area Association of Realtors data for all home types. Those are resale-heavy, citywide figures, not new-construction prices. Still, they show that people comparing the two states are often weighing lower Moorhead prices along with a tax rebate that has no cap.
The open question for a late-2026 start
The city says enrollment happens when a building permit is issued, and it says the program expires 12/31/2026 unless extended. The page doesn't say what happens to a home permitted before that date and finished after it. We didn't find a published grandfathering rule. Until one is published, the answer has to come from the city.
The page tells anyone with questions about program timing to contact the City Assessor's Office at 218.299.5310. If you're about to sign with a builder or make an offer on an unoccupied new home, these are the questions we'd want answered in writing:
- Is the program in its current form tied to the permit date, the completion date, or the Jan. 2 assessment dates that follow?
- If the program isn't extended, do homes permitted in 2026 still get both years of the rebate?
- Has a renewal resolution been scheduled for the council, the school board, or the Clay County Board?
- If the home might change hands during the rebate term, how does the purchase agreement split the December checks?
The separate $5,000 program for first-time buyers
Moorhead also runs First & New, a separate program from the rebate. It's a $5,000 deferred loan at 0% interest that goes toward special assessments such as curb, gutter, paving, sewer, and water. There are no monthly payments, no income limit, and no purchase-price limit. It's limited to the first occupant of a newly built home, and the loan is repaid when the owner sells or moves out. The city estimates the savings at about $46 a month. The city says $500,000 was set aside and the program runs "while resources last." The page shows no December 31 sunset for it, but it also doesn't say how much money is left.
If you're comparing a Moorhead build with one in Fargo or West Fargo and the rebate's timing could change your numbers, Tyler Bretz can help you line up builder schedules, permit dates, and purchase agreement language with the program's open questions before you commit. If you already own a newer Moorhead home that's still in its rebate term and you're thinking about selling, start with a free home valuation, and we'll account for how the remaining rebate gets handled at closing.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
