Property Tax Relief

Property Tax Assistance Program (MCA 15-6-134)

Montana property owners can have their property taxes reduced if they meet certain qualifications. To receive the credit, Form PPB-8 must be filed with the local Department of Revenue office in the county where the property is located.

2009 Taxable Value Rate Table For Low Income Property Tax Assistance Reduction
Single Person	Married Couple or Head of Household	Percent Multiplier
$0 - $7,978	$0 - $10,637	20%
$7,979 - $12,232	$10,638 - $18,614	50%
$12,233 - $19,944	$18,615 - $26,592	70%

Ownership: The home or mobile home must be owned or under contract for deed.

Residency: The owner must occupy the dwelling for at least seven months as their primary residence.

Income: The owner's total federal adjusted gross income is less than $19,944 for a single person, or $26,592 for a married couple or a person filing as "head of household.”

If you are not required to file a federal income tax return, you will need to determine and provide evidence of what your federal adjusted gross income would have been had you been required to file.

Applications: The owner must apply for the reduction before April 15 of each year. For 2009 the deadline has been extended to 30 days after the receipt of the assessment notice.

Mailing: Form PPB-8 must be mailed or delivered to the local Department of Revenue office.

Questions: Call your local Department of Revenue office, or call the department's Customer Service Center in Helena at toll-free 1-866-859-2254 or in Helena 444-6900.

Computation: The reduction is determined using the property owner's federal adjusted gross income. The tax rate applied to the market value of the property is reduced depending on the owner's income.

Extended Property Tax Assistance (MCA 15-6-193)

Frequently Asked Questions - EPTAP

This is a program that was reestablished by the 2009 Montana Legislature. The program is not available to all residential property owners, but only those who qualify under the statute (see criteria below). Potentially eligible residential property owners identified by the Department of Revenue will be invited to apply for benefits under this program. The initial pool of potentially eligible residential property owners is identified by the Department of Revenue the first year after the end of a reappraisal cycle. The Department then mails application forms each year to those residential property owners who are determined to be potentially eligible based on the criteria listed below. The Department mailed applications on October 19, 2009. Citizens may submit an application even if they are not invited, if they believe they are eligible. A blank application may be picked up and completed at the local Department of Revenue office, or by filling in and printing a completed application from the Department’s website at the following link: http://mt.gov/revenue/formsandresources/forms/2009_PPB8E_EPTAP_fill-in.pdf The normal deadline for filing completed applications is April 15 each year. However, the deadline for filing completed applications for 2009 has been extended to the due date preprinted on the application form. The program offers a reduction to the tax rate used to determine tax liability on the specific residences and up to one acre of appurtenant land for only those persons or entities who meet the following detailed criteria:

Details of the Extended Property Tax Assistance Program (EPTAP) 2009

Those properties that meet the preliminary criteria to receive applications will be determined by the Department of Revenue from valuation information stored on its ORION computer system. To meet the preliminary qualification criteria, affected properties must meet all of the following:
- The properties must be “qualified residential properties” *(see definition below). These are dwellings including up to 1 acre of land associated with the dwellings, and
- The residential dwellings, either by themselves or in combination with no more than one other residential dwelling in Montana, were occupied for at least 7 months during calendar year 2008, and
- The properties for tax year 2009 must be under the same ownership as they were on December 31, 2008, and
- The properties (each residential dwelling and up to 1 acre of appurtenant land) must have experienced a greater than 24% increase in taxable valuation due to reappraisal. This is determined by comparing the 2008 Taxable Value with the 2014 Taxable Value (the fully phased-in taxable value for the last reappraisal cycle with the fully phased-in taxable value for the current reappraisal cycle), and
- The properties must have experienced a tax increase of at least $250 or more due to reappraisal (this is based on applying the 2008 mill levy to both the 2008 taxable value and the 2014 taxable value).
Properties that previously received EPTAP benefits (for the last reappraisal cycle 2003 – 2008) will not necessarily be eligible for benefits for this new reappraisal cycle (2009 – 2014).

