Did you recently receive a letter from the Montana Department of Revenue?
It’s not a tax bill from Missoula County. It’s an appraisal notice the state DOR issues showing the current assessed value of your property. DOR, not Missoula County, calculates this value every two years, which is an important factor in determining the property taxes you’ll owe this year. Those property taxes help fund several jurisdictions you live in, including the county.
Your notice has two key numbers: the updated assessed value of your property and the estimated taxes for 2023. Since property values in the county increased an average of 37% over the past two years, you may have experienced sticker shock when you saw that second number.
The estimated taxes you see on the DOR notice uses the mills levied last year. But the spike in the real estate market that resulted in higher property appraisals by DOR will also increase this year’s mill values in Missoula County. This means Missoula County and other taxing jurisdictions (except schools) have the ability to levy fewer mills, so the increase to the County portion of your taxes should be less than the estimated amount on your DOR notice, depending on your property’s individual appraisal increase.
The important number to pay attention to now is the current assessed value of your property. Review the information DOR has on file for your property at property.mt.gov, and if you believe your assessed value is too high, you can file an appeal by July 31 for the 2023 tax year. Filing an appeal means you’re requesting a reappraisal of your property’s value. Don’t wait until you receive your tax bill in October – it will be too late!
You can start this process in one of two ways:
• Submitting a Request for Informal Classification and Appraisal Review (Form AB-26) to DOR at https://mtrevenue.gov/publications/request-for-informal-classification-and-appraisal-review-form-ab-26/
• Appealing directly to the local County Tax Appeal Board. In Missoula County, you can fill out that application at https://mtab.mt.gov/appealform
If you miss the July 31 deadline, you can still appeal the assessment until June 1, 2024. If you wait until then, any changes to your assessment would only apply to tax year 2024, not the 2023 tax bill you’ll receive this fall. Also, this process works both ways; if your appeal finds your property was undervalued, it will lead to an increase in your assessed value.
The estimated taxes listed on the notice also do not include special assessments. The location of your property determines your special assessments (i.e., if you live in a certain fire or other special district). View the special assessments that will be levied on your property by downloading your current tax bill at https://itax.missoulacounty.us/itax/.
To learn about Montana tax relief programs, visit https://mtrevenue.gov/taxes/tax-relief-programs. If you still have questions about your appraisal notice, call the local DOR field office at 406-329-1400. DOR will also host public meetings to help property owners understand the property valuation process. Find a link to the schedule at https://mtrevenue.gov/.
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