Procedure For Paying Taxes Under Protest – Gallatin County
In order to pay taxes under protest, MCA Section 15-1-402 (1), imposes five separate requirements as follows:
1. The taxes must be paid under protest before they become delinquent;
2. The payment must be accompanied by a written protest for that portion of the tax or license fee protested;
3. The payment must be made to the officer designated and authorized to collect it (i.e. the Gallatin County Treasurer for property taxes in Gallatin County);
4. The written protest must specify the grounds or reasons of the protest, and the amount paid under protest must directly relate to the grounds specified; and
5. The amount paid under protest must not exceed the difference between the payment for the immediately preceding tax year and the amount owing in the tax year protested unless a different amount results from the specified grounds of protest, which grounds may include but are not limited to changes in assessment due to reappraisal under 15-7-111.
A separate protest letter must accompany each parcel that is being protested. All protest letters must include the following information in order for a protest to be accepted:
DATE, PARCEL #, CURRENT YEAR, LEGAL DESCRIPTION, PROTESTED AMOUNT, TAXPAYER’S NAME AS SHOWN ON TAX BILL, REASON FOR PROTEST, WHETHER TAX IS APPEALED, MORTGAGE COMPANY OR ESCROW AGENT’S NAME IF ANY, TAXPAYER’S SIGNATURE.
A form is available in the Gallatin County Treasurer’s Office at 311 W. Main, Room 210, Bozeman, Montana 59715, which incorporates the above requirements. The form is also available in this on-line folder.
To perfect the protest per MCA Sections 15-1-406, 407, the taxpayer must have either filed an appeal with the County or State Tax Appeal Board, or the taxpayer has 90 days in which to file suit within the District Court to recover the taxes. If neither of these actions is taken, the County Treasurer will disperse the amount paid under protest to the appropriate funds after the 90 day period.
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