Working Military Retiree Exemption — Narrow, and Easily Lost
From 2024 Montana exempts the lesser of half your military retirement or your Montana wages — for five consecutive years, only for working retirees, and leaving the state forfeits it permanently.
Verified August 20, 2026
What this benefit is
From 2024 Montana exempts the lesser of half your military retirement or your Montana wages — for five consecutive years, only for working retirees, and leaving the state forfeits it permanently.
What it's worth: The lesser of 50% of military retirement income or Montana source earned income, for five consecutive years
- This is not a general exemption: it requires Montana wage, business or farm income in the same year, and expires as a programme in tax year 2033.
Who is entitled to it
- You receive military retired pay.
- Your home is in this state.
Not sure whether that describes you?
Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.
How to claim it
Deadline: With your return- 1File Form WMRE with the Montana return — the exemption is claimed, not automatic.
- 2Check both gates: residency after June 30, 2023 (or retirement begun as a resident), AND Montana earned income in the year — retirement alone claims nothing.
- 3Do not break residency: becoming a nonresident forfeits the exemption permanently, even if you move back.
- File with
- The state revenue department, on your annual return
- Annual
- Claimed once a year.
Sources
- authority · published policyMontana Department of Revenue — Working Military Retirement Exemption
Why only one source type: The Department of Revenue's own page states the eligibility, the lesser-of arithmetic, the five-year window, the Form WMRE filing and the forfeiture rule in terms.
This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.