(1) Sections 15-6-301, 15-6-305, and 15-6-311, MCA, provide property tax relief to low income homeowners, qualified disabled veterans, and qualified veterans' spouses. Sections 15-6-301, 15-6-305, and 15-6-311, MCA, also require the department to annually adjust the income schedules used to determine the eligibility and the amount of relief to account for the effects of inflation.

(2) The calculation of the inflation adjustment shall be made on a yearly basis as follows:

(a) Sections 15-6-301, 15-6-305, and 15-6-311, MCA, specify that the implicit price deflator for personal consumption expenditures (PCE), published quarterly in the Survey of Current Business by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is to be used in the calculation of the inflation factor.

(b) The formula for the calculation of the inflation factor is as follows:

 

PCE (t-1)

IFt = ---------

PCE t o

where:

IFt equals the inflation factor for property tax year t,

 

PCE (t-1) is the implicit price deflator for personal consumption expenditures for April of the year prior to the tax year in question,

 

PCE t o is the implicit price deflator for personal consumption expenditures for April 2015.

 

(c) The inflation factor, calculated per the previous section, is used to annually adjust the base year income schedules for the effects of inflation.

 

Each income figure in the base year income schedule is multiplied by the inflation factor calculated for the tax year in question in order to update the schedule. The product is then rounded to the nearest whole dollar amount.

 

(3) The base year income schedule for PTAP as provided in 15-6-305, MCA, is as follows:

 

----------- PTAP Base Year Income Schedule -------------

 

Single Person		Head of Household or Married Couple		Percentage Multiplier
$0 - $8,413		$0 - $11,217		20%
$8,414 - $12,900		$11,218 - $19,630		50%
$12,901 - $21,032		$19,631 - $28,043		70%

 

(4) The base year income schedule for MDV as provided in 15-6-311, MCA, is as follows:

 

----------- MDV Base Year Income Schedule -------------

 

Single Person		Head of Household or Married Couple		Surviving Spouse	Percentage Multiplier
$0 - $37,404		$0 - $44,885		$0 - $31,170	0%
$37,405 - $41,145		$44,886 - $48,626		$31,171 - $34,911	20%
$41,146 - $44,885		$48,627 - $52,366		$34,912 - $38,651	30%
$44,886 - $48,626		$52,367 - $56,107		$38,652 - $42,392	50%