Property Taxes Have Become A Nightmare For One Bozeman Couple

Montana Property Tax Increases Hit Longtime Residents

We all have a dream. It might be a dream job, a dream car, or even a dream house.

For one Bozeman couple, they say the dream home they built back in the early 2000s has turned into something very different.

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Property Taxes Double In Latest Montana Valuation

Dan and Carol Webster built their house on the outskirts of Bozeman back when Gallatin County looked a lot different than it does today.

Like a lot of longtime Bozeman residents, they say the sharp rise in property taxes is something they never saw coming.

According to them, their property taxes went from about $25,000 in the last valuation to $53,000 in the most recent one, a jump of more than 100%.

That increase comes as Montana is also looking at ways to rein in rising property taxes and re-balance the system.

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Property Tax Relief Shifts The Burden

State Rep. Llew Jones told KTVQ that when relief is given in one area, it has to be made up somewhere else.

“When a decision is made to reduce the taxes of one block, the same amount of money is still collected — you are by default increasing the taxes on someone else.”

The Websters say their home, now valued at around $5 million, is up roughly 1,400% since it was built more than two decades ago. But they’re now worried about what the next valuation could bring and whether they’ll still be able to stay in the home they built with help from their son.