Montana Capital Gains Tax: 2026 Rules and Calculator
Montana gives long-term gains their own lower rate, 4.1% at the top, instead of its 5.65% ordinary rate. Here is what a Montana seller pays in 2026, layer by layer, and a calculator for your own sale.
Short answer: Montana taxes net long term capital gain at its own lower rates, 3.0% and 4.1%, while ordinary income is taxed at up to 5.65% for 2026 (5.9% for 2025) (Montana Code 15-30-2103, 2023 HB 337). On top of that comes federal capital gains tax (0%, 15% or 20% for 2026 under IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, and up to 25% on building depreciation) and the 3.8% net investment income tax above $250,000 of income for married couples or $200,000 single (IRC 1411).
Montana capital gains tax calculator
Enter your sale: rental property, your home, land, a business, stock or collectibles. You get the 2026 tax in Montana (federal, the 3.8% tax and Montana tax) and the same sale spread over the years the buyer pays you. It runs in your browser on the same engine as our capital gains tax calculator.
You keep $2,145,915 after selling costs and tax. The tax is 27.9% of your gain.
Your gain
- Sale price less selling costs$2,820,000
- Less your basis$400,000
- Your taxable gain$2,420,000
- Long-term gain at 0%, 15% or 20%$2,420,000
The tax, line by line
- Federal income tax (incl. $24,860 AMT)$485,565
- Net investment income tax (3.8%)$89,300
- Montana tax$99,220
- Total tax$674,085
- You keep$2,145,915
Get the REAL numbers
Talk to capital gains expert Hans Goldstein, EA.
These are estimates. Have a qualified tax professional run your real numbers in a 15-minute scope call.
Why now: the closing date and how the buyer pays you are set before closing, and they decide how much Montana and federal tax this sale costs.
Book my 15-minute callThis is an estimate. Getting it right down to the tee takes your actual tax forms (returns, K-1s, depreciation schedules), a consult and a paid analysis. The first 15-minute scope call is free.
How Montana taxes capital gains in 2026
Montana taxes net long term capital gain at its own lower rates, 3.0% and 4.1%, while ordinary income is taxed at up to 5.65% for 2026 (5.9% for 2025) (Montana Code 15-30-2103, 2023 HB 337).
- Depreciation recapture under Section 1245 and interest on a seller note are ordinary income at Montana ordinary rates.
Selling Montana property while living elsewhere: Montana taxes a nonresident on gain from real estate and other property located in Montana, so selling Montana property from another state still means a Montana return.
Worked example (computed October 13, 2026)
A ranch land sale taxed at the Montana capital gain rate. A married couple filing jointly in Montana sells land for $3,000,000 with $180,000 of selling costs. Basis is $400,000, and other income is $180,000.
- Taxable gain: $2,420,000.
- All in one year (2026): $485,565 federal income tax, $89,300 net investment income tax and $99,220 Montana tax (4.1% of the gain): $674,085 in total, 27.9% of the gain.
- Spread over 10 years on a note: $527,580 of tax on the gain, so the seller keeps $146,505 more. Interest on the note is taxed separately.
What the calculator simplifies
The calculator applies the 4.1% capital gain rate to the whole long term gain. It also leaves out local taxes unless named above, the alternative minimum tax effect of note interest, and equipment recapture on a business sale. Federal tables for later years carry the 2026 tables forward.
Spreading a Montana sale over several years
On an installment sale the gain is reported as the buyer pays you (IRC 453), so each year's slice can stay in lower federal brackets and under the 3.8% threshold. Building depreciation is reported first (Treas. Reg. 1.453-12), equipment recapture is taxed in the year of sale (IRC 453(i)), and notes over $5,000,000 owe the Section 453A interest charge. More on how it works: what a structured installment sale is.
Sources
- Montana Department of Revenue, individual income tax (tax years 2025 and 2026)
- IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32: 2026 federal brackets.
- IRC 1(h) and IRC 1411: capital gain rates and the 3.8% tax (as in force October 2026).
What is the tax bill on your Montana sale going to be?
Send me the sale price and rough basis. Within one business day I'll email you the actual number and the Seller's Guide to §453. If it doesn't fit your deal, I'll tell you that plainly.
No retainer · no obligation. Hans Goldstein, a licensed insurance agent (CA Insurance License #4273294), will contact you and may discuss insurance products, including annuities.
Frequently asked
What is the capital gains tax rate in Montana for 2026?
Montana taxes net long term capital gain at its own lower rates, 3.0% and 4.1%, while ordinary income is taxed at up to 5.65% for 2026 (5.9% for 2025) (Montana Code 15-30-2103, 2023 HB 337). Federal capital gains tax and the 3.8% net investment income tax come on top.
How much tax on a $3,000,000 sale in Montana?
In the example on this page, a married couple filing jointly selling land for $3,000,000 with a $2,420,000 taxable gain owes $674,085 in 2026: $485,565 federal, $89,300 net investment income tax and $99,220 Montana tax. Spread over 10 years, the tax is $527,580.
Do nonresidents pay Montana tax when they sell property there?
Montana taxes a nonresident on gain from real estate and other property located in Montana, so selling Montana property from another state still means a Montana return.
Does Montana have a capital gains deduction or special rule?
Depreciation recapture under Section 1245 and interest on a seller note are ordinary income at Montana ordinary rates