Applications will automatically be mailed to only those property owners who have been determined to meet the criteria listed above.
Blank hard-copy applications are available to citizens at local Department of Revenue offices, or
A fill-in application may also be completed and printed from the DOR website at the following link: http://mt.gov/revenue/formsandresources/forms/2009_PPB8E_EPTAP_fill-in.pdf
Once the completed applications are returned to the DOR, they will be reviewed to determine if the owner(s) total household income for 2008 **(see definition below) is less than $75,000

*Qualified residential property is a single-family dwelling unit, unit of a multiple-unit dwelling, trailer, manufactured home and as much of the surrounding land, not exceeding 1 acre, as is reasonably necessary for its use as a dwelling. The dwelling, either by itself or in combination with no more than one other residential dwelling in Montana, must be occupied for at least 7 months during each calendar year. (NOTE: For multi-unit dwellings, the owner or person or persons controlling at least 25% interest in the multi-unit structure must actually occupy one of the units in the structure, in order for the unit to qualify.)

**Total household income- is the sum of the income of all members of your household plus the income of all other persons who are owners of the property. It isn’t necessarily the adjusted gross income as listed on your federal income tax returns, though in many instances it may be one and the same. Income includes:

Income from all sources, including net business income and otherwise tax-exempt income of all types.
Social security income paid to any owners of the property and to any members of the household, but it does not include social security paid directly to a nursing home.
If you are self-employed, your net business income is gross income less ordinary expenses but before you deduct depreciation or depletion or both.

The initial pool of potentially eligible residential property owners decreases each year of the reappraisal cycle when any of the following occurs to properties identified in the initial pool:

The residential property which was owned on December 31, 2008 is sold or transferred to some other party, or

New construction or remodeling of the residential improvements (buildings) occurs that increases the market value of the improvements by more than 25%, or
The market value of the appurtenant land increases by more than 25%.

For more information, Frequently Asked Questions - EPTAP

Disabled American Veterans Exemption (MCA 15-6-211)

Residential property owned by a disabled veteran, or the surviving spouse of a deceased disabled veteran, may be eligible for a property tax exemption or reduction if certain criteria is met.

Disabled Veterans
A real property residence or a mobile home (including the lot on which it is built up to five acres) that is owned and occupied by a disabled veteran is exempt from property taxation provided that the veteran:

Has been honorably discharged from active service in any branch of the armed forces.
Is rated 100% disabled or compensated at the 100% disabled rate due to a service-connected disability by the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Has annual federal adjusted gross income, as reported on the federal income tax return for the preceding calendar year, of less than $35,266 if single, or $42,319 if married or filing as “head of household.”
If you are not required to file a federal income tax return you will need to determine and provide evidence of what your federal adjusted gross income would have been had you been required to file.
An incremental property tax reduction is also available if the adjusted gross income exceeds these limits, but is less than $45,846 if single, or $52,899 if married or filing as “head of household". (see chart below)

Surviving Spouse of Disabled Veteran

A real property residence or a mobile home (including the lot on which it is built up to five acres) that is owned by the surviving spouse of a disabled veteran is exempt from property taxation provided that:

The veteran was killed on active duty, or died as the result of a service-connected disability.
The spouse has remained unmarried.
Has annual federal adjusted gross income, as reported on the federal income tax return for the preceding calendar year, of less than $29,388.
If you are not required to file a federal income tax return, you will need to determine and provide evidence of what your federal adjusted gross income would have been had you been required to file.

An incremental property tax reduction is also available if the federal adjusted gross income exceeds this limit, but is less than $39,968. (see chart below)

Single		Married		Surviving Spouse		%	Class Codes
$0	$35,266	$0	$42,319	$0	$29,388	00	2140	3145	6245
$35,267	$38,793	$42,320	$45,846	$29,389	$32,915	20	2141	3146	6246
$38,794	$42,319	$45,847	$49,372	$32,916	$36,442	30	2142	3147	6247
$42,320	$45,846	$49,373	$52,899	$36,443	$39,968	50	2143	3148	6248

Form PPB-8A must be completed and submitted to the local Department of Revenue office by April 15. For 2009 the deadline has been extended to 30 days after the receipt of the assessment notice. For an application or more information, contact your local Department of Revenue office.

Elderly Home Owner/Renter Credit (MCA 15-30-2337 through 15-30-2341)

An income tax credit is available to qualifying taxpayers. The amount of the credit is based on household income adjusted by the amount of property taxes, fees, special assessments and special improvement districts (SIDs) billed on a residence and land not to exceed one acre. The taxpayer or spouse must be age 62 or older as of December 31 in the tax year for which the credit is claimed.

Form 2EC can be filed with the Montana income tax return, or by itself if the individual is not required to file a tax return. The filing deadline is April 15 each year.