Property tax in Lewis and Clark County, Montana
In Lewis and Clark County, the property tax bill comes from the Lewis and Clark County Clerk and Recorder/Treasurer, Property Tax Department. 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 Lewis and Clark County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Lewis and Clark County, Montana is $3,113 a year, which is about 0.79% of the county's median home value of $393,500. 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.
Who sends the property tax bill in Lewis and Clark County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the Lewis and Clark County Clerk and Recorder/Treasurer, Property Tax Department. 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. Current values rest on a January 1, 2024 valuation date and carry through tax years 2025 and 2026. Online payments go through the county's third-party tax portal and phone payments through 888-272-9829 (jurisdiction number 3602); both add a fee. Mailed payments go to the Lewis and Clark County Treasurer's Office, Room 113, 316 N. Park Avenue, Helena, MT 59623.
When are property taxes due in Lewis and Clark County?
For the 2026 bill, Lewis and Clark 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. State law makes the first half due November 30 or 30 days after the tax notice is postmarked, whichever is later. If a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, state law lets you pay by 5 p.m. the next business day without penalty or interest; November 30, 2026 is a Monday. The county accepts only a full or a half payment, not partial payments. |
| Second half | May 31, 2027 | Due by 5 p.m. May 31, 2027 is Memorial Day, a legal holiday in Montana, so state law lets you pay without penalty or interest by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 1, 2027. Instead of two halves, owners of a class four residential home they live in at least 7 months a year may apply to the county 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. Those payments must be made online and carry a service fee, and enrollment continues each year. |
From Lewis and Clark 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 Lewis and Clark County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Lewis and Clark County's average effective rate of 0.79% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $3,109 / year
Property tax in Lewis and Clark County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $3,113 |
| Median home value | $393,500 |
| Effective tax rate | 0.79% |
| 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 Lewis and Clark County compare in Montana?
Among Montana's 56 counties, Lewis and Clark County has the 19th highest effective property-tax rate: 18 rank higher and 37 rank lower. That is on the higher side for Montana. Nationally, it ranks 1612th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Montana county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Lewis and Clark County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Lewis and Clark County's 21,877 owner-occupied homes, 50.4% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 74.9% pay at least $2,000, and 6.2% pay under $800. Another 4.1% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 1,364 | 6.2% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 1,748 | 8% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 1,465 | 6.7% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 5,370 | 24.5% |
| $3,000 or more | 11,027 | 50.4% |
| No property tax paid | 903 | 4.1% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $3,202 and owners without one pay $2,967. That is within 10% either way, so in Lewis and Clark County paying off the house does not go with a noticeably different bill. Census table B25103.
How does the Lewis and Clark County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $3,113 is about 3.3% of the median income of Lewis and Clark County homeowner households, $94,591 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 70.1% of Lewis and Clark 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 Lewis and Clark County?
Yes. The median bill went from $2,335 in 2015-2019 to $3,113 in 2020-2024, a 33.3% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 61.9%, from $243,000 to $393,500. 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 Lewis and Clark County
Lewis and Clark County borders 7 counties.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cascade County, MT | 0.87% | $2,320 | $265,300 |
| Lewis and Clark County, MT (this county) | 0.79% | $3,113 | $393,500 |
| Teton County, MT | 0.75% | $1,987 | $264,000 |
| Powell County, MT | 0.69% | $2,104 | $306,500 |
| Meagher County, MT | 0.66% | $1,725 | $259,800 |
| Flathead County, MT | 0.58% | $3,120 | $535,500 |
| Broadwater County, MT | 0.56% | $2,384 | $426,600 |
| Jefferson County, MT | 0.55% | $2,446 | $446,900 |
How is a home assessed in Lewis and Clark County?
Montana sets the assessment rules and Lewis and Clark County applies them. How Montana assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Lewis and Clark 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 Lewis and Clark County. Montana's exemptions and relief programs in full.
Lewis and Clark County does not add relief programs of its own beyond the Montana ones (checked September 23, 2026).
How to appeal your Lewis and Clark County property assessment
In Lewis and Clark County you appeal to the Lewis and Clark 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. A county board decision can be appealed to the Montana Tax Appeal Board within 45 days of the county board hearing or 30 days after the board mails its decision, whichever is later. 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 Lewis and Clark 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 Lewis and Clark County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Lewis and Clark 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.