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SB 546MONTANASession 2025State Billpassed chamber

Passed

Montana bill establishes income-based tax credit with gradual phaseout starting in 2026

Original title: Provide income based tax credit

Last action · May 23, 2025: (H) Died in CommitteeSponsor: Dave Fern

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓

Introduced

Committee

Floor Vote

Passed

Law

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What This Bill Would Do

Montana Senate Bill 546 establishes a new income-based individual income tax credit equal to 4.7% of taxable income for qualifying taxpayers, subject to a gradual as income increases. The measure applies to tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, and excludes dependents and trusts.

Why it matters

Individual taxpayers filing Montana returns may qualify for a fixed tax credit based on filing status and income thresholds, while the credit amount decreases incrementally as income rises until it is completely phased out.

Background

Dave Fern and P. Flowers introduced Senate Bill 546 during the 2025 legislative session of the Montana 69th Legislature. context
The bill ultimately died in committee during the 2025 legislative process. context

Who It Would Affect

Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

qualified taxpayers

Individual filers receive a new calculated tax credit based on taxable income and filing status, subject to income phaseout rules.

Directly affected

trusts

Trusts are explicitly excluded from qualifying for the income-based tax credit.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is eligible to receive the new income-based tax credit?

Qualified individual taxpayers filing a Montana individual income tax return are eligible, provided they are not claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer and are not a trust.

Can unused tax credit amounts be carried forward to future years?

No, the credit amount may not exceed the taxpayer's income tax liability and cannot be carried forward or carried back.

When does this tax credit take effect?

The act is effective January 1, 2026, and applies to income tax years beginning after December 31, 2025.

What else do you want to know?

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Where This Stands

Currently passed chamber. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.

Procedural history

36 actions

May 23, 2025HouseCommittee
(H) Died in Committee
Apr 16, 2025HouseCommittee
(H) Tabled in Committee
Apr 9, 2025House
(H) Hearing
Apr 9, 2025Senate
(S) Revised Fiscal Note Printed
Apr 8, 2025Senate
(S) Revised Fiscal Note Signed
Apr 8, 2025Senate
(S) Revised Fiscal Note Received

Show 30 earlier actions

Apr 7, 2025House
(H) 1st Reading
Apr 7, 2025HouseCommittee
(H) Referred to Committee
Apr 5, 2025Senate
(S) Transmitted to House
Apr 5, 2025Senate
(S) 3rd Reading
Apr 5, 2025Senate
(S) Scheduled for 3rd Reading
Apr 4, 2025SenateCommittee
(S) Committee Report
Apr 4, 2025SenateCommittee
(S) Committee Executive Action
Apr 3, 2025Senate
(S) Hearing
Apr 3, 2025SenateCommittee
(S) Rereferred to Committee
Apr 3, 2025Senate
(S) 2nd Reading
Apr 3, 2025Senate
(S) 2nd Reading Motion to Amend
Apr 3, 2025Senate
(S) Scheduled for 2nd Reading
Apr 2, 2025SenateCommittee
(S) Take from Committee; Place on 2nd Reading
Apr 2, 2025SenateCommittee
(S) Tabled in Committee
Apr 2, 2025Senate
(S) Fiscal Note Printed
Apr 1, 2025Senate
(S) Fiscal Note Signed
Apr 1, 2025Senate
(S) Fiscal Note Received
Mar 27, 2025Senate
(S) Hearing
Mar 26, 2025SenateCommittee
(S) Referred to Committee
Mar 26, 2025Senate
(S) 1st Reading
Mar 26, 2025Senate
(S) Fiscal Note Requested
Mar 25, 2025SenateIntroduced
(S) Introduced
Mar 25, 2025House
(LC) Draft Delivered to Requester
Mar 24, 2025House
(LC) Draft Ready for Delivery
Mar 22, 2025House
(LC) Draft in Assembly
Mar 22, 2025House
(LC) Draft in Final Drafter Review
Mar 22, 2025House
(LC) Draft in Input/Proofing
Mar 21, 2025House
(LC) Draft in Edit
Mar 21, 2025House
(LC) Draft in Legal Review
Aug 27, 2024House
(LC) Drafter Assigned

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

View official text →

Lobbying Activity

No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.

Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift95% confidence

Addition to Periodic Legislative Tax Review

The bill mandates that the new income-based tax credit be added to the statutory list of tax credits reviewed on an eight-year cycle by the revenue interim committee.

Montana

Connected Entities

P. Flowers, D. Fern, Montana

PersonP. Flowers“Introduced Senate Bill 546”Map →

PersonD. Fern“Introduced Senate Bill 546”Map →

locationMontana“Jurisdiction of the legislative body and tax code”Map →

Sources

Open source document

bills.legmt.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance65
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy40
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment5
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz25
Current news / social attention level

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