OWNERS OF PROPERTY DAMAGED BY WILDFIRE MAY QUALIFY FOR TAX RELIEF
Owners of property damaged by wildfire may qualify for tax relief
Helena - The Montana Department of Revenue reminds Montana property owners whose homes or other property are damaged or destroyed during wildfire or other natural disaster that they can apply for property tax assistance.
"Wildfires can be devastating and we are sorry for Montanans who may lose homes and other property to the wildfires or other natural disasters,” said Shauna Helfert, Property Assessment Division Administrator, Montana Department of Revenue. “This tax assistance can be significant and help provide some relief as property owners recover from damage or destruction.”
A property or land owner whose home, outbuildings or forest land are partially or totally destroyed by the natural disaster, making the property unsuitable for its previous use, may be eligible. Businesses whose equipment is destroyed may also qualify.
The tax relief is prorated based on the number of days the property is unusable. The assistance is available for the current tax year.
CERTIFICATION OF VALUES
Every year, the Property Assessment Division provides the total taxable value of property to each taxing jurisdiction by the first Monday in August. The certified values include all classes of property within the boundaries of a taxing jurisdiction. These values are very important because the jurisdictions use them to calculate the amount of mills they can levy.
The formula for calculating mills involves increasing the prior year’s budget by one-half of the inflation from the previous three years. This is the new budget used to calculate the amount of mills. In order to find the number of mills needed, the new budget is divided by the current year’s certified taxable value and the result is multiplied by 1,000. If, for example, the prior year’s budget for a jurisdiction was $1 million, the previous three year’s inflation was 2% and the current year’s taxable value was $2 million, the calculation without newly taxable would be:
( ( 1,000,000 * ( 1 + ( .5 * .02 ) ) ) / 2,000,000 ) * 1,000 = 505 Maximum Mills
When we insert the newly taxable value into the formula, it will be subtracted from the current year’s taxable value. If the $2 million of taxable value included $100,000 of newly taxable value, the new maximum amount of mills would be:
( ( 1,000,000 * ( 1 + ( .5 * .02 ) ) ) / ( 2,000,000 – 100,000) ) * 1,000 = 531 Maximum Mills
The jurisdiction is now allowed to levy a maximum of 531 mills against the property within its boundaries.
The amount of annual taxes paid on property is equal to the taxable value of the property multiplied by the cumulative mills from all taxing jurisdictions in which the property resides.
Property Tax = Taxable Value x Jurisdiction Millage Rates
Tax Relief Programs
PPB-8 (PTAP) - Property Tax Assistance Application
PPB-8A (MDV) - Montana Disabled Veteran Property Tax Relief Application
AB-3 - Agricultural Lands Classification Application
AB-25 - Natural Disaster Application