(1) A taxpayer having property in the state of Montana on January 1 of each tax year, must complete the statement as provided in 15-8-301, MCA by submitting a completed personal property reporting form.

(2) For the purposes of this rule, the statewide aggregate market value of a taxpayer's personal property includes all property owned, claimed, possessed, controlled, or managed by an individual or business entity, either directly or indirectly through an affiliated entity or family member, unless that property is specifically exempted by law.

(3) As used in this rule, "affiliated entity" means:

(a) a member of a combined group of unitary corporations filing a Montana corporation license tax return;

(b) a member of an affiliated group of corporations filing a U.S. Consolidated Income Tax Return;

(c) any corporation if the individual or business entity directly or indirectly owns more than 50 percent of the stock value or voting power;

(d) any partnership if the individual or business entity directly or indirectly owns more than 50 percent of the capital interest in, or the profits of, the partnership;

(e) a corporation and a partnership if the same persons own:

(i) more than 50 percent in value of the corporation's stock; and

(ii) more than 50 percent of the capital interest in, or the profits of, the partnership;

(f) an S corporation and another S corporation, if the same individuals own more than 50 percent in value of the outstanding stock of each corporation;

(g) an S corporation and a C corporation, if:

(i) the same individuals own more than 50 percent in value of the outstanding stock of each corporation; and

(ii) any trust, if the individual or business entity is the grantor or a beneficiary.

(4) For purposes of applying (2) and (3):

(a) stock owned, directly or indirectly, by or for a corporation, partnership, estate, or trust is considered as being owned proportionately by or for its shareholders, partners, or beneficiaries; and

(b) an individual is considered as owning the stock, directly or indirectly, by the individual's spouse or minor child.

(5) As determined by the department, if the statewide aggregate market value of an individual's or business entity's class eight property is $100,000 or less, the individual's or business entity's class eight property is exempt from taxation. If the aggregate market value of an individual's or business entity's class eight property is greater than $100,000 the market value of an individual's or business entity's class eight property that is greater than $100,000 is subject to taxation.

(6) The department will apply the exemption and the applicable tax rates identified in (a) through (d) to an individual's or business entity's class eight property by adding together the statewide market value of class eight property owned by the individual or business entity to determine the aggregate market value. If the aggregate market value of class eight property is:

(a) $100,000 or less, the taxable market value of the property is zero;

(b) greater than $100,000 the department will apply the $100,000 exemption proportionally between each property owned;

(c) $6,100,000 or less, the department will apply the $100,000 exemption proportionally between each property owned and apply the 1.5 percent taxable rate to the remaining taxable market value; or

(d) greater than $6,100,000 the department will apply the $100,000 exemption proportionally between each property owned, apply the 1.5 percent taxable rate proportionally to the next $6,000,000 of taxable market value, and apply the 3 percent taxable rate to the remaining taxable market value.

(7) When the department requires a personal property statement/reporting form as provided in 15-8-301, MCA, the statement/reporting form shall advise the taxpayer that they are subject to penalty under the provisions of 15-1-303 and 15-8-309, MCA, or any other applicable statute, for refusing or neglecting to respond to the department's request for information. The taxpayer's completed personal property statement/reporting form must be returned to the department postmarked no later than March 1.

(8) A taxpayer's completed statement/reporting form postmarked after March 1 will be subject to the penalties referenced in (7) unless the taxpayer provides:

(a) evidence of their inability to comply with the timeframes due to hospitalization, physical illness, infirmity, or mental illness; and

(b) evidence that this/these condition(s), while not necessarily continuous, existed at sufficient levels in the period of January 1 to March 1 to prevent timely filing of the reporting form.

(9) Personal property owners whose aggregate class eight market value is $100,000 or less, as defined in (2), will have no further reporting obligation, except:

(a) if the property owner acquires new personal property, the value of which brings the aggregate market value of the personal property above the $100,000 exemption, the taxpayer must notify the department and complete a personal property statement/reporting form for the applicable tax year; or

(b) if the department requests the property owner to complete a personal property statement/reporting form as required by 15-8-301, MCA, or as a result of an audit and review of taxable value authorized by 15-8-104, MCA, and ARM 42.21.159.

(10) New businesses are not required to submit a personal property statement/reporting form if the entity's business equipment is valued at $100,000 or less, unless requested by the department in accordance with (9).

(11) Industrial and commercial property taxpayers shall provide documentation of the installed costs of intangible personal property included on the taxpayer's accounting records, or provide other alternative methodologies or information regarding market value for consideration by the department.

(12) The department will provide educational information on the class eight personal property exemption to all individual taxpayers or business entities the department is aware of that currently have class eight business personal property.