One-time $400 tax refund ...
... in Montana. No sales tax and still a bit of tax relief. I love the Big Sky Country [^].
How to get your one-time $400 property tax refund
By Charles S. Johnson, of The Standard State Bureau - 05/27/2007
HELENA - You've probably heard about it. Up to $400 may be coming your way later this year for owning a home in Montana if you meet certain qualifications.
The one-time property-tax refund, proposed by Gov. Brian Schweitzer, was approved by the special legislative session earlier this month. The net rebate will be nearly $100 million, with the money coming from the projected state surplus that's estimated to top $1 billion.
Here, in question-and-answer format, is how it will work, according to Revenue Director Dan Bucks, Deputy Director Dave Hunter and Public Information Officer Cynthia Piearson: Question: So when do I get my $400 tax rebate?
Answer: The refunds will be sent out between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31, 2007.
Q. Why do I have to wait so long?
A. The Revenue Department needs to set up a special mechanism to pay the rebates to get them out this year.
Q. What's the quickest way I can get my refund?
A. File electronically and arrange to have the check directly deposited in your bank account and you'll get the refund in a matter of days. File by paper and have the check mailed to your address and it will take weeks.
Q. What are the qualifications to get it.
A. You have to have owned and lived in the home as a primary residence for at least seven months in 2006, and, of course, paid property taxes on it.
Q. Where are the applications?
A. The Revenue Department will send out applications this summer to households it establishes as owner-occupied residences. When ready, applications will be available on the state of Montana's Web site, http://mt.gov, and at county courthouses and public libraries. News stories and public service announcements will tell when forms are available.
Q. Why do I have to apply? You already have all of my tax information.
A. The Revenue Department doesn't know which piece of property is a taxpayer's primary residence or the amount of taxes they paid.
Q. What if we don't apply?
A. You don't get the refund.
Q. My husband and I co-own the house. Do we each get $400?
A. No. It's $400 per household, not $400 per owner.
Q. Do I have to pay state and federal taxes on the refund?
A. That depends. If you took the standard deduction for federal or state taxes in tax year 2006, your rebate isn't taxable income. But if you deducted your property taxes by itemizing on your taxes in tax year 2006, the refund is considered taxable income for your federal and state taxes for the year you received the check, either in 2007 or 2008.
Q. We've got two houses, our place in town and a cabin up in the woods. Can we collect refunds on both?
A. No. It's only available on your primary residence, where you live seven months a year.
Q. We just moved to Montana in February. Are we eligible for the refund?
A. No. To qualify, you would have had to move here by June 1, 2006, and owned and occupied your home for the rest of that year.
Q. My brother and sister-in-law live in California most of the year, but spend three months every summer at their home on Flathead Lake. Are they eligible?
A. No.
Q. Our property taxes are less than $400 a year. What can we do?
A. If necessary, you can look back beyond 2006 to both 2005 and 2004 to reach the $400 level necessary to qualify for the refund.
Q. My grandmother is terminally ill. Can she get her payment sooner? Can her heirs collect it if she dies before the refund?
A. The Revenue Department says it is setting up the system to issue the rebates as fast as it can. If your grandmother dies but was eligible for the refund, her estate's personal representative can file a claim for the refund by before Dec. 31, 2007, unless the department extends it for good cause.
Q. The $400 doesn't begin to cover the property taxes on our home. Why isn't it more?
A. It wasn't intended to cover all of a household's annual property tax bill, but be a significant refund. The department says the average property tax bill for Montana homeowners is $1,108, so the $400 refund is more than one-third of the average Montana homeowner's annual property tax bill.
Q. I owe some back child support. Will the state deduct that amount I owe from my tax rebate check.
A. Yes, potentially.
Q. I'm a renter, I thought I was going to get some kind of tax break. What happened?
A. You're right. The people living in the more than 83,600 rental units in Montana got left out of the tax breaks in the final version of the bill.
http://www.mtstandard.com/articles/2007/05/27/state/hjjcjehcjjeaej.txt
How to get your one-time $400 property tax refund
By Charles S. Johnson, of The Standard State Bureau - 05/27/2007
HELENA - You've probably heard about it. Up to $400 may be coming your way later this year for owning a home in Montana if you meet certain qualifications.
