Property tax assistance forms mailed to Lake County

Taxes have been in the headlines a lot this year. For Polson, we had the resort tax and now landowners across the state are dealing with a property tax resdistribution that could cause some skyrocketing payments.
The lakeshore, or "recreational property" has retained and in some cases gained its value. That has alarmed some property owners because of the reformatted system.
The state Department of Revenue received 2,350 informal requests for review of property taxes. This is a jump from previous years, Scott Williams, regional manager for the Department of Revenue, said.
While some people on the lake will see jumps, it's not likely homes within the median range will see much increase, in most cases, Williams said, they could see a lower tax.
And last week, the state mailed out extended property tax assistance forms to help those that make less than $75,000 a years, but have seen their property value increase.
The most staggering stat is that of the 37,000 forms mailed statewide, Williams estimated 50 percent in Flathead/Lake County.
This form could help qualifying tax payers significantly.
But, Williams stressed, there is no concrete answers yet on exact numbers for most tax payments, what relief assistance can bring, and how much an informal review could bring those numbers down.
You can play with the DR tax calculator at: http://mt.gov/revenue/
There is more information on other tax relief programs there as well.