In Focus: Rising Property Taxes

As property values in Montana have risen in recent years, many homeowners have found themselves in the difficult position of being house rich but cash poor.

Why difficult? Because with escalating home prices comes escalating property taxes.

That’s why one of AARP Montana’s top priorities this year is property tax relief. It’s also something Montanans 50 and over want. An August 2024 AARP survey of voters 50-plus found that 95 percent of them support the Montana State Legislature passing property tax relief that would make it easier for older residents to stay in their homes as they age.

The Legislature is back in January for a 90-day session.

To help ease Montanans’ property tax burden, AARP supports options such as a homestead exemption or a circuit breaker. In a homestead exemption, a certain amount of the value of the house would be exempt from taxation. As an example, someone living in a $500,000 home with a $200,000 fixed exemption would have their taxable value reduced to $300,000.

“That’s a big chunk of change for folks,” says Tim Summers, AARP Montana state director.

A circuit breaker — offered in some form in 29 states — would provide relief based on household income. That mechanism would reduce the amount a person pays in property taxes, based on their ability to pay.

Another AARP priority is renewing the expansion of Medicaid that the state passed in 2015. That expansion — which covers an additional 78,000 people — is scheduled to sunset in 2025, and AARP will urge lawmakers to keep the expansion in place.

The August AARP poll found that 74 percent of Montana voters 50 and over support renewing the expansion, including 64 percent of Republicans in that age group.

— Frederic J. Frommer