Missoula County Commissioners Adopt Final FY 26 Budget
Posted on September 04, 2025
The Missoula County commissioners voted to adopt the County’s fiscal year 2026 budget at their public meeting on Thursday. Residents can review the FY 26 budget book and other budget documents online at missoulacountyvoice.com.
The FY 26 budget includes about $160 million in total revenue, with $80.5 million of that coming from property taxes. This is an 8% increase in countywide mills over last year, with the $4.6 million increase in countywide tax revenue mainly needed to cover the increase to the County’s base budget needed to sustain current services and operations. Increases to wages and healthcare costs for employees accounts for most of the base budget increase.
In addition to the base budget, the commissioners approved new requests to improve services and operations. The bulk of these are one-time requests that will be paid for with a projected $600,000 the County will receive from the City of Missoula’s Tax Increment Finance remittance. Funding these one-time requests will not impact future property tax bills.
The commissioners also approved several new requests to fund ongoing improvements, including new staff. Ongoing requests require an ongoing source of funding, which can include fees, new property tax revenue, grant revenue or other sources. The total in new ongoing requests funded by property taxes is $659,976. A full list of approved requests is available on missoulacountyvoice.com.
The FY 26 budget also contains about $500,000 in revenue from the 3% local option tax on recreational cannabis sales in the county that voters approved in 2020. This revenue will go toward the general fund, which includes departments that provide core government services, such as the County Attorney’s Office, 9-1-1 Division, Elections Office, Justice Court and the Motor Vehicle Division.
Property tax impacts
Due to changes made during the 2025 state Legislature, the tax impacts for individual properties will differ. The implementation of a graduated tax rate changed the taxable value for most properties, so some property owners will pay less in County taxes, while others will pay more.
Residents can use the following equations to calculate the estimated taxes they will owe to Missoula County. Residents can find their 2025 taxable value for their property on the reappraisal notice the state Department of Revenue mailed this summer or by searching for their property online at https://svc.mt.gov/dor/property/Home.
- Residents who live outside City of Missoula limits:
- Taxable value x 0.27058 = estimated County taxes
- Example: $6,000*0.27058 = $1,623 County taxes
- Residents who live within City of Missoula limits:
- Taxable value x 0.2204 = estimated County taxes
- Example: $6,000*0.2204 = $1,322.40 County taxes
This is the estimated total in taxes paid only to Missoula County; residents’ tax bills will also include taxes owed to other jurisdictions, such as the City of Missoula and school districts.
City and county residents will pay different amounts because property owners are taxed differently depending on where their property is located. All Missoula County property owners, including those who live within the limits of the City of Missoula, pay countywide taxes. In addition to the countywide taxes, property owners outside Missoula city limits pay county-only taxes (rather than city taxes). To see a breakdown of all county taxes by fund, visit missoula.co/taxes.
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