Property Tax Increase for Montana Farmers and Ranchers

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Montana Senate President Pro Tempore Ken Bogner Monday, August 4th, 2025  12:15pm  

You’ve likely heard that instead of real property tax relief, the legislature passed a property tax shift this legislative session. Some of that shift is starting to go into effect now, but the biggest changes, including massive tax hikes on thousands of Montanans’ properties, will come next year. A lot has been said about the huge hit coming to family cabins and similar properties, but many agricultural producers are in for a rude surprise as well. 

That surprise will be especially jarring for farmers and ranchers, because the initial phase of the tax shift is going to lower most of their taxes this year; only to be followed by a larger increase next year.

Also concerning, it appears some legislators who passed this tax shift will be surprised as well. Take Democratic Representative Jonathan Karlen, who has been one of the loudest and proudest promoters of this legislation, for example. 

On May 22, shortly after the session concluded, Rep. Karlen confidently said on the Montana Talks radio show that “I'm very comfortable that we did not pass a bill that would increase taxes on our farmers and ranchers.”

That’s certainly not true in my area—the “Cow Capital of the World,” Miles City. After the legislature concluded, the Montana Department of Revenue (DOR) released its county-by-county analysis of how the tax shift is projected to play out. Here in Custer County, the projection is a nearly 8% property tax increase on production agriculture land from 2024 to 2026.

Rep. Karlen’s misunderstanding is even more apparent in his home county of Missoula, where DOR’s projections show an over 15% tax hike on agricultural and timber lands. A good legislative salesman, I’d expect Karlen to counter that the projected 9% decrease on primary residences in Missoula County will counterbalance farmers’ tax increase. But note that Missoula County is proposing a 7% property tax increase this year alone. The end result? The minimal residential tax cut immediately vanishes while the agricultural tax increase grows even higher.

Rep. Karlen also can’t retreat to the statewide averages. DOR projects a 2% increase on agricultural and timber production land statewide, with the average tax hike on agricultural “residential” buildings that aren’t primary homes clocking in at a massive 24.5%. 

I, along with the majority of conservative Republicans, opposed this tax shift passed by Democrats and a minority of Republicans. There were other bipartisan solutions to property taxes that wouldn’t have caused these tax hikes.

Unfortunately, many of those who voted for this tax shift didn’t fully understand the ramifications of what they were doing. They forced the complex bills through in the final days of the session with barely any public hearing or scrutiny.

Just like Nancy Pelosi once infamously said, some legislators like Democratic Rep. Karlen have adopted the approach of “We have to pass the bill to find out what’s in the bill.” He and others are now learning that, yes, you did pass a bill that raises taxes on farmers and ranchers. 

-Senate President Pro Tempore Ken Bogner