Gallatin County, Montana

Gallatin County Motor Vehicle: Military and Veteran Registration

The county treasurer's motor vehicle offices in Bozeman and Belgrade issue veteran and disabled veteran plates and apply active-duty fee exemptions: an MV53 signed by a unit…

www.gallatinmt.gov/950/Military-Veteran-Registration

Montana County Interment Allowance for Veterans

Every Montana county must pay up to $500 toward interring a veteran who lived in the state, plus up to $100 to ship and raise a federal headstone.

mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0100/chapter_0020/part_0050/section_0010/0100-0020-0050-0010.html

Montana Disabled Veteran Property Tax Assistance (MDV)

A 100, 80, 70 or 50 percent cut in the tax rate on the primary residence of a veteran rated 100 percent or paid at the 100 percent rate, on an income test.

Gate: A 100 percent service-connected rating; Paid at the 100 percent rate is an express alternative

mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0150/chapter_0060/part_0030/section_0110/0150-0060-0030-0110.html

Montana Free Conservation and Fishing License After a Contingency Deployment

Five years of free conservation and resident fishing or combination sports licences for a Guard or Reserve member who spent two months outside Montana on a contingency operation.

mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0870/chapter_0020/part_0080/section_0170/0870-0020-0080-0170.html

Montana Half-Price Deer and Antelope Licenses for Combat-Disabled Veterans

Half-price deer and antelope tags for a veteran whose combat-connected injury leaves them substantially mobility-impaired.

Gate: A separate 70 percent route for a donated licence

mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0870/chapter_0020/part_0080/section_0170/0870-0020-0080-0170.html

Montana Honor and Remember Medallion

A medallion and a joint resolution of the Legislature for the family of a Montana service member killed or missing in action since 1939, and a commemorative coin for the family…

mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0100/chapter_0020/part_0080/section_0030/0100-0020-0080-0030.html

Montana Honorably Discharged Veteran Tuition Waiver

Resident tuition waived at Montana University System campuses, but only after the GI Bill has run out.

www.mus.edu/borpol/bor900/940-13.pdf

Montana Hunting and Fishing Privileges for Veterans and Service Members

A Purple Heart recipient fishes and hunts game birds on a conservation licence alone, a Legion of Valor member fishes on one, a veteran residing in a VA hospital fishes with no…

mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0870/chapter_0020/part_0080/section_0160/0870-0020-0080-0160.html

Montana Income Tax Exemption for Military Pay and Bonuses

Active duty salary is exempt from Montana income tax, but only for a resident who entered active duty from Montana. Guard pay is exempt on federal orders and on some Title 32 duty.

mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0150/chapter_0300/part_0210/section_0200/0150-0300-0210-0200.html

Montana Military Family Relief Fund

Grants of $250 a dependent, up to $2,000 for hardship, and $2,000 for a combat injury, for Guard and Reserve families.

mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0100/chapter_0010/part_0130/section_0050/0100-0010-0130-0050.html

Montana Military Leave and Reemployment Rights

120 hours of paid military leave a year for a public employee, banking to 240, and a state reemployment right for Guard members on state duty.

mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0100/chapter_0010/part_0100/section_0090/0100-0010-0100-0090.html

Montana Military Retirement Income Subtraction

Half of a military pension comes off Montana taxable income, but only up to the veteran’s Montana wage income, for five years, and only for a retiree who moved to Montana after…

mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0150/chapter_0300/part_0210/section_0200/0150-0300-0210-0200.html

Montana Military and Veteran License Plates

Around two dozen plate designs, a $10 cemetery fee on each veteran set, and a DV plate that carries disabled parking.

Gate: A 100 percent rating for the DV plate; Paid at the 100 percent rate is an express alternative; A Purple Heart with a 50 percent rating

mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0610/chapter_0030/part_0040/section_0580/0610-0030-0040-0580.html

Montana National Guard Death Benefit for Death on State Duty

A $50,000 state payment to the beneficiary of a Guard member who dies in the line of duty on state orders.

mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0100/chapter_0010/part_0120/section_0010/0100-0010-0120-0010.html

Montana National Guard Pay on State Active Duty

An enlisted Guard member called out by the Governor is paid double the federal rate for the grade, with no day limit since 2025. An officer is paid the ordinary federal rate.

mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0100/chapter_0010/part_0050/section_0020/0100-0010-0050-0020.html

Montana National Guard Tuition Waiver

Tuition waived at Montana University System campuses for a serving Guard member, undergraduate or graduate.

