Missoula County Fiscal Year 2027 Budget

Proposed FY27 budget – impact on residential taxes

Due to changes made during the 2025 state Legislature, the tax impacts of the proposed FY 27 budget will be different for individual residential properties. The implementation of graduated tax rates changed the taxable value for most properties, so some property owners will pay less in County taxes, while others could pay more.

Calculate your Estimated County Taxes 

Residents whose homes qualify as their primary residence can use the following equations to calculate the estimated taxes they will owe to Missoula County. Residents can find the taxable value for their property by searching for it online. 

• Residents who live outside City of Missoula limits:

Taxable value x 0.26055 = estimated County taxes

Example: $6,000 x 0.26055 = $1,563.30 in total County taxes

• Residents who live within the City of Missoula limits: 

Taxable value x 0.21282 = estimated County taxes

Example: $6,000 x 0.21282 = $1,276.92 in total County taxes 

This is the estimated total in taxes paid only to Missoula County; residents’ tax bills will also include taxes owed to other jurisdictions, such as the City of Missoula and school districts. City and county residents will pay different amounts because property owners are taxed differently depending on where their property is located. All Missoula County property owners, including those who live within the limits of the City of Missoula, pay countywide taxes. In addition to the countywide taxes, property owners outside Missoula city limits pay county-only taxes (rather than city taxes).

Click here to view how your taxes are used by Missoula County.

Budget Overview 

Expected revenue from property taxes to fund the proposed 2027 budget is $86.6 million. (Total revenue, which includes funding from non-property tax sources, is $228.5 million). This is a $6.2 million increase in total county tax revenue over last year and mainly covers the increase to the County’s base budget needed to cover cost-of-living increases to wages and employee healthcare costs. 

Budget Requests 

In addition to the base budget, the commissioners approved new requests to improve services and operations. The bulk of these are one-time requests that will be paid for with a projected $1.97 million the County will receive from the City of Missoula’s Tax Increment Finance remittance. Funding these one-time requests will not impact future property tax bills. 

The commissioners also approved several new requests to fund ongoing improvements. Ongoing requests require an ongoing source of funding, which can include fees, new property tax revenue, grant revenue or other sources. The total in new ongoing requests funded by property taxes is $801,696 – $408,000 of which will go to the Public Works Department for road and bridge projects outside Missoula city limits. 

The full list of budget requests is under the News Items section below.

Under state law, the commissioners could have levied $1.8 million more in property taxes but declined to. 

Public engagement

Residents are invited to engage with budget decisions by submitting public comment or attending one of the public meetings and hearings in June, July and August where residents can voice opinions, concerns, and priorities regarding the budget. These forums provide an opportunity to directly engage with county officials and decision-makers on decisions that will directly impact the property taxes they pay to help fund the County.

Follow this page on the right-hand side so you can be notified when there are updates on the FY 2027 Missoula County Budget.