Citizen Knowledge Article View

Livestock owned in Montana must be reported to the Department of Revenue on the Livestock Reporting form (15-24-9, MCA).

New for 2024

Fee amounts have been changed by the Board of Livestock.
Payment due date has changed to March 1.

Livestock Per Capita Fees are set annually by the Board of Livestock; the funds are used by the livestock programs to enforce livestock laws. The type of livestock included in this program are:

Livestock Type

Livestock Type	Fee Per Head
Horses, mules, asses, ponies, donkeys, and burros	$5.97
Cattle, including cows, bulls, yearlings, and heifer and steer calves nine months of age and older	$2.34
Domestic Bison	$4.43
Sheep	$0.55
Swine, three months of age and older	$0.80
Goats	$0.55
Poultry, including chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks and other domestic birds raised for food or feathers	$0.06
Honeybees	$0.42 per hive
Alternative livestock, including privately owned caribou, mule deer, whitetail deer, elk, moose, antelope, mountain sheep, and mountain goats indigenous to Montana	$26.86
Ostriches, rheas, and emus	$9.92
Llamas and Alpacas	$9.92

Reporting and Payment Options

File Online
- Quick file without logging in at https://MTRevenue.gov/livestock
- Login and file at https://tap.dor.mt.gov. To create an account, you will need your account ID and zip code.

File by paper
- Print the Livestock Reporting Form or contact us and we will send you a copy.
- Send it by mail to:
  Montana Department of Revenue
  PO Box 6169
  Helena, MT 59604-6169

Important notice:

We will not accept headcounts over the phone or by an informal method such as notes on a check, sticky notes, comments on a postcard, etc.
Incomplete reporting forms cannot be processed. Your name, address, tax id number, county, and head counts are required.

Due Dates

Livestock reports are due March 1. (15-24-903, MCA)
Per capita fees are due on March 1. (15-24-921, MCA)

Livestock Owners Responsibilities

Livestock owners or the owner’s agent shall report to the department by March 1 of each year an electronic or written statement, under oath, listing the number of the owner's livestock and the county or counties where the livestock was located on February 1 of the same year. Livestock owners include the owner or the owner’s agent (any person, persons, company, corporation, feedlot operator, or owner of grazing land) who has charge of livestock on the assessment date (February 1) or brings livestock into the state after this date during the reporting year (February 1 to January 31).

Below are some important situations to be aware of which clarify when an owner must report livestock owned:

Owners that bring livestock into Montana whose livestock remain in Montana as of the subsequent February 1 must report and pay per capita fees by March 1. (15-24-906, MCA)
Owners that move their livestock into Montana for a portion of a year and move their livestock out of the state must report and pay per capita fees for those livestock as though those livestock were in the state on February 1, regardless of whether the livestock are in Montana on February 1.
- This includes owners whose livestock graze in Montana during the summer and are moved out of state in the winter, or any other livestock owners whose livestock spent part of the year in Montana.
- See the Refunds section on this page for information about receiving a pro-rated refund from the Department of Livestock for livestock residing in Montana for only a portion of a year.
Owners purchasing or acquiring livestock throughout the year within Montana will report livestock owned as of February 1st. Livestock bought after February 1 will be reported on next year’s report.
Owners that have not reported Livestock in the past must do so in the next filing season.
If you no longer own livestock as of February 1, you will need to notify us by one of the following methods, so we do not estimate your livestock owned and bill you.
- Submit reporting form with zero headcount
- Email us at DORLivestock@mt.gov
- Contact us at (406) 444-6900

Deceased Livestock Owners – When a livestock owner passes away, the rules to report the livestock vary by situation. It is important to notify us of the deceased person. This will prevent us from estimating and billing livestock later.
- If the owner passed away prior to February 1, send a Livestock Reporting Form with a zero headcount, and indicate the owner is deceased by including the Date of Death. The new owner must claim the livestock on their Livestock Reporting form. 
- If the owner passed away after February 1, send a Livestock Reporting Form with a headcount the person owned as of February 1 and remit fees by the payment due date. Indicate the livestock owner is deceased by including the Date of Death so the account will be ceased for the following year. The new owner will claim the livestock on their reporting form in the following year.

Maintaining Your Records

You must keep a copy of your records in the event you need them for personal or business needs. Such as proof of reporting and paying your livestock per capita fees for other related federal or state programs (i.e., taxes, draught assistance, predator animal control assistance, etc.).

To access a copy of your report, log in into TransAction Portal at https://tap.dor.mt.gov.

Penalties

Penalties and Interest are assessed if you do not pay on time. (15-24-921, MCA and 15-1-216, MCA)

Late Payment Penalty – If you do not pay your fees when due, the late payment penalty is assessed at 1.5% per month on the unpaid fees, not to exceed 15% of the total Per Capita Fees.
Interest is assessed at the rate of 6.25% per year. It accrues daily at 0.01712% on the unpaid per capita fees.

Refunds

To request a per capita fee refund for an overpayment, contact us at (406) 444-6900, or Montana Relay at 711 for the hearing impaired.

To request a per capita fee refund for livestock located out of state during a portion of the reported tax year, complete the Per Capita Fee Refund Form and send it to the Department of Livestock. The form must be received by the Department of Livestock before March 31st and must be accompanied by proof of transfers such as inspection forms. 

Livestock Per Capita Fee Distribution

The fee is in addition to appropriations and is to help pay the salaries and all expenses connected with the enforcement of the livestock laws of the state and bounties on wild animals as provided in (81-7-104, MCA). Livestock per capita fees help fund Department of Livestock programs used for:

Monitoring animal health
Monitoring and restricting livestock imports
Tracking animal movements
Preventing and investigating livestock theft
Managing predators

Predator Animal Control Tax

Some counties have an additional livestock tax to fund a predatory animal control (PAC) program for cattle and sheep at the local government level. The cattle and sheep head counts reported to the Department of Revenue for per capita fees are also used by the local county treasurer's office for PAC tax collection on personal property or real property tax bills.

Livestock Reporting and Per Capita Fee Payment