Montana § 15-6-702 - State Property Tax Assistance Account

§ 15-6-702. State Property Tax Assistance Account

State property tax assistance account. (1) There is a state property tax assistance account in the state special revenue fund established in 17-2-102 . The revenue allocated to the account as provided in 17-1-402 must be deposited in the account and distributed as provided in this section. (2) (a) At the end of each fiscal year, if the balance in the account exceeds $50 million, the department shall determine the amount of property tax assistance per primary residence by subtracting the amounts listed in subsection (2)(c) and dividing the remainder by the total number of primary residences certified pursuant to 15-6-703 . (b) By August 31 of each year, the department shall distribute to each county the property tax assistance per primary residence multiplied by the number of primary residences within the county. The county shall deposit the money in the account in which property tax revenue is held and use the distribution to provide property tax assistance pursuant to 15-6-701 . (c) The department may retain 2% of the revenue allocated to the account for administering the certification of primary residences under 15-6-703 and shall retain $100,000 for appeals granted under 15-6-705 . (3) The department shall provide each county with a list of property in the county that the department certifies pursuant to 15-6-703 qualifies as a primary residence to enable the county treasurer to administer the property tax assistance. (4) A payment required pursuant to this section may be withheld if, for more than 90 days, a local government fails to: (a) file a financial report required by 15-1-504 ; (b) remit any amounts collected on behalf of the state as required by 15-1-504 ; or (c) remit any other amounts owed to the state or another taxing jurisdiction.