Property tax in Jefferson County, Montana
In Jefferson County, the property tax bill comes from the Jefferson County Treasurer. The 2026 bill is paid in 2 installments, and the next one is due November 30, 2026. You can look up and pay the bill on the county's own payment page. Taken from Jefferson County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Jefferson County, Montana is $2,446 a year, which is about 0.55% of the county's median home value of $446,900. That effective rate is lower 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.
Who sends the property tax bill in Jefferson County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the Jefferson County Treasurer. The value it is based on is set by a state agency, the Montana Department of Revenue, which is who to ask if the value looks wrong. For how to look up and pay the bill, go to the county's own payment information.
The Montana Department of Revenue, not the county, values every property; the county Treasurer only sends the bill and collects it. One bill from the Treasurer covers the state, the county, towns, schools and special districts. Current values rest on a January 1, 2024 valuation date and carry through tax years 2025 and 2026. The Treasurer's page links an online tax search and payment portal run by an outside vendor, and the county says not every tax shows up in the online search, so call the Treasurer at 406-225-4100 if yours is missing.
When are property taxes due in Jefferson County?
For the 2026 bill, Jefferson County splits the bill into 2 payments, the first due November 30, 2026 and the last May 31, 2027. A half not paid by its due date is delinquent. A 2% penalty is added, and interest of 5/6 of 1% a month (10% a year) runs from the date of delinquency until paid.
| Payment | Due | Note |
|---|---|---|
| First half | November 30, 2026 | Due by 5 p.m. The county has not posted its 2026 due dates. State law makes the first half due November 30 or 30 days after the tax notice is postmarked, whichever is later, so check the date printed on your notice. November 30, 2026 is a Monday. Instead of two halves, owners of a home they live in at least 7 months a year may apply to the county Treasurer by September 30 to pay the current year's tax in seven monthly payments, due the last day of each month from November through May; enrollment continues each year until you ask in writing to stop. |
| Second half | May 31, 2027 | Due by 5 p.m. May 31, 2027 is Memorial Day, a legal holiday, and state law lets taxes due on a holiday or Saturday be paid without penalty or interest by 5 p.m. the next business day, which is Tuesday, June 1, 2027. |
From Jefferson County's published schedule, checked September 23, 2026. The county had not posted a calendar labeled for this cycle when we checked, so these dates come from state law and the county's standing schedule; the date on your bill is the one that binds you.
Estimate the property tax on a home in Jefferson County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Jefferson County's average effective rate of 0.55% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $2,458 / year
Property tax in Jefferson County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $2,446 |
| Median home value | $446,900 |
| Effective tax rate | 0.55% |
| 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 Jefferson County compare in Montana?
Among Montana's 56 counties, Jefferson County has the 44th highest effective property-tax rate: 43 rank higher and 12 rank lower. That is on the lower side for Montana. Nationally, it ranks 2457th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Montana county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Jefferson County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Jefferson County's 4,206 owner-occupied homes, 36.1% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 58.5% pay at least $2,000, and 8.9% pay under $800. Another 3% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 375 | 8.9% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 548 | 13% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 697 | 16.6% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 941 | 22.4% |
| $3,000 or more | 1,518 | 36.1% |
| No property tax paid | 127 | 3% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $2,577 and owners without one pay $2,308. 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 Jefferson County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $2,446 is about 2.3% of the median income of Jefferson County homeowner households, $105,400 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 84.2% of Jefferson 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 Jefferson County?
Yes. The median bill went from $1,839 in 2015-2019 to $2,446 in 2020-2024, a 33% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 58.1%, from $282,700 to $446,900. 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 Jefferson County
Jefferson County borders 7 counties.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silver Bow County, MT | 0.98% | $2,500 | $255,200 |
| Lewis and Clark County, MT | 0.79% | $3,113 | $393,500 |
| Deer Lodge County, MT | 0.78% | $1,803 | $231,700 |
| Powell County, MT | 0.69% | $2,104 | $306,500 |
| Gallatin County, MT | 0.59% | $3,933 | $667,600 |
| Broadwater County, MT | 0.56% | $2,384 | $426,600 |
| Jefferson County, MT (this county) | 0.55% | $2,446 | $446,900 |
| Madison County, MT | 0.41% | $1,937 | $470,100 |
How is a home assessed in Jefferson County?
Montana sets the assessment rules and Jefferson County applies them. How Montana assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County. Montana's exemptions and relief programs in full.
Jefferson County does not add relief programs of its own beyond the Montana ones (checked September 23, 2026).
How to appeal your Jefferson County property assessment
In Jefferson County you appeal to the Jefferson County Tax Appeal Board, or first an informal review by the Montana Department of Revenue (Form AB-26). The deadline: Within 30 days of the date on your classification and appraisal notice from the Department of Revenue, either ask the department for an informal review on Form AB-26 or appeal straight to the county tax appeal board by filing with the county Clerk and Recorder. The current notices were mailed in 2025 and cover tax years 2025 and 2026; the late window to ask for a review that applies to tax year 2026 only closed June 1, 2026. If you take the informal review first, you have 30 days from the date on the department's decision notice to appeal to the county board. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against the official appeal rules.
How Montana's appeal process works, including the next level if the first one turns you down.
Montana rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the Montana page.
Work out your own numbers
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How much house can I afford?
Your income, debts and down payment against the 28/36 rule lenders actually use, with Jefferson County's tax rate to hand.
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Mortgage calculator
Monthly payment with principal, interest, tax and insurance, plus what an extra payment saves you.
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Montana income tax
Brackets, standard deduction and what Montana actually taxes.
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Sales tax in Jefferson County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Jefferson 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.