Montana: Homestead Exemption Amounts

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Montana has no constitutional homestead clause; the protection is entirely statutory, in Mont. Code Ann. Title 70, Chapter 32 ("Homesteads"), Parts 1 through 3 (§§ 70-32-101 to 70-32-303):

• § 70-32-101 says what a homestead is.
• § 70-32-103 says whose property it may be selected from.
• § 70-32-104 sets the dollar cap and its annual increase.
• §§ 70-32-105 to 70-32-107 require you to execute, acknowledge (notarize), and record a declaration.
• § 70-32-201 is the exemption itself.
• § 70-32-202 lists the debts the exemption does not stop.
• § 70-32-213 protects money paid to the claimant after an execution sale.
• § 70-32-216 protects traceable proceeds from a voluntary sale, condemnation, or covered loss.

Exemption amount

A single dollar cap that grows on its own each year. Section 70-32-104(3) sets the limit at $350,000 in 2021 and says it "must increase by 4% every calendar year after 2021," with the Department of Revenue setting the figure by rule. Running that 4% escalation forward gives roughly $409,450 in 2025 and about $425,800 in 2026. Because the increase is automatic, the number moves every January whether or not the legislature does anything, so confirm the current Department of Revenue figure for the exact dollar amount.

Two details matter. First, when a court has to decide what the home is worth, the value on the last completed county assessment roll is "prima facie evidence" of value (§ 70-32-104(1)). Second, if you own only a fractional share, say, a one-half undivided interest as a tenant in common, your exemption is proportional to that share, not the full cap (§ 70-32-104(2)).

Size or acreage limit

None. Unlike states such as Texas and Florida that cap by acreage, Montana's homestead chapter has no acreage or lot-size limit at all, the dollar figure is the only ceiling. The homestead is "the dwelling house or mobile home, and all appurtenances, in which the claimant resides and the land, if any, on which the same is situated" (§ 70-32-101). A mobile or manufactured home qualifies, even where you lease the land under it.

Automatic, or do you have to file something?

You have to file something, this is the part most people get wrong. In Montana the exemption does not attach on its own. Section 70-32-105 requires that "the person selecting a homestead must execute and acknowledge, in the same manner as a grant of real property is acknowledged, a declaration of homestead and file the same for record." In practice that means three steps: fill out a declaration of homestead, sign it in front of a notary, and record it with the clerk and recorder in the county where the home sits (§§ 70-32-106, 70-32-107).

Recording order matters for mortgages. A mortgage executed and recorded before your declaration still reaches the home (§ 70-32-202(3)). But that provision does not create a blanket rule that every earlier unsecured claim defeats a later-recorded declaration.

Who qualifies, and can spouses double it?

The claimant is the person who actually resides in the dwelling (§ 70-32-101). A married claimant may select the homestead "from the property of either spouse"; an unmarried claimant "from any of the claimant's property" (§ 70-32-103(1)). Property you placed in your own revocable living trust still qualifies, the trust is disregarded for this purpose (§ 70-32-103(2)).

There is no spousal doubling of the cap. Montana recognizes one homestead, and co-owners who each hold an undivided interest get an exemption proportional to their share (§ 70-32-104(2)); those proportional shares add up to the single cap, they don't stack into two full caps.

What it actually protects you from

"The homestead is exempt from execution or forced sale, except as in this chapter provided" (§ 70-32-201). A money-judgment creditor cannot seize and sell your home to reach equity that falls within the cap. If your equity exceeds the exemption (after prior liens) and the land can't be physically split off, the creditor can ask the court to have the property appraised and sold (§§ 70-32-204 to 70-32-210), but you are paid your exempt amount out of the sale proceeds first, ahead of the judgment.

Debts that can still reach your home

Section 70-32-202 makes the homestead "subject to execution or forced sale in satisfaction of judgments obtained" for three kinds of debt:

• Construction or vendor's liens on the property (a contractor or materials supplier, or a seller who financed the sale).
• A mortgage you signed, one "executed and acknowledged by the husband and wife or by an unmarried claimant."
• A mortgage recorded before your declaration was filed.

