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Hotel And Lodging Tax In Montana 2026: TOT Rates By City
Montana has no general sales tax, yet it stacks two separate 4% lodging-only taxes into a flat 8% statewide rate, then lets a handful of small tourist towns add up to 4% more if voters approve.
August 28, 2026
7
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TL;DR
- Montana charges a combined 8% statewide lodging tax, made up of a 4% Lodging Facility Use Tax and a separate 4% Lodging Facility Sales Tax, layered on top of each other under two different chapters of state law.
- "Hotel tax," "lodging tax," "occupancy tax," and "bed tax" all describe this same combined 8% charge in Montana.
- Montana has no general state sales tax, making its lodging-specific tax one of the state's few major consumption-based revenue sources.
- Small qualifying resort towns can add a separate local resort tax of up to 4% on top of the 8%, but only if voters approve it, and only if the town's population falls under strict statutory caps.
- Missoula, Bozeman, Billings, and Kalispell are all legally barred from ever holding a resort tax election because their populations exceed those caps.
- Stays of 30 or more continuous days are exempt from both statewide lodging taxes.
- No Montana-specific fee-transparency law requiring all-in pricing disclosure was verified, so this page doesn't include a dedicated section on that topic.
- Both statewide taxes are filed quarterly, not monthly, with returns due the last day of the month following each quarter.
How Montana's Hotel and Lodging Tax Works
Montana charges a combined 8% statewide lodging tax made up of two separate taxes that stack on top of each other: a 4% Lodging Facility Use Tax under Title 15, Chapter 65 of the Montana Code, and a 4% Lodging Facility Sales Tax under Chapter 68. Montana has no general state sales tax, so this lodging-specific charge is one of the state's few significant consumption-based revenue tools.
Both taxes apply statewide with no city or county add-on through the ordinary sales-tax system. Instead, a small number of qualifying towns can layer on a separate local resort tax under a different part of state law, but only after their own voters approve it at the ballot box. A county board or city council cannot simply enact this local tax by ordinance the way many other states allow; Montana law specifically requires a public vote before a resort tax can be adopted, amended, or repealed.
The tax applies to hotels, motels, campgrounds, and other short-term lodging booked for less than 30 continuous days. A unit rented 30 continuous days or more to the same guest falls outside the definition of taxable lodging entirely under both statewide taxes.
Tax Rates and Extra Fees
Every stay in Montana carries the same 8% statewide base rate. On top of that, a limited number of small resort towns have voted to add their own local resort tax, typically 3%, with several adding an extra 1% specifically earmarked for infrastructure.
| City / town | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Big Sky | 12% | 8% statewide base plus a 4% resort tax (3% base plus 1% infrastructure surcharge effective July 1, 2020). |
| West Yellowstone | 12% | 8% statewide base plus a 4% resort tax; also carries a separate Tourism Business Improvement District fee on top. |
| Red Lodge | 12% | 8% statewide base plus a 4% resort tax, renewed by voters in June 2020. |
| Whitefish | 11% | 8% statewide base plus a 3% resort tax, extended by voters through January 2045. |
| Columbia Falls | 11% | 8% statewide base plus a 3% resort tax; voters approved it in June 2020, collection began October 2021. |
| Missoula | 8% | Statewide base only; Missoula's population exceeds the statutory cap, so it cannot hold a resort tax election. |
| Bozeman | 8% | Statewide base only; not eligible for a local resort tax under current population thresholds. |
| Billings | 8% | Statewide base only; Montana's largest city is well above the resort-tax population cap. |
Montana law caps which towns can even ask voters for a resort tax in the first place. An incorporated town qualifies as a "resort community" only if its population is under 5,500, and an unincorporated area qualifies as a "resort area" only if its population is under 2,500, with both required to draw the majority of their economic base from tourism. That population ceiling is why Montana's biggest tourist draws by total visitor volume, Missoula, Bozeman, Billings, and Kalispell, are legally barred from ever levying this tax, while small gateway towns near Glacier and Yellowstone can.
