$400 Property Tax Refund

The $400 property tax refund, which was established by House Bill 9 and passed into law during the 2007 legislative special session, was a great success. More than 242,000 Montana property owners applied for the refund, claiming nearly $93 million in refund payments.

The deadline to apply for this tax refund was December 31, 2007.The filing deadline of December 31, 2007 may be extended if good cause is demonstrated. The deadline to file your extension request is June 30, 2008. "Good Cause" may include, but is not limited to:

	an act of God, natural disaster, or emergency as declared by the Governor or President;
	military service;
	physical, mental, or medical incapacity;
	disputed or undetermined property ownership; or
	other reason that, in the department's sole discretion, materially impaired the taxpayer's ability to file for the refund.

Please click on the e-file button above to file for a "Good Cause" extension.

I want to know about:

Taxability of Property Tax Refund

1. Is the homeowner property tax refund taxable on my 2007 income tax return?

State Income Tax

Include this refund in your 2007 taxable income if you itemized your deductions and included a deduction for your real estate property taxes on your 2006 state income tax return.
Do not include this refund in your 2007 taxable income if you claimed the standard deduction on your 2006 state income tax return. See Montana’s tax booklets or visit mt.gov/revenue for additional information.

Federal Income Tax

Include this refund in your 2007 taxable income if you itemized your deductions and included a deduction for your real estate property taxes on your 2006 federal income tax return.
Do not include this refund in your 2007 taxable income if you claimed the standard deduction on your 2006 federal income tax return.

2. Where do I report the refund?

Itemized your 2006 Federal return?	Itemized your 2006 Montana return?	Report on 2007 Form
No	No	None Required
Yes	Yes	If filing Form 2 - Line 21 If filing Form 2M - Line 14
Yes	No	If filing Form 2- Line 21 and Schedule II, Line 7 If Filing Form 2M - Line 14 and Line 36
No	Yes	If Filing Form 2- Schedule I, line 4 If filing Form 2M-Line 24

3. My spouse and I split our property taxes when reporting our itemized deductions. However, the $400 refund was issued in my name. Who should report the refund?

When the homeowner property tax refund claim form was completed, the claimant information section requested one name and social security number. This is the person who would report the income.

4. I was out of the country and just heard about this property tax refund when I returned in January, 2008. Where do I apply for the refund?

The deadline to apply for this tax refund was December 31, 2007. The filing deadline of December 31, 2007 may be extended if good cause is demonstrated. The deadline to file your extension request is June 30, 2008. "Good Cause" may include, but is not limited to:

an act of God, natural disaster, or emergency as declared by the Governor or President;
military service;
physical, mental, or medical incapacity;
disputed or undetermined property ownership; or
other reason that, in the department's sole discretion, materially impaired the taxpayer's ability to file for the refund.

5. I filed for the property tax refund, but the Department of Revenue applied the money to debts owed the State of Montana. Do I still have to report this as income?

Montana law requires the Department to apply refunds or credits to outstanding bills. The application of funds doesn’t change the fact that you claimed the refund for the year. Even though it was applied to an outstanding account, we are required to report it as a refund you were entitled to receive.

About the Refund

The 2007 Montana Legislature passed a law to refund up to $400 of property taxes paid in 2006 (or earlier years in some cases) for a principal residence, if certain qualifications are met. We encourage all qualifying property owners to apply for the tax refund. Here is some important information that you will need to know.

First, You Need to Qualify…

To qualify for the refund, you must meet the statutory requirements, which include:

You had to be the owner of residential property in 2006.
You had to live in the property as your principal residence for at least 7 months during 2006.
You are required to have paid at least $400 in property taxes to get the full $400 refund. If your tax year 2006 property taxes on your principal residence were less than $400, you may add property taxes paid in 2005 and 2004 to meet the $400 refund amount. The taxes must have been paid on the same principal residence, not on multiple properties. If you paid less than $400 in combined property taxes on your principal residence in 2006, 2005 and 2004, you may claim a refund for the amount of property taxes that you did pay. Please enter the actual amount in the Amount of Refund section on the claim form.

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Then, You Need to Apply…

The new law says that property owners must complete an application form in order to request the refund. Here are the options on how to submit an application form:

Using an Electronic Form

We encourage you to apply electronically for the quickest refund. Filing your claim electronically, and choosing Direct Deposit, will result in the fastest possible refund. Click here to view a demonstration of the electronic filing form. Link to text version of the video’s content

Using a Paper Form

Paper application forms were mailed to property owners from the department on August 24, 2007. These forms were “pre-filled” with important information about the property owner and the property. You may complete this form, sign it, and mail it to us.
A downloadable application form is available for you to print. This form is generic, and does not contain “pre-filled” information about the property owner and the property. You may complete this form, sign it, and mail it to us.
Paper applications are available in courthouses, libraries and other public places.
Homeowner Property Tax Refund Generic Claim Form

Finding Your Geocode

Providing a geocode for your principal residence, while not required, will speed your refund. Click here to go to Montana Cadastral Mapping where you can locate your property's geocode. If you are using the Montana GIS website to find your geocode, you may need to turn off your pop-up blocker.

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Before You Apply, Please Consider...

Only one refund claim can be made with respect to any single property.
Your social security number is required to complete this claim. Your social security number will be used for the purpose of generating a 1099 for individual income tax.
Your daytime phone number is required to complete this claim. We need this number so that we can call you if there is a question about your refund claim.
If you owe a debt that is collected by the State of Montana, your refund may be reduced by the amount of the debt owed. This may include debts owed to the State of Montana for individual income tax, child support, student loans or other purposes. It also may include debts owed to the Montana university system, other state agencies, and some local governments.
The deadline to file your refund claim is December 31, 2007.

Need an Answer?

FAQs: Many property owners will have situations that require special consideration, for example, marriages, divorces, estates, or corporate ownership. We’ve compiled information about many of these situations to help you determine if you will qualify for the refund. Click here to view this information.

Call Us: If you don’t find a question that fits your situation, please call us for personal assistance at 1-866-859-2254 (444-6869 in Helena).

Email Us: Click here to email us.