Miscellaneous Taxes
Consumer Counsel Tax
All companies providing services which are regulated by the Public Service Commission are subject to a quarterly Consumer Counsel Tax on gross operating revenue. The tax rate is set annually for the succeeding fiscal year to cover appropriations to the office of the consumer counsel. All collections are deposited in a state special revenue fund. (MCA 69-1-201, 223, 224)
Nursing Facility Bed Tax
Effective July 1, 2006 through December 31, 2006, nursing facilities in Montana pay a utilization fee of $8.50 for each occupied bed day. All revenues are deposited to the General Fund. (MCA 15-60)
Public Contractor's Gross Receipts Tax
Prime contractors and all levels of subcontractors must pay a tax amounting to 1% of all public contracts over $5,000. Contractors can obtain part or all of the tax back by requesting refunds for personal property taxes paid on assets used in their contracting business and by claiming credit on their individual Montana income tax return or Montana Corporation License Tax return. Revenues are deposited to the credit of the General Fund. (MCA 15-50-101)
Public Service Commission Tax
All companies providing services, which are regulated by the Public Service Commission, are subject to a quarterly tax on gross revenues excluding revenues from sales to other regulated companies for resale. The tax rate is set annually for the succeeding fiscal year. All collections are deposited in a state special revenue fund. (MCA 69-1-402)
Statewide Emergency Telephone 911 System Fee
A fee of $.50 per month per access line on each service subscriber in the state is imposed on the amount charged for telephone exchange access services. Services that the state is prohibited from taxing and coin operated public telephones are exempt from this fee. The revenue from this fee is deposited in a special revenue fund for the development of emergency 9-1-1 systems in the state. (MCA 10-4-201)
TDD Telecommunications Service Fee
A fee of $.10 per month per access line on each service subscriber in the state is imposed on the amount charged for telephone exchange access services. The revenue from this fee is deposited in the telecommunications special revenue fund for the physically disabled that is unable to use traditional telecommunications equipment. This fund is used to provide telecommunications devices for the deaf (TDD). (MCA 53-19-311)
Retail Telecommunications Excise Tax
Through 1999, Montana levied a telephone company license tax of 1.8% on the gross revenue that telephone companies earned from in-state telephone calls. On January 1, 2000, this tax was replaced by the retail telecommunications excise tax, with a rate of 3.75%. This is a tax on retail sales of telecommunications services. The Montana Legislature passed SB387 in 2003, adopting the Federal Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act and sourcing rules for specific land line telecommunications. The law became effective on July 1, 2003.
Lodging Facility Use Tax
(formerly the Accommodations Tax)
Two taxes are imposed on users of overnight lodging facilities (such as
hotels, motels or campground facilities).
The Lodging Facility Use Tax is 4% of the lodging charge
and is collected by the owner or operator of the facility. Proceeds from the tax
are deposited in a state special revenue fund to the credit of the Department of
Revenue. Department administrative costs are paid, various state funds are
reimbursed for taxes paid by state agencies for in-state lodging and $400,000
each year goes to Montana Heritage Preservation Fund. The balance is
distributed: 67.5% to the Department of Commerce for its direct use, 1% to the
Montana Historical Society, 2.5% to the university system for the Montana Travel
Research Program, and 6.5% to the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Park for
maintenance of facilities. The remaining 22.5% goes to various regional
nonprofit tourism corporations unless that particular city-county area collects
in excess of $35,000 in proceeds annually. In this instance, half of the amount
available for distribution to the nonprofit tourism corporation would instead go
to a nonprofit convention and visitor's bureau in that city-county region. (MCA
15-65-111, 15-65-121) The Lodging Facility Sales and Use Tax is a 3% tax on
accommodations and campgrounds. This tax is in addition to the 4% lodging
facility use tax and is effective for accommodations and campground fees
collected on or after June 1, 2003. Proceeds from the tax is deposited in the
state's general fund. Any sales to and uses by the U.S. Government, or any
agency or instrumentality of the U.S. Government, are exempt from the sales and
use tax. Facilities are allowed a 5% vendor allowance (not exceed $1,000 in a
quarter) if the tax is timely and fully remitted to the Department of Revenue.
The vendor allowance applies only to the 3% sales and use tax; it does not apply
to the 4% lodging facility use tax. Each facility with sales subject to the 3%
sales and use tax must apply to the Department of Revenue for a seller's permit.
