HELENA — As the Montana Legislature moves into the last three weeks of its 2025 session, lawmakers still have to sort through a lot of proposals for property tax relief. Now, they’re talking about how to get those ideas aligned together for a final tax plan.
(Watch the video to see where some of the major property tax bills are now.)
For some of the biggest pieces in the property tax puzzle, the next big step will be going through the Senate Taxation Committee. On Monday, the committee held hearings on five bills, including House Bill 528, which would significantly lower the tax rates on residential, commercial and agricultural property.
Rep. Ed Byrne, R-Creston, is sponsoring the bill. He says it’s a broadly popular idea that would compensate for the spike in taxes these properties have seen since 2021.
During Monday’s hearing, a number of opponents spoke – notably utilities and energy companies, who said the change would shift the tax burden to things like electrical generation facilities, telecommunication facilities and pipelines.
Byrne said the state could use other revenue to make up the difference, reducing the impact on other types of property.
“Once I leave here, the bill is yours; you can amend it any way you want,” he said. “Once again, it’s what can we afford as a legislature to backfill. This does not need to go out to the other classes in that significant amount that everybody's been talking about.”
Byrne also warned that, if the Legislature doesn’t make significant progress in relieving residents’ tax burden, it could encourage support for a proposed ballot initiative that would cap the growth of residential property values – which he said could be even more disruptive for other classes of property.
The Taxation Committee also heard testimony on House Bill 483, from Rep. Courtenay Sprunger, R-Kalispell. It would fix Montana’s “95 mills” – the share of property taxes the state uses to ensure equity in education across school districts. Any excess revenue from those mills would then be used to pay down local property taxes.
Sprunger said the bill can be adjusted to fit with whatever final tax proposals the Legislature brings forward.
“The reality is we're looking at many different property tax solutions – all of you know that,” she said. “So the reality is this bill has to be able to be responsive.”
In addition to the bills it heard Monday, the committee is also holding House Bill 231, from Rep. Llew Jones, R-Conrad – the “homestead” bill that Gov. Greg Gianforte has identified as his preferred property tax proposal. It would give lower tax rates to most Montanans’ primary residences, long-term rentals and smaller commercial properties, but raise rates on properties that don’t qualify for those homestead rates.
The Taxation Committee voted to table HB 231 on April 2. A week later, on April 9, they revived the bill, with discussion that it could be amended.
The committee also heard testimony Monday on House Bill 220, from Rep. Mary Caferro, D-Helena, which would create a tax credit for parents of up to $1,200 for each child up to age 5; and on House Bill 827, from Rep. Melody Cunningham, D-Missoula, which would exempt more Social Security payments from income tax.
Those speaking Monday acknowledged that these and other proposals come with price tags, and that the Legislature might soon be making decisions based on which ones they believe the state can afford.
“I realize in this fiscal environment that the fiscal note appears large – I would say again, not as large as some that have come before this committee, and that's all in your good hands now,” said Cunningham. “Should this bill pass, I would say that those foundational Montanans will ensure that the extra dollars will be spent on the main streets of Montana.”
Bob Story, executive director of the Montana Taxpayers Association, said he wanted to see the Taxation Committee begin narrowing down the possible proposals.
“You are the tax policy committee,” he said. “I hate to see when the policy committee sends all the decisions down to Finance and Claims to be made. You know what the money situation is, you know what kind of priorities you might have as a committee or as a caucus, and I would hope that some of these decisions would get weeded out up here.”
Sen. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, chairs the Taxation Committee. He told MTN they could begin voting on some of the key tax bills as soon as Tuesday, if proposed amendments are finished in time.
