42.20.745 FOREST LAND

(1) Forest land productivity values are calculated by using the formula defined in 15-44-103, MCA.

(a) For forest land with an increase in value as a result of the 2015 reappraisal, the department will apply the phase-in percentage as defined in 15-7-111, MCA, to the full reappraisal productivity values for forest land for the reappraisal cycle beginning January 1, 2015.

(b) For forest lands with a decrease in value as a result of the 2015 reappraisal, the lower value will be fully implemented immediately and will not be phased in.

(2) The phase-in formula for each year of the reappraisal cycle is as follows:

(a) Change in value = full reappraisal value - value before reappraisal (VBR);

(b) Phase-in value (year 1) = value before reappraisal + (change in value x .1666);

(d) Phase-in value (year 3) = value before reappraisal + (change in value x .4998);

(e) Phase-in value (year 4) = value before reappraisal + (change in value x .6664);

(f) Phase-in value (year 5) = value before reappraisal + (change in value x .8330); and

(g) Phase-in value (year 6) = value before reappraisal + (change in value x 1.000).

(3) The following examples demonstrate how the phase-in formula calculates the per-acre assessed value for forest land:

(a) For tax year 2015:

(i) the 2014 full reappraisal value for forest land is $518.63 per-acre;

(ii) the full reappraisal value for the same forest land in 2020 is $553.51 per-acre; and

(iii) the change in value is $34.88 ($553.51 - $518.63).

(b) The 2015 phase-in value per-acre = $518.63 plus (34.88 x .1666) = $518.63 plus $5.81 or $524.44 per-acre.

(4) For value changes that are a result of newly classified forest lands or forest lands that have a decrease in acres due to a land use change, the VBR is calculated. A calculated VBR is the value of the new forest land acres as if the forest land acres had existed before reappraisal. The department phases in the difference between the calculated VBR and the value of the new forest land acres in the current cycle, at the rate of 16.66 percent for each year of the revaluation cycle.

(5) For forest lands that have a decrease or increase in acres due to land use changes that are the result of department updates from the Geographic Information System, or due to incidental fluctuations in agricultural land use due to typical farming practices, the department will use the 2014 value of the current land use as the VBR.

History: 15-1-201, 15-44-105, MCA; IMP, 15-44-103, MCA; NEW, 1997 MAR p. 507, Eff. 3/11/97; TRANS from ARM 42.20.170 and AMD, 2003 MAR p. 1888, Eff. 8/29/03; AMD, 2010 MAR p. 540, Eff. 2/26/10; AMD, 2014 MAR p. 2994, Eff. 12/12/14; AMD, 2016 MAR p. 2065, Eff. 1/1/17.