BOZEMAN — Montana’s property-tax overhaul is lowering bills for most homeowners, but not for one Bozeman couple, who say they face a sharp increase that’s putting their dream retirement home at risk.
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Dan and Carol Webster say their property tax bill more than doubled in one year, rising from about $25,000 in 2024 to $53,000 in 2025, a 107% increase they say they never expected.
“We’re a little disheartened by the growth and how fast things have changed,” the couple said.
The Websters moved to Montana 26 years ago and built their home on the edge of Bozeman in 2005, much of it by hand with help from their son.
“This is the culmination of a lifetime of hard work and savings and sacrificing,” they said. “We stayed home and saved our money so that someday, like now, we could live the life we want to live.”
They said their annual property tax bill once sat under $10,000, but rising valuations in recent years have pushed costs far higher.
“We increased 107 percent,” they said.
Bozeman has experienced rapid growth in recent years, transforming from a quieter community into one of Montana’s fastest-growing cities. State officials say roughly 80% of homeowners are seeing tax relief under the new system, which was designed to ease pressure on primary residences.
Lawmakers acknowledge the changes can shift tax burdens unevenly.
“When a decision is made to reduce the taxes of one block, the same amount of money is still collected — you are by default increasing the taxes on someone else,” said state Rep. Llew Jones, who helped craft the reform.
Jones said as property values rise, tax pressure often shifts.
“As the market value increases, you pull taxes toward yourself,” he said.
Local real estate experts say Bozeman’s growth has driven up values, but question whether it alone explains such a steep increase.
“Since the state changed its appraisal process to every two years, it seems like property values are going up faster,” said Mark Corner, president of the Southwest Montana Association of Realtors.
Corner added, “I think any home in the state where their property tax doubled in one year, something seems amiss there.”
According to the Montana Department of Revenue, the Websters’ property value has increased roughly 1,400% over two decades and is now valued at more than $5 million.
The department is responsible for appraisals, while lawmakers set tax rates and local governments determine budgets that influence final bills.
The Websters said they’re not wealthy despite the home’s valuation.
“We’re retired. We’re not in the billionaire class, not even the millionaire class,” they said.
MTN News reached out to Gov. Greg Gianforte's office to ask whether cases like the Websters represent unintended consequences of the tax reform.
His office released a written statement:
"Knowing that property taxes are too high, the governor and the legislature prioritized delivering meaningful, permanent property tax relief for Montana homeowners and long-term renters. The property tax reforms passed by the legislature and signed into law by the governor resulted in lower property taxes last year for 80% of Montana homeowners with an additional 10% of primary homeowners seeing no change over the year. The average savings for homeowners who saw a tax cut was more than $500, not including the up to $400 property tax rebate available to eligible homeowners."
As they approach 80 years old, the couple says the financial pressure is forcing a difficult reckoning.
“We came here because we want to live here, and they’re telling us nope… you need to move out because we’re going to tax you to death,” they said.
For now, they say the choice is whether they can afford to remain in the home they built — or be forced to leave.
“We are becoming house rich, because at the cost of becoming income poor, because we can’t pay the taxes,” they said.
