Montana Code Annotated 2009

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     15-6-134. Class four property -- description -- taxable percentage. (1) Class four property includes:
     (a) subject to 15-6-222 and subsections (1)(f) and (1)(g) of this section, all land, except that specifically included in another class;
     (b) subject to 15-6-222 and subsections (1)(f) and (1)(g) of this section, all improvements, including trailers, manufactured homes, or mobile homes used as a residence, except those specifically included in another class;
     (c) the first $100,000 or less of the taxable market value of any improvement on real property, including trailers, manufactured homes, or mobile homes, and appurtenant land not exceeding 5 acres owned or under contract for deed and actually occupied for at least 7 months a year as the primary residential dwelling of one or more qualified claimants:
     (i) for tax year 2009, whose federal adjusted gross income did not exceed the thresholds established in subsection (2)(b)(i); or
     (ii) for tax years after tax year 2009, whose total household income did not exceed the thresholds established in subsection (2)(b)(i);
     (d) all golf courses, including land and improvements actually and necessarily used for that purpose, that consist of at least nine holes and not less than 700 lineal yards;
     (e) subject to 15-6-222(1), all improvements on land that is eligible for valuation, assessment, and taxation as agricultural land under 15-7-202, including 1 acre of real property beneath improvements on land described in 15-6-133(1)(c). The 1 acre must be valued at market value.
     (f) (i) single-family residences, including trailers, manufactured homes, or mobile homes;
     (ii) rental multifamily dwelling units;
     (iii) appurtenant improvements to the residences or dwelling units, including the parcels of land upon which the residences and dwelling units are located and any leasehold improvements; and
     (iv) vacant residential lots; and
     (g) (i) commercial buildings and the parcels of land upon which they are situated; and
     (ii) vacant commercial lots.
     (2) Class four property is taxed as follows:
     (a) Except as provided in 15-24-1402, 15-24-1501, 15-24-1502, and 15-24-2101, property described in subsections (1)(a), (1)(b), and (1)(e) through (1)(g) of this section is taxed at:
     (i) 2.93% of its taxable market value in tax year 2009;
     (ii) 2.82% of its taxable market value in tax year 2010;
     (iii) 2.72% of its taxable market value in tax year 2011;
     (iv) 2.63% of its taxable market value in tax year 2012;
     (v) 2.54% of its taxable market value in tax year 2013; and
     (vi) 2.47% of its taxable market value in tax years after 2013.
     (b) (i) Property qualifying under the property tax assistance program in subsection (1)(c) is taxed at the rate provided in subsection (2)(a) of its taxable market value multiplied by a percentage figure based on the income for the preceding calendar year of the owner or owners who occupied the property as their primary residence and determined from the following table:
IncomeIncomePercentage
Single PersonMarried CoupleMultiplier
Head of Household
$0 - $6,000$0 - $8,00020%
$6,001 - $9,200$8,001 - $14,00050%
$9,201 - $15,000$14,001 - $20,00070%

     (ii) The income levels contained in the table in subsection (2)(b)(i) must be adjusted for inflation annually by the department. The adjustment to the income levels is determined by:
     (A) multiplying the appropriate dollar amount from the table in subsection (2)(b)(i) by the ratio of the PCE for the second quarter of the year prior to the year of application to the PCE for the second quarter of 1995; and
     (B) rounding the product thus obtained to the nearest whole dollar amount.
     (iii) "PCE" means the implicit price deflator for personal consumption expenditures as published quarterly in the Survey of Current Business by the bureau of economic analysis of the U.S. department of commerce.
     (c) Property described in subsection (1)(d) is taxed at one-half the taxable percentage rate established in subsection (2)(a).
     (3) Within the meaning of comparable property, as defined in 15-1-101, property assessed as commercial property is comparable only to other property assessed as commercial property and property assessed as other than commercial property is comparable only to other property assessed as other than commercial property.
     (4) (a) As used in this section, "qualified claimants" means one or more owners who:
     (i) occupied the residence as their primary residence for more than 7 months during the preceding calendar year;
     (ii) had combined income for the preceding calendar year that does not exceed the threshold provided in subsection (2)(b); and
     (iii) file a claim for assistance on a form that the department prescribes on or before April 15 of the year for which the assistance is claimed.
     (b) For the purposes of subsection (1)(c), total household income is the income as reported on the tax return or returns required by chapter 30 or 31 for the year in which the assistance is being claimed excluding losses, depletion, and depreciation and before any federal or state adjustments to income. In cases in which the claimant is not required to file a tax return under chapter 30 or 31, household income means the household's total income as it would have been calculated under this subsection (4)(b) if the claimant had been required to file a return.
     (c) The combined income of two or more owners who are qualified claimants:
     (i) may not exceed the married couple and head of household thresholds provided in subsection (2)(b); and
     (ii) determines the amount of tax reduction under subsection (2)(b).

     History: En. Sec. 4, Ch. 693, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 638, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 599, L. 1981; amd. Sec. 59, Ch. 575, L. 1981; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 564, L. 1981; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 25, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 632, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 292, L. 1985; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 663, L. 1985; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 739, L. 1985; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 743, L. 1985; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 427, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 575, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 612, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 773, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 6, Ch. 267, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 562, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 485, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 8, Ch. 574, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 7, Ch. 200, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 463, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 436, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 82, Ch. 584, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 135, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 606, L. 2003; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 532, L. 2005; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 584, L. 2005; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 421, L. 2009; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 483, L. 2009.

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