BILLINGS, Mont. — Montana homeowners are receiving property tax assessment letters from the Department of Revenue, with reactions ranging from relief to shock as the state's new Homestead Declaration Act is set to take effect for this tax year.
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The law, signed by Gov. Greg Gianforte in 2025, lowers taxes on many primary residences while shifting more of the tax burden onto second homes and some investment properties.
Mary Brownlee, a Billings homeowner, said her primary home's assessment showed modest savings.
"Give us a little bit of a rebate of maybe $350," Brownlee said.
But that savings was overshadowed by a major increase on a second one-acre lot she owns next door — a property used for a horse and hay storage.
"The second one on the bare lot came in, and it jumped from $955 to $2,386," Brownlee said.
Brownlee said the increase is difficult to justify given the nature of the property.
"$2,000 a year in taxes on grass, that just doesn't make sense to me," Brownlee said.
She said the rising costs are putting pressure on her retirement plans.
"This is our retirement home. This is what we worked so hard for. And now it seems like the taxes are just making it unaffordable, like they are everywhere," Brownlee said.
"We worked hard all our lives for this, and it's kind of being ripped out from underneath our feet. Slowly but surely it keeps going up and up and up," Brownlee said.
Sharon Roe, an income tax preparer who lives in Joliet with her husband Edward, said the law's intent is to support residents who make up the fabric of local communities.
"The whole point of that is to make it so that people who live in the community and make the community function can afford to live in the community," Roe said.
The Roes own a quadplex in Belgrade with long-term tenants.
Despite the property being a long-term rental, the Roes were surprised to find their assessment went up rather than down.
"Expecting that that would also go down, when we got the taxable value letter, that one did not go down," Roe said.
Still, Roe said the law creates a meaningful incentive for property owners to choose long-term rentals over short-term or seasonal options.
"If you have a property like that that you're not going to live in, but you want to keep, you make it a long-term rental, that's a great thing," Roe said.
Roe also said the law likely prevented even steeper increases for many property owners.
As an income tax preparer, Roe said she expects many clients will have questions when they come in.
"I think people are going to be surprised when they come in," Roe said.
The Department of Revenue says property owners who believe their assessment is incorrect can appeal their valuation.
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