Industrial Property
The Property Assessment Division’s industrial unit is responsible for the valuation of approximately 9,600 parcels located across the State of Montana.
- Industrial property is defined as all land used for industrial purposes, improvements, and buildings used to house the industrial process and all storage facilities as provided in 15-1-101, MCA.
- Industrial processes include extraction, production, distribution, changing the form of raw materials or assembling components and parts, packaging, warehousing, and shipping of the finished products. In short, an industrial process is the manufacturing or creation of something of value
Industrial Personal Property
- Business equipment
- Furniture and fixtures
- Agricultural implements and equipment
- Heavy equipment
- Mining and manufacturing machinery
- Drill rigs, and oil and gas field equipment
Personal property is primarily class eight property, as described in 15-6-138, MCA, and is assessed on its statewide aggregate market value. A taxpayer's class eight property's statewide aggregate market value is the combined value from all of the taxpayer's personal property locations throughout the state. Values are aggregated by taxpayer ID.
When the department identifies a parent company with an ownership interest of 50 percent or more in another entity, the personal property market value is aggregated at the parent company level by the parent company's taxpayer ID.
The department calculates the taxable market value by applying a trended percent good to the acquired cost of each personal property asset.
Exemption and Tax Rate Thresholds
Montana law exempts the first $1 million of a taxpayer's statewide aggregate market value of class eight property. This is the exemption threshold. The next $6 million of a taxpayer's statewide aggregate market value is assessed at a 1.5 percent tax rate. This is the tax rate adjustment threshold (TRAT). Any remaining portion of a taxpayer's statewide aggregate market value greater than the tax rate adjustment threshold is assessed at a 3.0 percent tax rate.
Additional Resources
View our Personal Property Page for more information on:
- Industrial property reporting tutorial videos
- Personal property depreciation schedules and trend tables
- Special mobile equipment permits
Industrial Real Property
Industrial real property includes:
- Refining
- Wood products
- Soft and hard rock mining
- High tech
- Medical research
- Oil and gas extraction and transport
- Aeronautics
- Firearms and ammunitions
- Grain
- Malting
- Food production
- Large-scale breweries
- Cryptocurrency mining and data storage facilities
- Wind, Solar and Hydro electric generation
- Other companies that use intricate or highly specialized machinery and equipment
The department typically uses the cost approach to value industrial property. Industrial property owners may provide comparable sales data and income and expense data to aid in the department’s development of a sales comparison and/or income approach to value.
More information on the valuation of industrial real property can be found in the Montana Residential, Commercial, and Industrial Property Classification and Valuation Manual.
Industrial Property Tax Abatements and Exemptions
- Air and Water Pollution Control and Carbon Capture Equipment Certification Application (PDF, 291 KB)
- Fiber Optic or Coaxial Cable Exemption
- Property Tax Abatement for Manufacturing Machinery, Fixtures, and Equipment (PDF, 234 KB)
- Agricultural Processing Facilities Exemption Application
- Ammunition Manufacturing Tax Exemption Application
- New or Expanding Industry Abatement Application (PDF, 264 KB)
- Termination of New or Expanding Industry Property Tax Abatement (PDF, 177 KB)
Prevailing Wage Requirements from the Wage and Hour Unit, Montana Department of Labor and Industry
The requirements below apply to taxpayers seeking tax abatements provided under Class 14, Class 15, Class 16, and Class 18 property.
Responsibilities of the contracting agent include:
- Requesting the prevailing wage rate schedule from the Department of Labor and Industry;
- Providing prevailing wage rate schedules in public works contracts let out to bid; and
- Requiring the contractor to give preference to the employment of bona fide Montana residents.
Responsibilities of the contractor and subcontractor include:
- Posting a prevailing wage rate schedule on the site of the project or work area;
- Classifying workers in accordance with the craft or trade to be performed and paying the established prevailing wage rate;
- Keeping a record of hours and wages paid to the workers;
- Providing payroll records for inspection to the Department of Labor and Industry or the contracting agent upon request; and
- Ensuring that at least 50% of the workers performing labor on the project are Montana residents, except where prohibited by federal law. (The employer must demonstrate they tried to hire Montana workers and none were available for the positions. This requires proof that an effort was made to recruit Montana workers.)
Responsibilities of the Department of Labor and Industry include:
- Establishing prevailing wage rates for use on public works contracts;
- Conducting surveys to determine the prevailing wage rate schedules;
- Filing and issuing prevailing wage rates;
- Inspecting and auditing payroll records of contractors; and
- Investigating complaints of nonpayment of prevailing wage rates
Responsibilities of the Department of Revenue include:
- Determining the market value of the property;
- Classifying the property; and
- Working with the Department of Labor and Industry to verify the standard prevailing rate of wages for heavy construction was paid during construction.