How to Get Your $1,250 and $500 From Montana Tax Rebates
It's not a huge amount of cash, but it should be enough to put new tires on the car or truck. Or perhaps catch up on bills.
But the good news is that you won't have to do anything to receive the Montana tax rebates that were passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Governor Greg Gianforte earlier this month.
House Bills 192 and 222 are targeted at giving at least some tax relief to most Montanans, either through individual income taxes, property taxes, or both.
HB192 will impact the most people
On its new website, the Montana Department of Revenue explains this rebate is based on the individual state income taxes you paid in 2021. That amount will be the lesser you reported on "Line 20" for 2021, or $1250 if you were filing taxes by yourself, or $2500 if you filed jointly as a married couple.
Nearly everyone qualifies
If you were a resident of Montana for the entire 2021 tax year, starting that January, or filed a 2020 Montana resident or part-year resident return. You need to have filed a tax return in 2021 and met some additional requirements.
Your income tax rebate will come either as an electronic deposit or by mail, depending on the preference of your tax return. The rebate should arrive this coming July.
Property tax rebates must be claimed
For the rebate under HB222, you WILL need to file a claim, either through the Department of Revenue's online portal or by paper form between August 15th and the 1st of October.
The property tax rebate isn't as large
The rebate will total up to $500 a year on the property taxes paid on a principle residence paid for 2022 and 2023. For each year, the rebate is the lesser of the actual amount of tax you paid for the year, or the $500. The state's website has specific dates involved.
You'll qualify for the property tax rebate if you owned and lived at a Montana property as your principal residence for at least 7 months of each year, and paid taxes on that property during the tax years covered in the bill.
You can sign up to receive notifications on the rebates with the Department of Revenue at this link.