BILLINGS — Letters stating new estimated property values were sent out across Montana on June 30, with many residents seeing a noticeable increase in their home values and an increase in their 2023 general tax estimate.
“I believe 32% was the average increase in Yellowstone County,” said Paula Gilbert, the appraisal manager for Yellowstone County's property assessment office.
The appraisals mailed out are based on what the Montana Department of Revenue estimates a property could have sold for around Jan. 1, 2022. The appraisal is based on sales of homes in the general neighborhood, according to Gilbert.
Gilbert wants to remind property owners that the tax estimates are not the final number.
“The (home) values have increased, that increases the taxable value. However, mill levies are not set until the end of September or early October. And so, what it will actually do to your taxes, we don’t know,” Gilbert said.
There is an option to appeal a property owner's new estimated value by filling out an appeal form, known as an AB-26, that can be found on the Montana Department of Revenue's website.
The completed form must be brought to your local Department of Revenue field office. The Yellowstone County office is at 175 N. 27th St. #1400 in Billings.
The department conducts mass appraisals of properties statewide, so an appeal would trigger an assessor to re-assess a property individually. This allows the property owner to provide any documentation that may support a different value than previously determined.
“Most people’s appraisals are dated June 30 by statute. You have 30 days to appeal that value so in this case the deadline is July 31, 2023, in order for us to make changes to your 2023 tax record,” Gilbert said. “You’re not appealing what you owe in taxes, because again, we don’t know what that’s going to be. You’re appealing the value.”
Gilbert said there are currently 529 active appeals in Yellowstone County.
“We had 685, we’ve closed some of those already. A lot of people file the appeal and once we explain the process, they’re more comfortable with that value,” she said.
If someone misses the July 31, 2023 deadline, there is still an option to appeal. That appeal will only be effective for the 2024 tax year.
In Montana, there are just over 3,000 active appeals.
The AB-26 form includes instructions and the first four pages must be filled out.
