Property tax in Deer Lodge County, Montana

By Brent Chudoba, editor Updated September 23, 2026

The median property tax bill in Deer Lodge County, Montana is $1,803 a year, which is about 0.78% of the county's median home value of $231,700. That effective rate is higher than the typical Montana county (0.68%) and lower than the national median (0.81%). These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024); your own bill depends on your home's assessed value and any exemptions.

Estimate the property tax on a home in Deer Lodge County

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Deer Lodge County's average effective rate of 0.78% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.

Home market value

Estimated property tax: $1,807 / year

Property tax in Deer Lodge County at a glance

Deer Lodge County, Montana property tax (Census ACS, reviewed September 23, 2026)
Measure	Value
Median annual property tax	$1,803
Median home value	$231,700
Effective tax rate	0.78%
Typical Montana county rate	0.68%
National median county rate	0.81%

Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

How does Deer Lodge County compare in Montana?

Among Montana's 56 counties, Deer Lodge County has the 20th highest effective property-tax rate: 19 rank higher and 36 rank lower. That is on the higher side for Montana. Nationally, it ranks 1651st of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Montana county ranked.

How much do homeowners in Deer Lodge County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across Deer Lodge County's 3,267 owner-occupied homes, 15.2% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 43.1% pay at least $2,000, and 8.3% pay under $800. Another 2.6% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Annual property tax paid by Deer Lodge County homeowners (Census ACS 2020-2024)
Annual bill	Homes	Share
Under $800	270	8.3%
$800 to $1,499	1,039	31.8%
$1,500 to $1,999	465	14.2%
$2,000 to $2,999	910	27.9%
$3,000 or more	497	15.2%
No property tax paid	86	2.6%

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $2,080 and owners without one pay $1,455. Owners who have paid off a home have usually held it longer, and in states that cap how fast an existing owner's assessment can rise, long-held homes carry lower assessed values. Census table B25103.

How does the Deer Lodge County property tax bill compare with local incomes?

The median property tax bill of $1,803 is about 2.7% of the median income of Deer Lodge County homeowner households, $67,184 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 73% of Deer Lodge County's occupied homes are lived in by their owners; renters pay property tax too, just folded into rent.

Have property taxes gone up in Deer Lodge County?

Yes. The median bill went from $1,419 in 2015-2019 to $1,803 in 2020-2024, a 27.1% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 76.5%, from $131,300 to $231,700. Bills rose more slowly than values, which is what assessment caps and falling millage rates do: the county is taxing a smaller share of each home's worth.

Two Census ACS 5-year periods with no survey years in common, in each period's own dollars. A change counts only if it exceeds the combined 90% margin of error.

Property tax in counties next to Deer Lodge County

Deer Lodge County borders 6 counties.

Deer Lodge County and its neighbors, highest effective rate first (Census ACS 2020-2024)
County	Effective rate	Median bill	Median home value
Silver Bow County, MT	0.98%	$2,500	$255,200
Deer Lodge County, MT (this county)	0.78%	$1,803	$231,700
Powell County, MT	0.69%	$2,104	$306,500
Beaverhead County, MT	0.67%	$2,069	$308,300
Granite County, MT	0.6%	$2,130	$352,700
Jefferson County, MT	0.55%	$2,446	$446,900
Ravalli County, MT	0.5%	$2,380	$476,600

How is a home assessed in Deer Lodge County?

Montana sets the assessment rules and Deer Lodge County applies them. How Montana assesses and reappraises homes.

Is there a homestead exemption in Deer Lodge County?

Not as a dollar amount. Montana's homestead benefit is a lower tax rate for an enrolled principal residence; a home that does not enroll is taxed at the flat 1.9% rate. That is the Montana rule, and it applies in Deer Lodge County. Montana's exemptions and relief programs in full.

When are property taxes due in Deer Lodge County?

Montana bills once and you pay in two halves. The first half is due by 5 p.m. on November 30, or 30 days after the notice is mailed if that falls later, and the second by 5 p.m. on May 31. Anything unpaid after May 31 is delinquent, picks up a 2% penalty and accrues interest monthly. Owners of a primary residence can instead enroll in an alternative schedule spreading the bill over seven monthly payments from November through May.

Montana splits the bill into 2 installments. That is the Montana rule. Deer Lodge County issues and collects the bill, so the dates printed on your statement are the ones that bind you.

How to appeal your Deer Lodge County property assessment

You contest the assessed value with the County Tax Appeal Board, then the Montana Tax Appeal Board, then district court. The filing deadline is typically 30 days from the date on your classification and appraisal notice. That is the Montana rule; Deer Lodge County sets the exact dates and forms. The Montana appeal process step by step.

Montana rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the Montana page.

Work out your own numbers

Sources

Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Deer Lodge County, Montana: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020-2024), tables B25103, B25077, B25102, B25119 and B25003; the five-year comparison uses the 2015-2019 estimates. Neighboring counties: Census county adjacency file.