(1) Property owners who meet the requirements of the intangible land value property tax assistance program, provided in 15-6-240, MCA, may apply for assistance on the department's form at http://www.mtrevenue.gov.

(2) Applications must be submitted within 30 days from the date on the classification and appraisal notice for the exemption to be considered for both years of the two-year valuation cycle.

(a)  Applications submitted more than 30 days from the date on the classification and appraisal notice will apply to the second year of the two-year valuation cycle only.

(b)  An applicant who does not apply during the first year of the valuation cycle must apply by March 1 of the second year of the valuation cycle.

(3) A qualifying applicant shall affirm that the property owned is the applicant's primary residence. The department may require the applicant document that the property applied for under the program qualifies as a primary residence. Examples of acceptable proof of residency include:

(a) federal or state tax returns, a driver's license, car registrations, hunting or fishing licenses, or a voter registration that lists the address of the primary residence; 

(b) employment records listing the primary residence as the place of residence; or

(c) copies of bills and correspondence sent to the primary residence address.

(4) A qualifying applicant must provide documentation that their land has been owned by the applicant or a family member of the applicant within three degrees of consanguinity (ancestral line of descent) for at least 30 consecutive years. Examples of acceptable documentation include:

(a) deeds showing ownership of the land;

(b) property tax records indicating ownership by the applicant;

(c) bills of sale indicating ownership by the applicant; or

(d) documents showing transfer of the land from one degree of consanguinity to the next.

(5) Computation of consanguinity is calculated as follows:

(a) The degree of relationship by consanguinity between an individual and the individual's descendant is determined by the number of generations that separate them.

(b) If an individual and the individual's relative are related by consanguinity, but neither is descended from the other, the degree of relationship is determined by adding:

(i) the number of generations between the individual and the nearest common ancestor of the individual and the individual's relative; and

(ii) the number of generations between the relative and the nearest common ancestor.

(c) An individual's relatives within the third degree of consanguinity are the individual's:

(i) parent or child (relatives in the first degree);

(ii) brother, sister, grandparent, or grandchild (relatives in the second degree); and

(iii) great-grandparent, great-grandchild, aunt who is a sister of a parent of the individual, uncle who is a brother of a parent of the individual, nephew who is a child of a brother or sister of the individual, or niece who is a child of a brother or sister of the individual (relatives in the third degree).

(6) As described in 15-6-240, MCA, if the department's appraised value of the land is greater than 150 percent of the appraised value of the primary residence and improvements situated on the land, then the land is valued at 150 percent of the appraised value of the primary residence and improvements, subject to the following:

(a) The subject property will not qualify if the land value is less than the statewide average of the land multiplied by the acreage of land of the subject property; and

(b) Parcels of land exceeding five acres in size do not qualify unless the department's appraised value of the first five acres which support the primary residential improvements is greater than 150 percent of the appraised value of the primary residence and improvements situated on the land. In such cases, any land in excess of five acres remains valued at its market value.

(7) For the purpose of administering (6), the department determines the statewide average value of land to be the average market value per acre of all taxable class four residential land that is valued using the acre market land valuation models. The average market value per acre is calculated by taking the total appraised value of all taxable class four residential land valued using the acre land valuation models divided by the total acreage of all taxable class four residential land valued using the acre land valuation models.

(8) In order to meet the requirements of (6), a qualifying applicant is required to reapply for the intangible land value property tax assistance program each property valuation cycle. The supporting documentation outlined in (4) may be required with any reapplication.