Montana Code Annotated
Part 1. Attachment of Tax Lien
15-17-131. Common undivided ownership interest -- separate assessment -- property tax payments

15-17-131. Common undivided ownership interest -- separate assessment -- property tax payments. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), payment of all property taxes on a parcel by any co-owner is considered payment by all owners, whether or not the property is assessed and taxed separately to co-owners or to a single owner. Any payment by a co-owner in excess of the amount assessed to the co-owner must be the total amount due on the parcel or a partial payment amounting to a year of deficiency, as provided in 15-16-102(5)(a). The nonpayment of taxes by a co-owner who is separately assessed and taxed subjects only the interest of the nonpaying co-owner to attachment of a tax lien.
(2) (a) A co-owner may receive a tax lien on property in which the co-owner has an undivided interest if:
(i) the co-owner pays the proportional amount of taxes on that co-owner's interest and on another co-owner's interest;
(ii) the paying co-owner has notified the nonpaying co-owner of the property tax payments and annually demands reimbursement in writing by certified mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the nonpaying co-owner's last-known mailing address; and
(iii) the paying co-owner has paid the property taxes for 3 consecutive years without reimbursement.
(b) Upon proof that a co-owner has complied with the provisions of this subsection (2), the paying co-owner is considered the assignee of a tax lien on the ownership interest of the nonpaying co-owner and the county treasurer shall prepare a tax lien certificate with the paying co-owner as the assignee. The tax lien certificate must conform to the provisions of 15-17-125, except the certificate need not contain the information required in 15-17-125(2)(a) and (2)(b). The treasurer shall comply with the provisions of 15-17-125(3) regarding the tax lien certificate.
(c) For the purposes of this subsection (2), if there are more than two co-owners, single and multiple paying co-owners can receive a tax lien on the undivided interests of single and multiple nonpaying co-owners.
History: En. Sec. 1, Ch. 315, L. 2003; amd. Sec. 7, Ch. 110, L. 2007; amd. Sec. 8, Ch. 67, L. 2017.

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