Was it a simple "mistake" to be addressed in 2027, or should Montana have a special legislative session to fix this now? Meanwhile, costs skyrocket.

The "shot heard 'round the world" is a well-known event that marked the beginning of the American Revolution. One of the main reasons for the revolt was taxes. A property tax revolt in Montana may be underway, and the shot heard 'round the state came in the mail as landlords owning apartment complexes across the state received their latest property tax bills. Each has expressed outrage at the massive increases.

“It wouldn't surprise me to see some of that passed on to tenants,” said Rep. Mark Thane, D-Missoula, one of the key Democrats involved in property tax reform.

He characterized the 2025 tax cycle as a “year of pain” for landlords and renters. (Thane voted in favor of the bills.)

Here is a recent tax bill received by a landlord, which shows a 26.74% increase from 2024 to 2025 and a 121.88% increase from 2016. This is for 30 rental units, and now they must decide whether to pass on the cost to budget-challenged renters, split the expense, or absorb it entirely.

Nate Tollefson, a Missoula-based landlord who manages over 2,000 units, said his property taxes went up roughly $1.5 million from 2024 to 2025.

In the rush to pass bills addressing property taxes at the end of the 2025 legislative session, multifamily dwellings were not addressed in the final form of any bill. Multiple legislators referred to this as a "rate mistake," caused by the rush to pass the bills.

Reflecting former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's statements about having to pass a federal budget so they can know what is in it, Rep. Llew Jones, R-Conrad, who was the main architect and advocate of these property tax bills, said, “It was putting too much pressure on four days. The challenge with any big bill with this many pieces is you just don’t know until it gets applied.”

The hidden costs are often difficult to quantify. Still, landlords will also have to deal with the overall cost of living increases that come from hiring plumbers, electricians, handymen, and other specialists required to maintain rental properties.

Instead of solving the property tax problem in Montana, most Democrats and Republicans In Name Only (RINOs) made the situation worse and risk accelerating Montana's housing shortage. Tax increases are raising costs directly and indirectly for all Montanans.

How many Montanans will exceed their budgets and move out of state or go homeless as a result of this "mistake?" Will Governor Gianforte recognize this crisis and call a special session immediately, or will he defer to the legislature to call for the session? Or, will they all shrug their shoulders and add this to the agenda for the 2027 session after the damage is already done?

We assume that most will wait for 2027.

Meanwhile, twenty-four percent of Montanans never applied for their rebates, and the government will retain those funds as well. Most likely to get pushed into another slush fund like Rep. Llew Jones' and Governor Gianforte's HB924 and HB863. Many are unable to apply for the rebate due to health reasons or other factors, such as the inability to complete the bureaucratic steps within the allotted time. It's typical government, whenever they want money from you they have all the data they need, when it comes time to give it back they need you to do paperwork.