Happy Wednesday, Beacon readers. Mariah Thomas here with your Daily Roundup … and for the past couple weeks, I’ve been in property tax land.
ICYMI: This year, the legislature overhauled the state’s property tax code with a goal of giving residential property taxpayers relief. Policymakers designed a tiered property tax system that implemented higher tax rates for higher-valued homes. The legislation — which passed in House Bill 231 and Senate Bill 542 — aimed to combat rising property taxes for residential taxpayers in the state.
Montana’s Department of Revenue has said around 80% of taxpayers in the state have seen an average $500 reduction on their tax bills this year. The other 20% of homeowners either saw taxes stay flat or increase, and primary residence owners were also eligible for rebates up to $400.
Last month, Eric Dale, the department’s lead economist, put together a presentation for the Revenue Interim Committee, along with data breaking down the distribution of the annual change in residential property taxes. Dale’s data was broken out on a tiered basis on $250,000 increments.
In Flathead County, Dale’s data showed taxpayers who owned property valued from $0 to $1.25 million saw decreases after the pair of bills that rewrote the state’s tax code were partly implemented this year.
Properties in that price range make up the bulk of the county’s residential property tax base, with 40,028 properties total between those valuations.
The majority of those homes — more than 25,000 — are valued between $250,000 to $750,000.
Homes between $250,000 and $500,000 saw a $513 average decrease to their tax bills. For the homes valued between $500,000 and $750,000, the average decrease was $408.
That’s compared to 5,483 residences valued between $1.25 million to $6.25 million, which saw increases to their tax bills under the new legislation. Tax bills increased on average for each $250,000 tier.
The new tax legislation hasn’t been implemented fully yet. Phase two will play out next year as the state begins to see impacts from a new “homestead exemption.” That exemption will apply to primary homeowners, as the tax burden will shift to those who own second homes or short-term rentals.
For now, I’m exploring this data because I’ve been hearing a lot about property taxes from legislators, taxpayers and friends and family. What I’m most interested in hearing is the impacts beyond the numbers: the real people who’ve received a reduction in their tax bills that’s been meaningful, or those who’ve been hit with an increase they weren’t anticipating.
If that’s you, feel free to drop me a line. I’d love to chat and hear your thoughts. You can find my email on our “About Us” page.
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Meet Coco! She’s a 4-year-old Siamese mix who’s a “true couch potato” and would do well in a calm home with lots of time to relax.
To find out more about Coco and other pet adoption opportunities at the Humane Society of Northwest Montana go to: www.humanesocietypets.com. To donate to the Humane Society of Northwest Montana, visit the organization’s donation page here.
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