Transfer tax
Montana has no statewide real estate transfer tax on deeds. Recording fees are set locally by the county clerk and recorder.
Donate a house, ranch parcel or mountain lot in Montana, in any of the 56 counties
Montana property specialists: (888) 228-7320
Donate Real Estate in Montana
Montana charges no real estate transfer tax and no sales tax, and a realty transfer certificate accompanies every deed. The property here splits between a fast western half where out-of-state buyers changed the market, and an eastern half of range and dryland farm ground with very thin markets and severed minerals beneath a great deal of it.
Fully IRS Compliant
We Handle the Paperwork
Form 8283 Done Right
501(c)(3) Recognized Charity
Montana rules for a property donation
Federal tax rules are the same in every state. These three are set by Montana and by the county where the property sits.
The realty transfer certificate
Every Montana conveyance is filed with a realty transfer certificate for the department of revenue, and the clerk will not record without it. There is no transfer tax to pay, but the certificate is not optional. We complete it with the deed.
Recording
Deeds are recorded with the county clerk and recorder for the county where the property sits. You sign before a notary wherever you live, and we handle the filing.
What Montana owners call us about
Four situations that recur across the state.
A water right filed decades ago
Montana water rights are adjudicated and administered by the state, appurtenant to specific land, and they are real property in their own right.
Severed minerals under the plains
Coal, oil and gas interests separated from the surface generations ago and inherited by people who have never seen the ground.
A recreational parcel with seasonal access
Twenty-acre tracts sold across the western counties, some reachable only part of the year and some only across a neighbor’s land.
A house in the wildfire interface
Rebuild cost and insurance availability after recent fire seasons. The lot generally keeps its value.
Montana property we accept
Each links to the full guide for that type, including how a donation compares with selling.
Houses in MontanaBungalows, ranch houses, farmhouses and mountain cabins.
Montana landRecreational tracts, timber, river frontage and town lots.
Farm and ranch groundDryland wheat, irrigated hay and large blocks of cattle range.
Commercial propertyMain street buildings, storefronts and small offices.
Industrial buildingsWarehouse, rail-served and processing space.
Contracts for deedCommon in Montana. We take over the payments and deliver the deed at payoff.
What a donation looks like by region
Six Montanas, and the divide splits them in two.
The Flathead and northwest
Lake property, timbered acreage and a market reshaped by out-of-state buyers.
The Bitterroot and Missoula
Valley ground with irrigation rights, hillside lots and wildfire exposure.
The Gallatin valley
High values, former ranch ground inside the growth path and inherited property with large gains.
Central Montana
Dryland wheat, cattle range and county seat towns with thin housing markets.
The Hi-Line
Grain ground along the rail corridor and towns that have lost most of their population.
Eastern Montana
Very large range blocks, severed coal and oil interests, and markets where the neighbor is the only buyer.
Montana real estate donation questions, answered
Is a donated deed subject to Montana transfer tax?+
Montana has no statewide real estate transfer tax on deeds. Recording fees are set locally by the county clerk and recorder.
I live outside Montana. Do I have to travel there to sign?+
No. We prepare the deed in the form Montana requires for the county where the property sits, you sign before a notary where you live, and we record it with the county clerk and recorder.
Does my water right go with the ranch?+
Usually it is appurtenant, but that is exactly the thing to confirm rather than assume. Montana rights are adjudicated and administered by the state, and ownership updates are filed. Send the right numbers if you have them.
Does Montana give a state tax deduction for a property donation?+
Montana has a state income tax, and how it treats a charitable contribution is set by Montana law rather than by us. Your federal deduction follows the usual IRS rules. Take the state question to your own advisor.
My twenty acres can only be reached across a neighbor’s land. Does that stop a donation?+
No. Title transfers regardless, and access is a separate question that a title examination often answers better than the owner expects. It affects value rather than acceptance.
We do not provide tax or legal advice. State and local transfer tax rules change; we confirm current requirements when we prepare each deed. Consult your own advisor.
Tell us about your Montana property and we will review it
The county and a parcel number are enough to start.