(MCA 15-88-101 through 15-68-860)
Resort Tax
A resort tax is collected in certain Montana communities with populations under 5,500 who meet specific resort qualifications. The resort tax is a local option sales tax on the retail value of goods and services sold by lodging and camping facilities; restaurants and other food service establishments; public establishments that serve alcoholic beverages by the drink; destination recreational facilities; and establishments that sell luxuries. The rate is set locally and cannot exceed 3%. Local government administers the tax.
Rental Vehicle Sales Tax
Effective July 1, 2003, there is a new 4% sales tax on the base rental charge of rental vehicles. The tax is imposed on the purchaser and collected by the vendor. Rental vehicles subject to the 4% rental vehicle sales tax include:
- Automobiles (including vans, sport utility vehicles, or trucks having a capacity of 1 ton or less)
- Motorcycles
- Motor-driven cycles (meaning motorcycles or scooters with a motor
that
produces 5 horsepower or less) - Quadricycles (a four-wheeled motor vehicle, designed for on-road or
off-road
use, that has a motor that produces 50 horsepower or less) - Motorboats (including a canoe, kayak, personal watercraft, rubber raft
or
pontoon, propelled by any motor or engine of any description) - Sailboats (any vessel that uses a sail and wind as its primary source
of
propulsion) - Off-highway vehicles (including motorcycles, quadricycles, dune
buggies,
amphibious vehicles, deriving power from any source other than muscle or wind) - Any truck, trailer or semi-trailer with a gross vehicle weight of less
than 22,000
pounds used to transport personal property
Farm vehicles, machinery, equipment, travel trailers, motor homes, airplanes, snowmobiles, golf carts, and sail boards are not subject to the tax. The rental vehicle sales tax applies when the vehicle is: rented for a period not exceeding 30 days; rented without a driver, pilot, or operator; designed to transport 15 or fewer passengers; rented pursuant to a contract for insurance; rented pursuant to a warranty contract. Base rental charges include: charges for time of use of the rental; charges for mileage; charges for personal accident insurance; charges for additional drivers or underage drivers, and charges for accessory equipment (child safety seats, luggage racks, etc.). Base rental charges do not include: vehicle discounts; fees imposed to operate at an airport terminal; motor fuel; intercity vehicle drop charges, or any taxes imposed by federal, state and local governments. Taxable rental vehicles originating in Montana and terminating in another state are taxable. All sales to the U.S. Government, or any agency or instrumentality of the U.S. Government, are exempt from the rental vehicle sales tax. In order to qualify as exempt, these sales must be billed directly to the federal government or paid with a federal charge account. Sales to state, county, and local governments are taxable. Each vendor subject to the new 4% rental vehicle sales tax must apply to the department for a seller's permit. The department will issue a separate numbered permit for each location of business. Rental vehicle sales tax returns are due to the department on or before the last day of the month following the calendar quarter. Vendors who file a timely return and payment to retain 5% of the tax as a quarterly vendor allowance for each permitted location. The vendor allowance cannot exceed $1,000 in a quarter per permitted location. A vendor who files a return or payment after the due date may not claim the vendor allowance and is subject to penalties and interest charges.
Hospital Facility Utilization Fee
Effective July 1, 2003, there is a new utilization fee on hospital inpatient
bed days. The fee terminates June 30, 2007.
Each hospital in Montana
must pay to the department a utilization fee in the amount of:
$27.70 for each inpatient bed day between January 1, 2006,
and December 31, 2006.
Inpatient bed day means a day of
inpatient care provided to a patient in a hospital. A day begins at midnight and
ends 24 hours later. A part of a day, including the day of admission, counts as
a full day. The day of discharge is not counted as a day. If admission and
discharge occur on the same day, the day is considered one inpatient bed day.
Inpatient bed days include all inpatient hospital benefit days as defined for
Medicare reporting purposes in section 216 of the Centers for Medicaid and
Medicare Services Publication 10, the hospital manual. Inpatient bed days also
include all nursery days during which a newborn infant receives care in a
nursery. The term does not include observation days or days of care in a swing
bed, as defined in Section 50-5-101, MCA. Returns and remittance for the
hospital utilization fee are due to the Department of Revenue on or before the
last day of the month following the calendar year.
