The Montana Charitable Endowment Tax Credit

Originally enacted in 1997, the Montana Income Tax Credit for Endowed Philanthropy encourages charitable giving to qualified endowments by offering incentives to Montana taxpayers.

An endowment is a fund held by a tax-exempt organization where the principal of the fund is not wholly expendable. Only the interest and appreciation earned in an endowment fund can be used for current operations.

Endowments are established to help Montanans meet long-term needs in our communities for education, social services, health care, economic development, the arts and more.


Current Law

A summary of the current Tax Credit law:

Planned Gift - Provides a credit against state income tax liability in the amount of 40% of the present value of any planned gift to a permanent endowment of a Montana charity up to a maximum amount of $10,000 per year per taxpayer. [Applies to individual or business entity taxpayers.]

Outright Gift - Provides a credit against state income tax liability in the amount of 20% of the present value of any outright gift by a business entity to a permanent endowment of a Montana charity up to a maximum of $10,000 per year per taxpayer. [Applies to corporations, small business corporations, partnership or limited liability company taxpayers.]

For more information about the Tax Credit, visit the Montana Department of Revenue web site: http://mt.gov/revenue/forindividuals/individualincome/incentivesiit.asp#endowment


Impact of Tax Credit
Who Benefits?