The following credits are currently supported for the Montana Tax Return.  Please review the credit information to determine if you qualify for the credit.

Elderly Homeowner/Renter Credit

The Montana elderly homeowner/renter credit is a property tax relief program that provides you with a refundable credit of up to $1,000 if you are age 62 or older, have resided in Montana for at least nin (9) months during the year, occupied a Montana residence for at least six (6) months during the year, and your gross household income is less than $45,000.

For further instructions on the elderly homeowner/renter credit, see Form 2EC Instructions.

Adoption Credit

You can claim a credit against your income tax liability if you finalized the adoption of an eligible child in 2011. An eligible child is:

• any child under age 18, or
• any disabled person physically or mentally unable to take care of himself or herself.

The amount of the credit is $1,000 per child. If the amount of the credit exceeds your tax liability for 2011, you can carry forward the unused credit to the next five tax years.  For Montana purposes, this carry forward applies only to adoptions that were finalized on or after January 1, 2007. Also, the legal adoption of a stepchild does not qualify for the federal or Montana credit.  Include a copy of federal Form 8839 with your tax return.

College Contribution Credit

You can claim a credit against your income tax liability for contributions that you made in 2011 to a foundation or general endowment fund of the Montana University System, a Montana private college, a community college or a tribal college. Your credit is equal to 10% of the contribution that you made with a maximum credit allowed of $500.
 
In order to qualify for this credit, your contribution has to be made to a Montana college or university that offers a baccalaureate degree level education program. In addition to this credit, your contribution may also be claimed as an itemized deduction on Form 2, Schedule III.

For additional information pertaining to the Montana College Contribution Credit, see Form 2CC.

Credit for Taxes Paid to Another State or Country

This credit is available for Montana taxpayers filing as a full-year or part-year resident.  This credit will be automatically calculated within your Montana Resident return if you have a Nonresident return created on your account.  If you have Part-Year Montana return, you will need to manually enter the information asked within the Montana state program.

If you are a full-year resident and you paid income tax to another state or country on income that is also taxable to Montana, you may be entitled to a credit against your Montana income tax liability.  If you claimed the foreign tax credit on your federal tax return, you can claim this credit for foreign taxes on your Montana tax return only if you have unused federal credit that is not eligible to be carried back or carried forward to another tax year.  If you are a resident and have unused federal credit or paid tax to another state, please refer to Form 2, Schedule VI.

If you are a part-year resident and you paid an income tax to another state or country on income that is also taxable to Montana and if you included it as Montana source income on Form 2, Schedule IV, lines 1 through 16, you may be entitled to a credit against your Montana part-year resident income tax liability for these income taxes paid to another state or country.  If you claimed the foreign tax credit on your federal tax return, you can claim this credit for foreign taxes on your Montana tax return only if you have unused federal credit that is not eligible to be carried back or carried forward to another tax year.  If you are a part-year resident and have unused federal credit or paid tax to another state, please refer to Form 2, Schedule VII.