The one-time property-tax refund, proposed by Gov. Brian Schweitzer, was approved by the special legislative session earlier this month. The net rebate will be nearly $100 million, with the money coming from the projected state surplus that's estimated to top $1 billion.
Here, in question-and-answer format, is how it will work, according to Revenue Director Dan Bucks, Deputy Director Dave Hunter and Public Information Officer Cynthia Piearson: Question: So when do I get my $400 tax rebate?
Answer: The refunds will be sent out between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31, 2007.
Q. Why do I have to wait so long?
A. The Revenue Department needs to set up a special mechanism to pay the rebates to get them out this year.
Q. What's the quickest way I can get my refund?
A. File electronically and arrange to have the check directly deposited in your bank account and you'll get the refund in a matter of days. File by paper and have the check mailed to your address and it will take weeks.
Q. What are the qualifications to get it.
A. You have to have owned and lived in the home as a primary residence for at least seven months in 2006, and, of course, paid property taxes on it.
Q. Where are the applications?
A. The Revenue Department will send out applications this summer to households it establishes as owner-occupied residences. When ready, applications will be available on the state of Montana's Web site, http://mt.gov, and at county courthouses and public libraries. News stories and public service announcements will tell when forms are available.
Q. Why do I have to apply? You already have all of my tax information.
A. The Revenue Department doesn't know which piece of property is a taxpayer's primary residence or the amount of taxes they paid.
Q. What if we don't apply?
A. You don't get the refund.
Q. My husband and I co-own the house. Do we each get $400?
A. No. It's $400 per household, not $400 per owner.
Q. Do I have to pay state and federal taxes on the refund?
A. That depends. If you took the standard deduction for federal or state taxes in tax year 2006, your rebate isn't taxable income. But if you deducted your property taxes by itemizing on your taxes in tax year 2006, the refund is considered taxable income for your federal and state taxes for the year you received the check, either in 2007 or 2008.
Q. We've got two houses, our place in town and a cabin up in the woods. Can we collect refunds on both?
A. No. It's only available on your primary residence, where you live seven months a year.
Q. We just moved to Montana in February. Are we eligible for the refund?
A. No. To qualify, you would have had to move here by June 1, 2006, and owned and occupied your home for the rest of that year.
Q. My brother and sister-in-law live in California most of the year, but spend three months every summer at their home on Flathead Lake. Are they eligible?
A. No.
Q. Our property taxes are less than $400 a year. What can we do?
A. If necessary, you can look back beyond 2006 to both 2005 and 2004 to reach the $400 level necessary to qualify for the refund.
Q. My grandmother is terminally ill. Can she get her payment sooner? Can her heirs collect it if she dies before the refund?
A. The Revenue Department says it is setting up the system to issue the rebates as fast as it can. If your grandmother dies but was eligible for the refund, her estate's personal representative can file a claim for the refund by before Dec. 31, 2007, unless the department extends it for good cause.
Q. The $400 doesn't begin to cover the property taxes on our home. Why isn't it more?
A. It wasn't intended to cover all of a household's annual property tax bill, but be a significant refund. The department says the average property tax bill for Montana homeowners is $1,108, so the $400 refund is more than one-third of the average Montana homeowner's annual property tax bill.
Q. I owe some back child support. Will the state deduct that amount I owe from my tax rebate check.
A. Yes, potentially.
Q. I'm a renter, I thought I was going to get some kind of tax break. What happened?
A. You're right. The people living in the more than 83,600 rental units in Montana got left out of the tax breaks in the final version of the bill.
http://www.mtstandard.com/articles/2007/05/27/state/hjjcjehcjjeaej.txt
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