Montana homeowners can now apply for a property tax rebate worth up to $675.
The rebate application went live Thursday and is available to everyone who paid property taxes on their principal residence in 2023.
The online application will be open from August 15 until October 1. The program was approved to give back to residents who faced higher property taxes last year.
"Property taxes are too high, which is why we prioritized property tax relief for Montanans in the 2023 legislative session," Governor Greg Gianforte said in a statement. "Taken together, we secured the largest property tax rebate in Montana's history."
"Of the many state rebates we've seen introduced over the past few years, this is one of the easiest for taxpayers to qualify for and receive," Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek.
"These rebates would be helpful in any time, but especially with the current economic reality inflation has dealt many consumers, the few hundred dollars returned in the form of a rebate can go a long way for helping with other daily expenses. It's a rebate that will mean quite a bit to many Montana residents' bottom lines."
To qualify, you had to own a Montana residence for at least seven months last year and have also lived in it.
You also must have paid property taxes on that residence and be ready to list the property's address, geocode and amount of taxes paid. You'll also need to list you and your spouse and dependents' names and Social Security numbers for the application.
Once approved for the rebate, you'll have the option to get your money by direct deposit or as a check delivered in the mail.
The rebates submitted online should be distributed within 30 days, while paper applications could take as long as three months.
The state previously said all rebates will be delivered by December 31.
The exact amount homeowners get from the rebate depends on the property taxes they paid. The state said the rebate is $675 or an amount not to exceed the property taxes paid on the residence in 2023.
So if someone paid $425 in property taxes, they'd earn $425 as a rebate. Meanwhile, those who paid more than $675 would get $675.
Eligible residences include single-family units, apartments, condos, trailers, manufactured homes and mobile homes.
Several similar rebates have been passed in other states as governments work to support their taxpayers during uncertain economic times. Some support residents in making EV or sustainable home purchases, while others provide relief to homeowners and renters.
In Pennsylvania, payments between $380 and $1,000 are going out to both homeowners and renters.
To receive the money, residents must have a household income of $45,000 or less and be 65 or older, a widow age 50 or older or be a disabled adult
"Rebates are becoming increasingly popular with state governments and for good reason," Beene said. "They're a great way of making taxpayers see their dollars are being put to good use and be used as a way of assisting with problems plaguing the state that additional funding could benefit."
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