At a glance
| State estate tax | No |
|---|---|
| Estate top rate | — |
| Inheritance tax | No |
| Small-estate ceiling | $100,000Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-1101 · current |
| TOD deed for real estate | AvailableMont. Code Ann. § 72-6-401 et seq. (Uniform Real Property TOD Act) · 2019 |
| Community-property state | No |
Estate tax
Montana does not levy its own estate tax. An estate here is subject only to the federal estate tax, which most estates never owe — the federal exclusion is measured in the millions. See the federal lifetime exemption for how that works.
Inheritance tax
Montana has no inheritance tax — beneficiaries are not taxed on what they receive by the state. Montana imposes no inheritance tax; the inheritance tax was repealed for deaths on or after January 1, 2001 (Initiative I-105).
Probate basics
A successor may collect personal property by affidavit 30 days after death when the probate estate, less liens, does not exceed $100,000 (Mont. Code § 72-3-1101). Montana otherwise follows the Uniform Probate Code, including informal probate and summary administration.
Montana is a common-law (separate-property) state for ownership between spouses. A transfer-on-death deed for real estate is Available Mont. Code Ann. § 72-6-401 et seq. (Uniform Real Property TOD Act) · 2019. The probate deadlines for this state — filing the will, the creditor-claim window, the inventory — are cited in the Executor & Heir’s Guide.
State-specific quirks
Two real-property death-transfer statutes coexist
Montana enacted the Uniform Real Property TOD Act (§ 72-6-401 et seq.) in 2019, and it coexists with an older beneficiary-deed provision at § 72-6-121. Confirm which instrument a client actually recorded, since form and revocation rules differ.
The affidavit is measured against the probate estate only
The $100,000 ceiling counts only the probate estate less liens — non-probate assets such as TOD/POD accounts do not count — and the affidavit is available 30 days after death.
Separate-property state
Because Montana is not a community-property state, only the deceased spouse's half of jointly held assets receives a basis step-up at the first death.
Where to read next
- the federal lifetime exemption — how the far larger federal exclusion works — and why a state tax can still apply below it
- funding a revocable trust — the most common way to keep property out of probate entirely
- the ILIT cluster — keeping a life-insurance death benefit out of a taxable estate
- the Executor & Heir's Guide — the probate deadlines for this state, cited to the statute
- ← Back to the 51-jurisdiction comparison
Sources & methodology
Methodology & sources
Every tax figure on this page links to the primary source it was verified against — a Montana statute or department-of-revenue page — with that source’s own effective date. Aggregator round-ups are never used as a source. State death and probate law changes every legislative session; this page carries the date it was last re-verified, and any figure that could not be confirmed from a primary source is flagged for you to check with the state rather than guessed. See our editorial standards.
This page is educational and is not legal or tax advice. Whether a death tax applies turns on residency, where property sits, and how title is held — details a general page cannot resolve. Confirm your own situation with a professional licensed in Montana.
Last verified July 20, 2026.