Montana’s Second-Home Tax Rate Is 1.90%. A Retiree Facing Nursing-Home Care May Have a Bigger Problem With the Property Itself
Montana cabin owners fixated on the higher second-home tax rate often miss a far costlier threat hiding in the fine print of nursing-home Medicaid, where a beloved family retreat can become the one asset that blocks benefits entirely. Montana’s Department of Revenue taxes second homes and short-term rentals at a flat 1.90% in 2026. A primary residence gets tiered rates that start at 0.76% on the first $378,000 of market value. Cabin owners noticed the gap right away. For an owner who later needs institutional care, the bigger risk is Medicaid’s home exclusion. That rule shields the house you live in, and a cabin you only visit usually falls outside it. When the owner applies for nursing-home Medicaid, the cabin can count as a resource, and the resource limits are small enough to fit in a checking account. Picture a widow who lives in her paid-off house and keeps a family cabin in the…