Second Half of Missoula 2021 Property Taxes Due Soon
Missoula County Clerk and Treasurer Tyler Gernant spoke with KGVO News on Monday so that Missoula County property taxpayers will be reminded that the second half of 2021 property tax payments are due by May 31.
“The second half of the 2021 property taxes are due May 31, which is a Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. in our office, and so, you can have those paid by 5:00 p.m. by getting a postmark date as of May 31,” said Gernant. “You can come into our office or use our preferred method, and go to Missoulataxes.us. You can pay those online and there is a fee to pay by credit card but there is no fee if you want to pay by electronic check, and then you also get a receipt that way.”
Gernant said property taxes are determined by the Montana Department of Revenue with reappraisals every two years.
“It's quite a process,” he said. “It starts with the State Department of Revenue that reassesses real property values every two years, and so when they reassess that establishes your market value. The legislature sets tax rates, which for most people who have residential property that tax rate is generally 1.35% of the market value, and if you multiply the taxable rate times your market value that gives you your taxable value.”
Gernant then described how the amount of your property tax is determined.
“Each taxing jurisdiction establishes their mill rate, which is then sent to us we can pile it all onto one bill and multiply that mill rate times the taxable value for each specific property,” he said. “That is what determines your property taxes in terms of your general taxes. There are also these things called special assessments, which are calculated on a number of different metrics.”
For those who wish to protest their property tax amounts, that window has closed for this two year period, however Gernant provided the two types of protest.
“There are two different types,” he said. “One of them is based solely on the value. So if the information about your property is accurate, and you're just saying the Department of Revenue says my house is worth $200,000 I think it's only worth $150,000 because my neighbor sold their house for $150,000, and we're pretty similar. The time for contesting that has passed for the 2021 tax year, but it has not yet passed for the 2022 tax year.”