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Montana task force recommends homestead, countywide levy and dollar-based voted levies to ease property-tax pressure
Summary
A state task force proposed a package including a homestead exemption, an "agstead" exemption, countywide school levies and a shift to dollar-based voter-authorized levies, which members said could deliver roughly 15–20% permanent relief for many homeowners and narrow wide levy disparities between districts.
A Montana task force on property taxes recommended a package of reforms it said would ease pressure on homeowners, renters and small businesses while better capturing revenue from nonresident property owners.
The presenter of the task force report recommended combining a homestead exemption with an "agstead" exemption and other measures that the presenter said "will provide, 15 to 20% permanent property tax relief potentially 215,000 Montana homeowners" and would also benefit "130,000 long term renters" and "32,000 small businesses." The presenter argued the plan would largely fund itself by ensuring out-of-state owners who do not pay Montana income taxes contribute more toward services they use.
The recommendation drew backing from the meeting's moderator, who said the state should "move ahead with the homestead exemption, to give preference to Montana residents on a primary home." The moderator praised the task force for delivering "12 specific recommendations" intended to arrest growth in property taxes and said the report will inform the upcoming legislative session.
Representative David Feidi, the education subcommittee chair, outlined a countywide school-levy proposal intended to promote equity across districts. "What this proposal does," Feidi said, "it takes that... mandatory local district levies and replace[s] that with a countywide levy so that all districts in the county would be levied the same number of mills." Feidi said that under initial calculations the countywide approach would narrow the current range of mandatory district levies (which he said now vary from 0 mills to 51 mills) to about 36–42 mills for roughly 99% of districts and that the change would provide tax relief to about 80% of districts.
Senator Greg Hurst, representing the local government committee, recommended a separate change to how voter-approved levies are set. "Our recommendation is only to, going forward, we recommend just a dollar," Hurst said, arguing that setting voter-authorized levies as dollar amounts instead of fixed millages prevents windfalls when property values rise and keeps projects tied to the money actually needed.
Task force members and staff emphasized that the calculations remain subject to refinement. The presenter said the proposal "limits the transfer between classes of property" and aims not to shift costs onto Montana income taxpayers; however, members acknowledged additional technical work is required to finalize estimates and implementation details.
A staff member provided a link to the full report and supporting materials at propertaxreform.nt.gov and thanked participants for their input.
No formal vote or binding legislative action was taken at the meeting; members said the report's recommendations will be considered as the Legislature prepares its next session.
