Understanding Property Taxes

UNDERSTANDING YOUR COUNTY PROPERTY TAXES

 

MARKET VALUE – Market value is the value at which property would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither being under any compulsion to buy or sell and both having reasonable knowledge of relevant facts (15-8-111(2)(a), MCA). Productivity value is the value of agricultural or forest land based on the productive capacity per acre.

Market values are estimated by the Montana Department of Revenue, in accordance with the Montana State Constitution, Article VIII, Sections 3 and 4, by completing a uniform valuation of similar properties throughout the state through an appraisal process.

Appraisals for 100% of the market values are performed according to a prescribed schedule. January 1, 2018 was the valuation date for the current 2019-2020 appraisal cycle, which resulted in an increase in market values for most Gallatin County properties.  Once your market value is set (generally late spring), you should receive a mailed appraisal notice of the value, that includes how your property is classified and valued for property assessment and tax billing. The mills listed on your appraisal notice are for the prior year and not the amount of your upcoming tax bill.

TAXABLE VALUE – The Montana Department of Revenue calculates each property’s taxable value based on the tax rate set for each type of classification by the Montana Legislature. The taxable value for your property value is also listed on your appraisal notice.

MILL RATE – After more than a 100 hours of presentations and deliberations, including several publicly noticed meetings and opportunity for input from the public, governing agencies, district boards, cities, towns, and the Gallatin County Commissioners approve their budgets and set their fees or mills according to the amount needed using a mill levy calculator that takes into consideration, among other things, the total certified taxable valuation of the parcels in their districts. Voters also approve spending measures for local services such as schools, city and county governments, open lands, public safety, and fire. All of these items are reflected in the mill rate.

CALCULATING YOUR TAXESProperty Tax = (Mill Rate x Taxable Value)/1000

The mills on your classification and appraisal notice are specific to your property’s location. There may be additional taxes or fees on your bill for approved special districts or improvements (e.g., Rural Improvement, lighting, water and sewer, etc.) A total tax bill calculation includes all taxing jurisdictions and amounts assessed by each district.

TAX BILL – Sent by Gallatin County on behalf of all taxing jurisdictions with the exception of special assessments taxed separately by the City of Bozeman and a few districts. Gallatin County sends property tax bills to all taxpayers on the schedule according to their property types.