The bands are cumulative, not a lookup
Nobody pays a single one of the published band rates on their whole house. Getting this wrong costs an appeal window; getting it wrong in the other direction talks an owner out of a claim worth filing.
The short version
The reduced-rate bands fill in order, like income tax brackets. They are not a lookup table. Nobody pays a single one of those rates on their whole house.
Get it wrong on a $1,200,000 home and you overstate your own taxable value by $2,084 — and talk yourself into an appeal that has nothing to bite on.
The bands, and what they are pegged to
MCA 15-6-134 sets four bands for residential property carrying a homestead or long-term rental claim. The edges are not round numbers chosen by anyone — they are multiples of the median residential value for the cycle, which the department recalculates at every reappraisal. For 2026 that median is $386,000.
| Band | Market value from | up to | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Band 1 | $0 | $386,000 | 0.76% |
| Band 2 | $386,000 | $772,000 | 0.9% |
| Band 3 | $772,000 | $1,544,000 | 1.1% |
| Band 4 | $1,544,000 | no limit | 1.9% |
The right way and the wrong way, side by side
Take a $1,200,000 home. It lands in band 3, so the tempting move is to apply 1.1% to the lot of it. Here is what the statute actually does:
| Band | Market value in it | Rate | Taxable value |
|---|---|---|---|
| First band | $386,000 | 0.76% | $2,934 |
| Next band | $386,000 | 0.9% | $3,474 |
| Balance | $428,000 | 1.1% | $4,708 |
| Total | $1,200,000 | 0.93% | $11,116 |
And here is the comparison that matters:
| Reading | Taxable value | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|
| Lookup (wrong): 1.1% on everything | $13,200 | 1.1% |
| Cumulative (right) | $11,116 | 0.93% |
| Overstatement | $2,084 |
The cumulative effective rate always lands below the band you are in, because most of the value was taxed in the cheaper bands underneath. That is the sanity check: if your effective rate equals one of the published band rates exactly, and your home is worth more than $386,000, something has been computed as a lookup.
Why this misreading costs more than arithmetic
An owner who computes the lookup figure and compares it to the taxable value on the notice finds a gap that is not there, concludes the department has overvalued the property, and spends a 30-day appeal window on it. The value was never wrong. There is nothing to recover, and the window closes while it is being argued.
The reverse error is worse in a portfolio: assuming the top band applies to everything makes a reduced-rate claim look barely worth filing on an expensive home, when in fact it is worth more there than anywhere else.
The same trap, one class over
Commercial and industrial property is graduated too — a lower rate on the first six times the median commercial value, a higher one on the excess. The arithmetic behaves the same way, and so does the mistake. It matters most at the margin: a parcel just above the breakpoint pays the higher rate only on the amount above it, not on the whole value. Treating it as a cliff rather than a margin is what produces the panicked call about consolidating parcels.
These numbers expire
The median residential value and the band edges reset with each reappraisal cycle — the next one lands in 2027. Every figure on this page is derived from the current median rather than typed in, so it moves when the cycle does.
Be careful with figures you find elsewhere: at least two different medians have circulated for this cycle, and both were wrong. The reliable method is to back-solve from a real taxable value on a real notice rather than take a published estimate.
If you would rather not do the arithmetic, the free rate check runs the cumulative bands on your own parcel and shows each one filling, alongside the flat default rate. It reports taxable value, not a dollar bill — mills are the step nobody can infer from an address.
Related
- How a Montana taxable value is actually built
Market value, classification, statutory rate, mills, bill. Five steps from a building to a tax bill — and only the first two can ever be contested. Worked through with the graduated bands, and how to tell a rate change from a value change.
- The homestead reduced rate: who qualifies, and how to claim it
The Montana homestead reduced tax rate takes a principal residence off the 1.9% default and onto graduated bands starting at 0.76%. The four tests, the ownership rule that disqualifies LLCs outright, the real application window, and what happens if you miss it.
- The long-term rental rate is not 1.1%
Nearly every summary calls Montana's long-term rental reduced rate a flat 1.1%. The statute gives a qualifying rental the same graduated bands as a homestead, starting at 0.76% — and the flat rate applies to multifamily units only.
Where your own parcel stands
The rate check is free and takes about ten seconds — look up any Montana property and see which rate applies, which reduced rate it could qualify for, and the gap between them. No email required. If you would rather someone went through the whole notice, that is what we do.
Rates, deadlines and statutory citations verified against MCA Title 15 as of September 17, 2026. The median residential value ($386,000) and median commercial value ($379,000) are recalculated every two years with reappraisal — the next reset is in 2027. Up The Creek Research LLC is a public-records research firm, not a law firm, an accounting firm or an appraisal firm; this page explains what the statute provides and is not advice about your particular situation. See our Disclaimer & Terms.