Closing Costs in Montana 2026: Buyer & Seller Guide

Montana’s constitution bars any tax on the sale or transfer of real property, by the state or any local government. A Montana closing adds paperwork instead: a confidential realty transfer certificate, a water-rights disclosure, and a recording fee of $20 for the first page.

deed-tax">Initiative 105 and the missing deed tax

Article VIII, Section 17 of the Montana Constitution came from Constitutional Initiative No. 105, approved November 2, 2010. The full text: “The state or any local government unit may not impose any tax, including a sales tax, on the sale or transfer of real property.” Since local government units are named, no county, city or town can add a transfer tax of its own.

Section 17 speaks of the sale or transfer, not the loan. On that side, none of the chapter headings in Title 15, the tax title, names a mortgage, deed or recording tax. Section 15-6-218 says “Intangible personal property is exempt from taxation” and lists “promissory notes” in the definition.

The price certificate the clerk needs before recording

Under the Realty Transfer Act, the county clerk and recorder “shall require the parties to the transaction or their agents or representatives to complete a certificate declaring the consideration paid or to be paid” (MCA 15-7-305(1)). A deed “may not be accepted for recordation until the certificate has been received.” A person convicted of violating the act faces a fine of up to $500, up to 6 months in county jail, or both (15-7-310).

The price you report stays out of the public file. Section 15-7-308(1) says the certificate and its contents “are not a public record and must be held confidential by the county clerk and recorder and the department.” Compilations and summaries built from the certificates are not covered. Neither is sales data the Department of Revenue used to value homes in a taxpayer’s market model area, once that taxpayer signs a confidentiality agreement.

Buying land that carries a water right

The certificate also carries a water-rights disclosure. Under MCA 85-2-424(1), the seller acknowledges “whether or not any water rights are associated with the property” and whether they will transfer with it. Property “served by a public service water supply” is excepted. When the certificate discloses the transfer of a water right, a Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) fee is due “at closing” (85-2-426(1)(a)).

DNRC Form 608 costs “$100.00 for one water right and $20.00 for each additional right, up to a maximum of $600.00” (Form 613 fee schedule, effective October 1, 2025). A ranchette with three recorded rights would owe $140. If the fee never reaches DNRC, the department sends the buyer a notice. After 60 days without payment, it may assess a penalty against the buyer (85-2-424(2)(e)).

What the clerk and recorder charges per page

House Bill 192 (Chapter 480, Laws of 2025) set a new statutory fee for documents recorded on or after October 1, 2025. Under MCA 7-4-2637(1)(a), a standard document costs “$20 for the first page or fraction of a page and $10 a page for each additional page or fraction of a page.” A document that misses the format rules in 7-4-2636 pays the same fee “plus $10.” Those rules include a clear top margin of at least 3 inches on page one, 8 1/2 x 11 or 8 1/2 x 14 inch paper, and blue or black ink.

• Four-page deed that meets the standards: $20 + 3 × $10 = $50.
• The same deed if it fails one of those standards: $60.
• A twelve-page trust indenture, the lender’s security document allowed for land of 40 acres or less (71-1-304): $20 + 11 × $10 = $130.

Starting July 1, 2027, the Department of Revenue must adjust the fee every two years for inflation by administrative rule (7-4-2637(1)(b)). The statute sets the amount and names no payer, so check the fee clause in your buy-sell agreement.

Title insurance premiums come from filed schedules

Each title insurer must file “a complete schedule of rates” with the commissioner. It “may not quote or charge any rate for title insurance other than the applicable rate previously filed by it” (MCA 33-25-212(1), (3)).

Financing without ordering an owner’s policy triggers 33-25-216: before issuing the lender’s policy, the insurer must warn you in writing that it “does not protect the borrower.” Declining means signing a waiver on the commissioner’s form; a refusal to sign goes in the file.

Who can hold the money and fill in the deed

A title insurer or title insurance producer “may operate as an escrow, settlement, or closing agent.” It must hold your funds in a separate fiduciary trust account, where they “are not subject to debts of the title insurer or title insurance producer” (33-25-201(1), (2)(a)). A different statute covers escrow firms: “A person must be licensed pursuant to this part before engaging in an escrow business” (32-7-109(1)). Section 32-7-103 lists who is exempt, including attorneys “not actively engaged in the escrow business.”

In Pulse v. North American Land Title Co., 218 Mont. 275, 707 P.2d 1105 (1985), a bank had filled out the purchase agreement, mortgage and deed of trust. The Montana Supreme Court held that when a party “merely fills in blanks on preprinted forms such as simple deeds, mortgages, and notes, without separate charge, and incident to real estate transactions in which the party is involved,” this “does not constitute the unauthorized practice of law.”

Montana Board of Housing second loans for closing cash

Assistance is only for borrowers eligible for the Board’s Regular Bond Program loan. That means household income and purchase price below the Board’s posted limits, a home you will live in as your primary residence, no principal residence owned in the previous three years (“some exceptions apply”), and qualifying for an FHA, VA, RD or HUD-184 first mortgage. On September 24, 2026, the Board’s page listed two assistance loans that can pay down payment and closing costs:

• Bond Advantage Down Payment Assistance: up to 5% of the sales price, maximum $15,000. A 15-year amortizing loan at the same fixed rate as the Board’s 30-year first mortgage. Minimum credit score 620.
• MBOH Plus 0% Deferred: up to 5% of the sales price, maximum $15,000. A 0% second loan with no monthly payments, due when the home is sold or transferred or the first loan is refinanced or paid off. Household income limit $80,000 for 1-2 people, $90,000 for 3 or more. Minimum credit score 620, maximum debt-to-income ratio 45%.

Both require homebuyer education and at least $1,000 of your own cash, which can be a gift. Get pre-approval from a Board participating lender, then run the down payment calculator.

More on Montana and nearby states

• Montana real estate guide
• Homeowner insurance in Montana
• Closing costs by state
• What can I afford? and the mortgage payment calculator
• Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota

Frequently Asked Questions

Could Bozeman or Gallatin County add a transfer tax?

No. Article VIII, Section 17 bars the state and “any local government unit” from taxing the sale or transfer of real property.

Will my purchase price show up in the county records?

Not through the transfer certificate, which MCA 15-7-308 keeps confidential apart from the exceptions listed above.

The house has a well and an old irrigation right. What does that add?

If the rights are on record with DNRC, Form 608 costs $100 for the first right and $20 for each additional one, capped at $600, due at closing.

Do I have to buy an owner’s title policy?

No. Section 33-25-216 says you “may obtain” one. If you decline on a financed purchase, the insurer must first give you written notice and ask for a signed waiver.