Collection and Remittance
The guest pays the tax as part of the room charge, and the property is responsible for collecting and remitting it. Both the Lodging Facility Use Tax and the Lodging Facility Sales Tax are filed quarterly with the Montana Department of Revenue, due the last day of the month following each quarter: April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31. A separate local resort tax is filed directly to the town that levies it, on that town's own schedule, for example West Yellowstone requires payment by the 20th of the following month.
Exemptions From Montana's Hotel Tax
Montana exempts any stay of 30 or more continuous days from both the Lodging Facility Use Tax and the Lodging Facility Sales Tax, since the statutory definition of taxable lodging only covers stays under that threshold. Resort towns that levy their own local tax generally apply the same 30-day cutoff, so a long-term guest is typically exempt from every layer of Montana's lodging tax at once rather than needing to track separate thresholds.
Common Mistakes Hotels Make With TOT Compliance
- Assuming any Montana town can add a resort tax by ordinance. A resort tax requires a public vote of the town's own electorate, not a simple council or commission decision, and only towns under strict population caps can even hold that election.
- Filing monthly instead of quarterly. Both statewide lodging taxes are filed quarterly, not monthly, and using the wrong cadence creates unnecessary reconciliation work.
- Missing the extra 1% infrastructure surcharge in towns that have added one. Big Sky, Columbia Falls, and Red Lodge all layer a 1% infrastructure component on top of the base 3% resort tax, and treating the resort tax as a flat 3% everywhere understates what's actually owed in those towns.
- Overlooking the separate Tourism Business Improvement District fee in West Yellowstone. This fee stacks on top of both the statewide 8% and the local resort tax rather than replacing either one.
- Assuming Montana's lodging tax works like a general sales tax. Because Montana has no general state sales tax, the 8% lodging rate is calculated and filed entirely separately from any other tax a property might be used to tracking in other states.
Where A PMS Fits Into TOT Compliance
None of this is about software, but Montana's mix of a flat statewide rate, a voter-approved local resort tax available only to a specific list of small towns, and occasional per-town infrastructure surcharges is exactly the kind of detail that's easy to get wrong by hand. A property management system that lets a Montana property configure the state's 8% base rate, an additional local resort tax layer where one applies, and a separate district fee where relevant means the correct combined rate applies automatically rather than depending on someone remembering which of Montana's roughly a dozen resort towns has added an extra surcharge this year. Quarterly-aligned revenue reporting also matches the filing cadence Montana actually requires, rather than defaulting to the monthly reporting many other states use.
See how roommaster simplifies multi-property tax reporting.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Does Montana have a statewide hotel tax rate?
Yes. Montana charges a combined 8% statewide lodging tax, made up of a 4% Lodging Facility Use Tax and a separate 4% Lodging Facility Sales Tax, and this applies in every Montana city and county.
2. What is Montana's hotel tax?
Montana's hotel tax is a combined 8% statewide charge on hotels, motels, and other short-term lodging, built from two separate 4% taxes under different chapters of state law, since Montana has no general state sales tax of its own.
3. What is Montana's lodging tax?
"Lodging tax" is another name for the same 8% combined charge described above. Some small resort towns add an additional local resort tax on top, but that requires a separate voter-approved election, not a statewide rate change.
4. How long does a guest have to stay in Montana before the hotel tax stops applying?
30 or more continuous days. Both of Montana's statewide lodging taxes only apply to stays shorter than that threshold, so a longer stay falls outside the tax definition entirely.
5. Why can't Missoula or Bozeman add a local resort tax?
Montana law caps eligibility for a resort tax election at a population of 5,500 for an incorporated town or 2,500 for an unincorporated area. Missoula, Bozeman, Billings, and Kalispell all exceed those caps, so they're legally barred from ever holding a resort tax election under current law.
6. Does Montana require hotels to disclose all fees upfront?
No Montana-specific fee-transparency or all-in-pricing law was verified for this page. Only the federal FTC junk fees rule applies nationally, which is why this page doesn't include a dedicated state fee-transparency section.
7. Who is responsible for filing and remitting Montana's hotel tax?
The property collects the tax from the guest and remits it to the Montana Department of Revenue on a quarterly basis for both statewide taxes. A local resort tax, where one applies, is filed separately and directly to that town on its own schedule.
