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Montana Personal Property Data Report
Aggregation, Exemption and Tax Rate Adjustment Thresholds
Montana’s personal property assessment is based on statewide aggregate value, that is, the
combined value from all of a taxpayer’s locations throughout the state. The department makes an effort
to identify the parent company. A parent company is one that has an ownership interest of 50% or
more in another entity
1
. If a parent company is identified, values are aggregated by the parent
company’s taxpayer ID.
❖ Each group of records with a common taxpayer ID is an aggregation group.
Montana law exempts the first $100,000 of a taxpayer’s statewide aggregate personal property value.
❖ This is the exemption threshold.
A lower tax rate is applied to the next $6 million of a taxpayer’s personal property value.
❖ This is the tax rate adjustment threshold (TRAT).
Personal Property Tax Calculation
cost x applicable percent good
2
= assessed market value
assessed market value – exempt portion of value
3
= taxable market value
taxable market value x tax rate
6
= taxable value
taxable value x mill levy
4
= property tax
The Personal Property Data Report selects all of the personal property records that make up an
aggregation group. Go to property.mt.gov to access the report.
1
ARM 42.21.158 http://www.mtrules.org/gateway/ruleno.asp?RN=42%2E21%2E158
2
Administrative Rules 42.21.113 thru 42.21.157 and 42.22.1311
3
as determined by the state legislature
4
set by local jurisdictions
Click on a row to see the
information detail for that category
Click Open
Click Save As
Select a file location on your
computer
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The file should open in Excel. You can use the Excel functions to adjust the column widths, sort, filter
and format the data to display according to your preference.
Related Ownerships
Provides summarized information for each record in the aggregation group.
▪ county where the property is located, each Montana county has a two-digit numeric designation
▪ assessment code of the property record, these are always 10 characters, leading zeros may not
display in Excel
▪ property ID of the property record, consist of county number-assessment code-unit number
▪ owner name is the primary name, or contract buyer if applicable, on the property record
▪ owner address
▪ aggregate, yes indicates the record is part of an aggregation group of two or more records
▪ under threshold, 0 indicates the value of the aggregation group is not under the $100,00
threshold; 1 indicates the value of the aggregation group is under the $100,00 threshold
▪ under threshold other classes, 0 indicates that the record does not include livestock or
personal property that is not class eight
5
; 1 indicates that the record does include livestock or
personal property that is not class eight
▪ hand held tools indicates whether the record includes hand held tools, state law exempts the first
$15,000 worth of hand held tools
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▪ total, total value on the property record
5
15-6-138, MCA
6
15-6-219, MCA
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Related Ownerships continued
▪ aggregate total, only class eight value contributes to the aggregate total
▪ TRAT total, the value on the record that contributes to the TRAT total
▪ not class 8 value, the value from any classes of personal property other than class eight
▪ TRAT exempt, exempt value that does not contribute to the TRAT total
▪ exemption percent, the record’s contribution to the total aggregate value, calculated as a
percentage; the $100,000 exemption is allocated amongst the records that make up the
aggregation group based on each record’s contribution to the total aggregate value
▪ total exempt amount, the location’s share of the $100,000 exemption, calculated as
Exemption % x 100,000 = Exempt Amount
▪ TRAT total less total exempt amount, the exempt portion of value subtracted from the TRAT
total
▪ TRAT under percent, the percent of the total aggregate value that is under the $6 million TRAT
▪ TRAT over percent, the percent of the total aggregate value that is over the $6 million TRAT
*The TRAT Under and Over percentages are the same for all records in an aggregation group.
▪ total TRAT under, the portion of value under the $6 million TRAT, calculated as
TRAT Under Percent x TRAT Total Less Total Exempt Amount
▪ total TRAT over, the portion of value over the $6 million TRAT, calculated as
TRAT Over Percent x TRAT Total Less Total Exempt Amount
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Property Value Rollup
Summarizes the value on each property record within the aggregation group by class code.
▪ property number (ID), consist of county number-assessment code-unit number
▪ class code
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, a four-digit code that provides a general description and the applicable tax rate
▪ quantity, is often not indicated, does not impact the value calculation for most types of personal
property
▪ total market value, the total value for that class code on that property record
▪ exemption, the amount of the $100,000 exemption that is allocated to that class code on that
property record
▪ SM equipment value, the value of any equipment for which a special mobile permit was
purchased
▪ applied market value, total market value minus any exempt value
▪ rate, the taxable percent determined by the legislature
▪ total taxable value, calculated as Applied Market Value x Rate
▪ final taxable value, Total Taxable Value minus any taxable value already assessed on SM’d
equipment
A note concerning the $6 million tax rate adjustment threshold (TRAT)
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.
Class code 6101 – Tax Rate Adjustment is assigned to the portion of taxable market value that is Over
the TRAT, and therefore taxable at the higher tax rate. The property has already been assessed the base
tax rate, of 1.5%, on the normal class codes. Class code 6101 applies the additional 1.5% tax rate for a
total tax rate of 3%.
Class code 6103 – Market Value Adjusting Entry is a negative adjusting entry used to bring the Total
Market Value back to its pre-TRAT amount. The tax rate is 0%.
7
See https://mtrevenue.gov/property/property-classes-and-codes/ for more information and a complete list of class codes
8
See the Montana Personal Property Assessment Fact Sheet for a more detailed explanation
https://mtrevenue.gov/property/property-types/personal-property/
All of the data rows with a common Property Number are on the same property record
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Detailed property information by category
The file for each category of personal property provides item-specific detail. The details provided vary
depending upon the type of equipment but, generally:
▪ property number (ID) consist of county number-assessment code-unit number
▪ location, the physical location of the property as reported to the department
▪ class code
▪ category, indicates the depreciation category
▪ description, as reported to the department
▪ quantity, is often not indicated, the quantity field does not impact the value calculation for most
types of personal property
▪ year acquired, as reported to the department
▪ cost, as reported to the department
▪ asset number, as reported to the department
▪ percent good, determined by the age of the item and the depreciation category
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▪ market value, calculated as Cost x Percent Good
▪ incentive type and year granted, only have data if the item has been granted a preferential
assessment
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See Personal Property Depreciation Schedules and Trend Tables at https://mtrevenue.gov/property/property-types/personal-
property/
All of the items with a common Property Number are on the same property record
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Montana Counties Name and Number Designations
County #
County Name
01
Silver Bow
02
Cascade
03
Yellowstone
04
Missoula
05
Lewis & Clark
06
Gallatin
07
Flathead
08
Fergus
09
Powder River
10
Carbon
11
Phillips
12
Hill
13
Ravalli
14
Custer
15
Lake
16
Dawson
17
Roosevelt
18
Beaverhead
19
Chouteau
County #
County Name
20
Valley
21
Toole
22
Big Horn
23
Musselshell
24
Blaine
25
Madison
26
Pondera
27
Richland
28
Powell
29
Rosebud
30
Deer Lodge
31
Teton
32
Stillwater
33
Treasure
34
Sheridan
35
Sanders
36
Judith Basin
37
Daniels
38
Glacier
County #
County Name
39
Fallon
40
Sweet Grass
41
McCone
42
Carter
43
Broadwater
44
Wheatland
45
Prairie
46
Granite
47
Meagher
48
Liberty
49
Park
50
Garfield
51
Jefferson
52
Wibaux
53
Golden Valley
54
Mineral
55
Petroleum
56
Lincoln
Contact information for the Department of Revenue Property Assessment Division offices is available at
https://mtrevenue.gov/contact/.
Scroll to the Find the Office Servicing Your County section. Enter the county name in the Search field.