So your own mortgage, a contractor's lien for work on the home, and any lien that beat your declaration to recording all survive the exemption.

Protection for sale proceeds

18 months, if the proceeds remain traceable. Section 70-32-216 applies when qualifying property is voluntarily sold, condemned, lost, damaged, or destroyed and indemnified. The owner may trace the proceeds using first-in first-out, last-in first-out, or another reasonable method. Section 70-32-213 separately protects money paid to the claimant from an execution sale for 18 months.

What trips people up

No declaration, no protection. Montana is one of the few states where the exemption is not automatic. If you never record a declaration of homestead, a judgment creditor can reach your home even though your neighbor, who filed one, is protected. File it early, while you're solvent, not after a creditor appears.

A pre-recorded mortgage still wins. Section 70-32-202(3) specifically preserves a mortgage executed and recorded before the declaration. It does not say every earlier ordinary creditor has the same priority.

The dollar cap moves every year. Because § 70-32-104 builds in an automatic 4% annual increase, last year's figure is already out of date. You don't have to re-record the declaration to get the higher amount, the increase is automatic, but check the current year's figure before relying on a specific number.

Your equity is what counts, not the sale price. The cap protects equity after prior liens. If your mortgage is large, your protectable equity is smaller than the home's value, and anything above the cap plus prior liens is exposed to a forced sale.

Common questions

Do I really have to file something in Montana? Yes. Unlike most states, Montana requires you to execute, notarize, and record a declaration of homestead (§ 70-32-105). Without it, the exemption does not protect your home from a judgment creditor.

How much home equity does Montana protect? A dollar cap that rises 4% a year from a $350,000 base set in 2021, roughly $425,800 in 2026 (§ 70-32-104). Check the current Department of Revenue figure for the exact amount.

Is there a limit on how much land is covered? No. Montana caps only by dollar value; there is no acreage limit (§ 70-32-101).

Can my spouse and I each claim the exemption to double it? No. There is one homestead, and co-owners' exemptions are proportional to their ownership shares, not stacked (§ 70-32-104(2)).

If I sell my home, is the money safe? Traceable proceeds from a voluntary sale remain exempt for 18 months under § 70-32-216. Mixing the money does not necessarily end protection, but you must be able to trace it using a reasonable method.

Statutes and sources

• Mont. Code Ann. § 70-32-104 (dollar cap; $350,000 in 2021, +4% each year; proportional exemption for undivided interests), https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0700/chapter_0320/part_0010/section_0040/0700-0320-0010-0040.html (accessed 2026-07-10)
• Mont. Code Ann. § 70-32-105 (mode of selection, declaration required), https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0700/chapter_0320/part_0010/section_0050/0700-0320-0010-0050.html (accessed 2026-07-10)
• Mont. Code Ann. § 70-32-101 (of what a homestead consists), https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0700/chapter_0320/part_0010/section_0010/0700-0320-0010-0010.html (accessed 2026-07-10)
• Mont. Code Ann. § 70-32-103 (whose property; revocable trust disregarded), https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0700/chapter_0320/part_0010/section_0030/0700-0320-0010-0030.html (accessed 2026-07-10)
• Mont. Code Ann. § 70-32-201 (homestead exempt from execution generally), https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0700/chapter_0320/part_0020/section_0010/0700-0320-0020-0010.html (accessed 2026-07-10)
• Mont. Code Ann. § 70-32-202 (execution allowed under certain judgments), https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0700/chapter_0320/part_0020/section_0020/0700-0320-0020-0020.html (accessed 2026-07-23)
• Mont. Code Ann. § 70-32-213 (money paid after an execution sale protected for 18 months), https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0700/chapter_0320/part_0020/section_0130/0700-0320-0020-0130.html (accessed 2026-07-23)
• Mont. Code Ann. § 70-32-216 (traceable proceeds from a voluntary sale, condemnation, or covered loss protected for 18 months), https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0700/chapter_0320/part_0020/section_0160/0700-0320-0020-0160.html (accessed 2026-07-23)