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- 2025
69th Legislature 2025 SB 424
- 1 - Authorized Print Version – SB 424
ENROLLED BILL
AN ACT REVISING THE DISABLED VETERAN PROPERTY TAX ASSISTANCE PROGRAM; PROVIDING
ASSISTANCE FOR DISABLED VETERANS WHO ARE RATED 80% TO 90% DISABLED; AMENDING
SECTIONS 15-6-301 AND 15-6-311, MCA; AND PROVIDING AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE AND AN
APPLICABILITY DATE.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
Section 1. Section 15-6-301, MCA, is amended to read:
"15-6-301. Definitions. As used in this part, the following definitions apply:
(1) "Annual verification" means the use of a process to:
(a) verify an applicant's income;
(b) approve, renew, or deny benefits for the current year based upon the applicant's eligibility; and
(c) terminate participation based upon death or loss of status as a qualified veteran or veteran's
spouse.
(2) "PCE" means the implicit price deflator (price index) for personal consumption expenditures as
published in the national income and product accounts by the bureau of economic analysis of the U.S.
department of commerce.
(3) "PCE inflation factor" for a tax year means the PCE price index value for the first quarter of the
prior tax year before the tax year divided by the PCE price index value for the first quarter of 2023.
(4) (a) "Primary residence" is, subject to the provisions of subsection (4)(b), a dwelling:
(i) in which a taxpayer can demonstrate the taxpayer lived for at least 7 months of the year for
which benefits are claimed;
(ii) that is the only residence for which property tax assistance is claimed; and
(iii) determined using the indicators provided for in the rules authorized by 15-6-302(2).
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69th Legislature 2025 SB 424
- 2 - Authorized Print Version – SB 424
ENROLLED BILL
(b) A primary residence may include more than one dwelling when the taxpayer's combined
residence in the dwellings is at least 7 months of the tax year.
(5) "Qualified veteran" means a veteran:
(a) who was killed while on active duty or died as a result of a service-connected disability; or
(b) if living:
(i) was honorably discharged from active service in any branch of the armed services; and
(ii) is currently rated 100% 80% disabled or higher or is paid at the 100% 80% disabled rate or
higher by the U.S. department of veterans affairs for a service-connected disability, as verified by official
documentation from the U.S. department of veterans affairs.
(6) "Qualifying income" means:
(a) the federal adjusted gross income excluding capital and income losses of an applicant and the
applicant's spouse as calculated on the Montana income tax return for the prior year;
(b) for assistance under 15-6-311, the federal adjusted gross income excluding capital and income
losses of an applicant as calculated on the Montana income tax return for the prior tax year; or
(c) for an applicant who is not required to file a Montana income tax return, the income determined
using available income information.
(7) "Qualifying property" means a primary residence that a qualified applicant owned and occupied
for at least 7 months during the tax year.
(8) "Residential real property" means the land and improvements of a taxpayer's primary
residence."
Section 2. Section 15-6-311, MCA, is amended to read:
"15-6-311. Disabled veteran program. (1) The residential real property of a qualified veteran or a
qualified veteran's spouse is eligible to receive a tax rate reduction as provided in 15-6-302 and this section.
(2) Property qualifying under subsection (1) and owned by a qualified veteran is taxed at the rate
provided in 15-6-134 multiplied by a percentage figure based on the applicant's qualifying income determined
from the following table:
- 2025
69th Legislature 2025 SB 424
- 3 - Authorized Print Version – SB 424
ENROLLED BILL
Income Income Percentage
Single Person Married Couple Multiplier
Head of Household
$0 - $45,803 $0 - $54,963 0%
$45,804 - $50,384 $54,964 - $59,544 20%
$50,385 - $54,963 $59,545 - $64,124 30%
$54,964 - $59,554 $64,125 - $68,705 50%
Income
Single Person
Income
Married Couple or
Head of Household
Percentage Multiplier -
100% Disabled
Percentage Multiplier -
80% to 90% Disabled
$0 - $45,803 $0 - $54,963 0% 70%
$45,804 - $50,384 $54,964 - $59,544 20% 80%
$50,385 - $54,963 $59,545 - $64,124 30% 85%
$54,964 - $59,554 $64,125 - $68,705 50% 90%
(3) For a surviving spouse who owns property qualifying under subsection (4), the property is
taxed at the rate established by 15-6-134 multiplied by a percentage figure based on the spouse's qualifying
income determined from the following table:
Income Percentage
Surviving Spouse Multiplier
$0 - $38,169 0%
$38,170 - $42,750 20%
$42,751 - $47,330 30%
$47,331 - $51,911 50%
Income
Surviving Spouse
Percentage Multiplier - 100%
Disabled
Percentage Multiplier - 80% to
90% Disabled
$0 - $38,169 0% 70%
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69th Legislature 2025 SB 424
- 4 - Authorized Print Version – SB 424
ENROLLED BILL
$38,170 - $42,750 20% 80%
$42,751 - $47,330 30% 85%
$47,331 - $51,911 50% 90%
(4) The property tax exemption under this section remains in effect as long as the qualifying
income requirements are met and the property is the primary residence owned and occupied by the veteran or,
if the veteran is deceased, by the veteran's spouse and the spouse:
(a) is the owner and occupant of the house;
(b) is unmarried; and
(c) has obtained from the U.S. department of veterans affairs a letter indicating that the veteran
was rated 100% 80% disabled or higher or was paid at the 100% 80% disabled rate or higher by the U.S.
department of veterans affairs for a service-connected disability at the time of death or that the veteran died
while on active duty or as a result of a service-connected disability.
(5) The qualifying income levels contained in subsections (2) and (3) must be adjusted annually by
using the PCE inflation factor defined in 15-6-301, rounded to the nearest whole dollar amount. If the
adjustment results in a decrease in qualifying income levels from the previous year, the qualifying income levels
must remain the same for that year."
Section 3. Effective date. [This act] is effective on passage and approval.
Section 4. Applicability. [This act] applies to property tax years beginning after December 31, 2025.
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I hereby certify that the within bill,
SB 424, originated in the Senate.
___________________________________________
Secretary of the Senate
___________________________________________
President of the Senate
Signed this _______________________________day
of____________________________________, 2025.
___________________________________________
Speaker of the House
Signed this _______________________________day
of____________________________________, 2025.
SENATE BILL NO. 424
INTRODUCED BY E. BOLDMAN
AN ACT REVISING THE DISABLED VETERAN PROPERTY TAX ASSISTANCE PROGRAM; PROVIDING
ASSISTANCE FOR DISABLED VETERANS WHO ARE RATED 80% TO 90% DISABLED; AMENDING
SECTIONS 15-6-301 AND 15-6-311, MCA; AND PROVIDING AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE AND AN
APPLICABILITY DATE.”