As conservative legislators from the Flathead, we went to Helena to fight for real property tax relief – relief that’s fair, easy to understand. After all, your state government started this last legislative session with a yearly structural surplus balance of over half a billion dollars. What passed during the session, in spite of ardent opposition by your conservative Flathead delegation, wasn’t tax relief at all. It was a complicated tax shift that leaves too many Montanans paying more and getting less. Your conservative Flathead delegation did have a simple plan for property tax relief: Take the tourist taxes, paid for by those who visit our state and use our infrastructure (i.e. hotel room tax, rental car tax, etc.) that are currently going to a bloated state general fund, and give it back to Montana residents, year after year in perpetuity, as a credit on their property tax bill. However, Democrats and a handful of moderate Republicans thought it better to protect the state government surplus instead of delivering it back to you.
Let’s be honest: this new property tax law, passed at the last minute by Democrats and a handful of moderate Republicans, doesn’t cut property taxes at all. It just moves the bill around. The new law simply shifts the burden from one tax column to another and calls it reform. This year residential will get a break and business and ag will pay significantly more. In 2026, businesses get a break while residential boomerangs back up to the top. That’s not relief – it’s misdirection.
Worse, this new property tax law sends a troubling message to Montanans who are trying to plan for the future. If you work hard, buy a cabin, and now rent it part-time to help pay it off, you’re being punished – not because you’re doing harm, but because you’re not using your property the way Helena says you should. That’s not a conservative value nor is it fair. It’s the government telling you what you’re allowed to do with what you’ve earned. Government favoring one use of your property over another and setting punitive tax rates.
This new property tax law hits Montana property owners, young families trying to invest in their future, and seniors trying to hold onto what they have. These aren’t loopholes – it’s how Montanans have always made ends meet: through saving, self-reliance, and using what they have. When this all shakes out in 2026, ag land, businesses and any part of your property that doesn’t qualify for an exemption (outbuildings, etc.) will see significant tax increases. If you don’t qualify, the Departmetn of Revenue has estimated your property tax liability here in the Flathead will jump a whopping 67%. We, the undersigned, are as angry as you.
Your conservative Flathead delegation fought against this during the session, and we’ll keep fighting for tax policy that respects Montana values. Values that Democrats and a handful of moderate Republicans don’t seem to understand. And we’ll keep working for real property tax relief – not games, not gimmicks, and not government overreach.
Sen. Matt Regier, R-Kalispell
Sen. Mark Noland, R-Bigfork
Rep. Terry Falk, R-Kalispell
Rep. Steve Kelly, R-Kalispell
Sen. John Fuller, R-Kalispell
Rep. Amy Regier, R-Kalispell
Rep. Braxton Mitchell, R-Columbia Falls
Sen. Carl Glimm, R-Kila
Rep. Ed Byrne, R-Bigfork
Rep. Tracy Sharp, R-Polson
Rep. Tom Millett, R-Marion