www.mus.edu/borpol/bor900/940-13.pdf

Montana Occupational Licensing for Service Members, Spouses and Veterans

Montana boards must count military training toward licence requirements, must license a qualified spouse or member moving in from another state, and must stop charging fees and…

mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0370/chapter_0010/part_0010/section_0450/0370-0010-0010-0450.html

Montana Private Employer Veteran Hiring Preference

A private employer in Montana may lawfully adopt a policy of preferring veterans in hiring.

mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0390/chapter_0290/part_0020/section_0030/0390-0290-0020-0030.html

Montana Property Tax Assistance for an Unmarried Surviving Spouse

The same rate reduction on the surviving spouse’s own income table, which is lower than the veteran’s.

mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0150/chapter_0060/part_0030/section_0110/0150-0060-0030-0110.html

Montana Scholarship for Purple Heart and Higher Medal Recipients

A $1,000 scholarship for a Montana student who holds the Purple Heart or a higher combat decoration.

mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0100/chapter_0020/part_0010/section_0180/0100-0020-0010-0180.html

Montana State Park Camping Discount for Veterans

Half off overnight camping fees at Montana state parks for a resident veteran, with no rating and no discharge test in the statute.

mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0230/chapter_0010/part_0010/section_0050/0230-0010-0010-0050.html

Montana State Veterans Cemeteries

Four state cemeteries where a veteran is interred at little or no charge and a spouse pays an opening and closing fee.

mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0100/chapter_0020/part_0060/section_0010/0100-0020-0060-0010.html

Montana Subtraction for Military Survivor Benefits

Up to half of a Survivor Benefit Plan annuity comes off Montana taxable income, and unlike the retiree’s version it is not capped at the survivor’s Montana wage income.

mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0150/chapter_0300/part_0210/section_0200/0150-0300-0210-0200.html

Montana Tuition Waiver for Surviving Dependents of a National Guard Member

Tuition waived for the spouse or child of a Montana National Guard member killed in the line of duty on state active duty.

www.mus.edu/borpol/bor900/940-13.pdf

Montana Vehicle Registration and Cemetery Fee Waiver

All motor vehicle registration fees waived on two non-commercial vehicles for a 100 percent disabled veteran, a former prisoner of war, or several categories of surviving spouse.

Gate: A 100 percent service-connected rating; Paid at the 100 percent rate is an express alternative; A Purple Heart with a 50 percent rating

mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0610/chapter_0030/part_0040/section_0600/0610-0030-0040-0600.html

Montana Veteran Apprenticeship Tax Credit

An employer gets $1,500 a year for a registered apprentice who is a veteran, double the ordinary amount, for up to five years.

mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0390/chapter_0060/part_0010/section_0090/0390-0060-0010-0090.html

Montana Veteran Designation on a Driver’s License or ID Card

A "veteran" mark on a Montana licence or ID card, free to add but only at an issue, renewal or replacement, so the ordinary card fee applies.

mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0100/chapter_0020/part_0130/section_0010/0100-0020-0130-0010.html

Montana Veterans’ Clubhouse and Guardianship Property Exemptions

A property tax exemption for a veterans’ organization clubhouse, which survives running a bar in part of the building, and a separate 1891 exemption for property held by the…

mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0150/chapter_0060/part_0020/section_0030/0150-0060-0020-0030.html

Montana Veterans’ Employment Preference

Five points for a veteran and ten for a disabled veteran or eligible relative in public hiring, plus retention in a layoff.

Gate: A 30 percent rating for retention in a layoff

mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0390/chapter_0290/part_0010/section_0010/0390-0290-0010-0010.html

Montana Veterans’ Home Loan Mortgage Program

A 30-year fixed mortgage at one percent below the Board of Housing’s posted rate, with no income, asset or purchase price limit.

mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0900/chapter_0060/part_0060/section_0030/0900-0060-0060-0030.html

Montana Veterans’ Homes

Three state homes at Columbia Falls, Glendive and Butte for nursing and domiciliary care.

mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0100/chapter_0020/part_0040/section_0010/0100-0020-0040-0010.html

Montana War Orphans Tuition Waiver

Undergraduate tuition waived for a child aged 25 or under of a Montana service member killed in action or dead of a combat-related cause.

www.mus.edu/borpol/bor900/940-13.pdf

Who Counts as a Veteran in Montana

Montana has at least three working definitions of "veteran" and they disagree about discharge character, length of service and whether a serving Guard member counts.

mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0100/chapter_0020/part_0010/section_0010/0100-0020-0010-0010.html