ARM 42.19.402. INFLATION ADJUSTMENT FOR THE PROPERTY TAX ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (PTAP), MONTANA DISABLED VETERAN (MDV) PROPERTY TAX ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, AND DISABLED FIRST RESPONDER (DFR) PROPERTY TAX ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

(1) Sections 15-6-301, 15-6-302, 15-6-305, 15-6-311, 15-6-312, and 15-6-314, MCA, provide property tax relief to fixed or limited income homeowners, qualified disabled veterans and their spouses, and qualified disabled first responders or their surviving spouses. (2) The department annually adjusts the respective programs’ base year qualifying income levels for the effects of inflation. (a) Statute specifies that the price deflator (price index) for personal consumption expenditures (PCE), published in the national income and product accounts by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is used in the calculation of the inflation factor. (b) Each income figure in the base year income schedule is multiplied by the inflation factor calculated for the tax year in question to update the schedule. The product is then rounded to the nearest whole dollar amount. If the adjustment results in a decrease in qualifying income levels from the previous year, the qualifying income levels must remain the same for that year. (3) The department shall adjust the market value limit for residential real property for inflation after each two-year reappraisal cycle in accordance with 15-6-305, MCA. The department will finalize the market value limit by rounding it to the nearest $1,000. (4) The department will publish qualifying income levels and market value limits annually on the department's website at https://revenue.mt.gov/.