15-6-193. Extended property tax assistance -- phasein. (1) For the purpose of mitigating extraordinary market value increases during revaluation cycles that begin after December 31, 2008, the rate of taxation of qualified residences is adjusted in this section for properties with extraordinary increases in market value with owners that meet income requirements.
     (2) An annual application on a form provided by the department is required to receive a tax rate adjustment under this section. The application must be signed under oath. A tax rate adjustment may be granted only for the current tax year and may not be granted for a previous year.
     (3) A rate adjustment may not be granted for:
     (a) any property that was sold or for which the ownership was changed after December 31 of the last year of the previous revaluation cycle unless the change in ownership is between husband and wife or parent and child with only nominal actual consideration or the change is pursuant to a divorce decree;
     (b) the value of new construction, including remodeling, on the property occurring after December 31 of the last year of the previous revaluation cycle that is greater than 25% of the market value of the improvements; or
     (c) a land use change occurring after December 31 of the last year of the previous revaluation cycle that increases the market value of the land by more than 25%.
     (4) For the purposes of determining the adjustment in the class four property tax rate in this section, the following provisions apply for revaluation cycles beginning after December 31, 2008:
     (a) The change in taxable value before reappraisal is the 2008 tax year value adjusted for any new construction or destruction that occurred in the 2008 tax year. The taxable value before reappraisal for the 2009 tax year and subsequent years is the same as the 2008 tax year value if no new construction, destruction, land splits, land use changes, land reclassifications, land productivity changes, improvement grade changes, or other changes are made to the property during 2008 or subsequent tax years.
     (b) The percentage increase in taxable value is measured as the percentage change in taxable value before reappraisal to the taxable value after reappraisal. The taxable value before reappraisal is calculated by multiplying the value before reappraisal in 2009 times 0.66 times 0.0301. The taxable value after reappraisal is calculated by multiplying the 2009 market value after reappraisal times 0.53 times 0.0247.
     (c) The dollar increase in tax liability is measured as the change in tax liability before reappraisal to the tax liability after reappraisal. The tax liability before reappraisal is calculated by multiplying the value before reappraisal in 2009 times 0.66 times 0.0301 times the tax year 2008 mill levy applied to the property. The tax liability after reappraisal is calculated by multiplying the 2009 market value after reappraisal times 0.53 times 0.0247 times the tax year 2008 mill levy applied to the property. The tax year 2008 mill levy is the total of all mills applied to the property for fiscal year 2009.
     (d) Total household income is the sum of the income of all members of the household and all other persons who are owners of the property. Income, as used in this section, includes income from all sources, including net business income and otherwise tax-exempt income of all types but not including social security income paid directly to a nursing home. Net business income is gross income less ordinary expenses but before deducting depreciation or depletion allowance, or both. For an entity, as defined in subsection (8), income also includes the income of any natural person or entity that is a trustee of or controls 25% or more of the entity. A household is an association of persons who live in the same dwelling, sharing its furnishings, facilities, accommodations, and expenses. For single-family rental dwellings, total household income does not include the income of the tenant.
     (e) The phase-in value is the valuation change made pursuant to 15-7-111(3) since the last reappraisal.
     (5) (a) If total household income is $25,000 or less, the percentage increase in taxable value is greater than 24%, and the dollar increase in taxable liability is $250 or greater, then the property qualifies for an adjusted tax rate as follows:
     (i) For tax year 2009, the tax rate is 0.03269 times the value before reappraisal divided by the 2009 phase-in value.
     (ii) For tax year 2010, the tax rate is 0.03546 times the value before reappraisal divided by the 2010 phase-in value.
     (iii) For tax year 2011, the tax rate is 0.03823 times the value before reappraisal divided by the 2011 phase-in value.
     (iv) For tax year 2012, the tax rate is 0.04115 times the value before reappraisal divided by the 2012 phase-in value.
     (v) For tax year 2013, the tax rate is 0.04374 times the value before reappraisal divided by the 2013 phase-in value.
     (vi) For tax year 2014 and after, the tax rate is 0.04648 times the value before reappraisal divided by the 2014 phase-in value.
     (b) If total household income is greater than $25,000 but less than or equal to $50,000, the percentage increase in taxable value is greater than 30%, and the dollar increase in taxable liability is $250 or greater, then the property qualifies for an adjusted tax rate as follows:
     (i) For tax year 2009, the tax rate is 0.03301 times the value before reappraisal divided by the 2009 phase-in value.
     (ii) For tax year 2010, the tax rate is 0.03612 times the value before reappraisal divided by the 2010 phase-in value.
     (iii) For tax year 2011, the tax rate is 0.03925 times the value before reappraisal divided by the 2011 phase-in value.
     (iv) For tax year 2012, the tax rate is 0.04257 times the value before reappraisal divided by the 2012 phase-in value.
     (v) For tax year 2013, the tax rate is 0.0456 times the value before reappraisal divided by the 2013 phase-in value.
     (vi) For tax year 2014 and after, the tax rate is 0.04873 times the value before reappraisal divided by the 2014 phase-in value.
     (c) If total household income is greater than $50,000 but less than or equal to $75,000, the percentage increase in taxable value is greater than 36%, and the dollar increase in taxable liability is $250 or greater, then the property qualifies for an adjusted tax rate as follows:
     (i) For tax year 2009, the tax rate is 0.03332 times the value before reappraisal divided by the 2009 phase-in value.
     (ii) For tax year 2010, the tax rate is 0.03678 times the value before reappraisal divided by the 2010 phase-in value.
     (iii) For tax year 2011, the tax rate is 0.04028 times the value before reappraisal divided by the 2011 phase-in value.
     (iv) For tax year 2012, the tax rate is 0.04399 times the value before reappraisal divided by the 2012 phase-in value.
     (v) For tax year 2013, the tax rate is 0.04739 times the value before reappraisal divided by the 2013 phase-in value.
     (vi) For tax year 2014 and after, the tax rate is 0.05098 times the value before reappraisal divided by the 2014 phase-in value.
     (d) The adjusted tax rate computed under this subsection (5) must be rounded to the nearest 1/100 of 1%.
     (6) A person who applies for a tax rate adjustment under this section shall provide the department with documentation of total household income and other information that the department considers necessary to determine the person's eligibility for the tax rate adjustment. Documents provided to the department to determine eligibility for a tax rate adjustment are subject to the confidentiality provisions in 15-30-2618.
     (7) A person who applies for a tax rate adjustment and submits a false or fraudulent application for a tax rate adjustment is guilty of false swearing under 45-7-202.
     (8) For the purposes of this section:
     (a) "entity" means:
     (i) a corporation, fiduciary, or pass-through entity, as those terms are defined in 15-30-2101; and
     (ii) an association, joint-stock company, syndicate, trust or estate, or any other nonnatural person; and
     (b) "qualified residence" means any class four residential dwelling in Montana that is a single-family dwelling unit, unit of a multiple-unit dwelling, trailer, manufactured home, or mobile home and as much of the surrounding land, not exceeding 1 acre, as is reasonably necessary for its use as a dwelling actually occupied by itself or in combination with another class four residential dwelling in Montana for at least 7 months a year.

     History: En. Secs. 1, 2, Ch. 606, L. 2003; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 483, L. 2009; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 3, L. 2011.