Collections Services Bureau

The Montana Department of Revenue Collection Services Bureau (CSB) is responsible for collecting past-due tax balances and debts owed to other state agencies, local governments, and universities within Montana. The CSB is committed to being fair, consistent, and reasonable in its efforts to enforce tax laws and collect delinquent debts.

Collection Methods, Actions, and Options:

  • Contact taxpayers by phone, letter, or email to satisfy past-due balances.
  • Offer various payment arrangement options: electronically, over the phone, through your employer, or by mail.
  • Funds owed to you from the state may be subject to be offset and applied to past-due tax balances.

If you receive correspondence or a phone call from CSB, it’s important that you respond promptly. If you don’t respond, additional collection action may be taken.

For information about additional collection actions, see the links below.

Confidentiality

Due to confidentiality reasons, you may be required to submit a Power of Attorney to discuss details of past-due balances on behalf of another taxpayer. You may submit a Power of Attorney online through the TransAction Portal (TAP).

Find On This Page

Pay in Full

Most people resolve their balance by paying in full within 30 days. See how to pay below.

  • Visit our website: at TAP and select Make a Payment.
  • Check or Money Order: make checks payable to the Montana Department of Revenue and reference your Account Number or Letter ID.
  • Contact the Collections Services Bureau for additional information.

Payment Plans

If you are unable to pay the balance in full, payment plan options are available for 6- 12 months; however, we do offer extended payment plans. If an extended payment plan is needed, a Warrant for Distraint (tax lien) may be filed to protect the state’s interest. See this Warrant/Liens for more information.

Basics

A Warrant for Distraint (tax lien) is filed in district court against a debtor when a tax liability is owed to the Montana Department of Revenue and has the same force and effect as a judgment.

After a tax liability has become due and is in the collection process, the department may file a lien at any time if it is in the state’s best interest (15-1-701 MCA).

The department can file a warrant/lien on most tax types, which may extend to businesses and responsible parties.

A warrant/lien may be filed against businesses, officers, and other responsible parties (15-1-701 MCA, 15-1-702 MCA, and 15-1-703 MCA).

What does a warrant/lien affect?

Once a warrant/lien is filed, the department may levy bank accounts or garnish wages. Warrants/liens may affect any real property sales in the county where the warrant/lien is filed and could extend to multiple counties.

Once a warrant/lien is filed against real property, part or all of the property sale proceeds will be used to satisfy your tax liability with the State of Montana. For additional information, please contact us.

Payment Options

If a warrant/lien is filed against you or your business, you still have options to pay. Please contact the CSB to discuss your payment options.

Phone: 406-444-6964

OR

Email: DORcollections@mt.gov

Objections

If you feel that a warrant/lien has been filed in error, please review our Informal Review section.

Basics

When a warrant/lien is filed, funds may be seized to satisfy a past-due balance. Under 15-1-706 MCA, the warrant/lien provides authority to seize funds. Funds may be seized through wage garnishment or funds levy.

If funds are seized, a notice will be sent to your last known address.

Contact CSB for assistance regarding the seizure of funds and to discuss payment arrangement options.

Wage Garnishment

A wage levy/garnishment is the seizure of wages, based on a percentage, sent directly from your employer to CSB for a period of 120 days. For questions regarding garnished wages, contact CSB.

Funds Levy

A funds levy can be issued to collect past-due balances from financial institutions or entities holding funds on your behalf. The levy will be issued in the amount of your total past-due balance. To have levied funds reviewed, contact CSB or see the Informal Review section.

Employers

If you have received a Notice of Levy from the CSB, you can use the Electronic Garnishment Response Formula and submit the form and pay online. You can also send your response via email, fax, or mail.

Email: DORcollections@mt.gov
Fax: 406-444-7723
Mail: Montana Department of Revenue
P.O. Box 6309
Helena, MT 59604-6309

When CSB seizes funds/wages, and you believe they are exempt, please see the guidelines below.

Under Sections 25-13-608, MCA or 25-13-614, MCA, you must file a written request for a hearing with the district court identified in your seizure notice within ten business days from the date of the notice.

To claim an exemption, you must follow these steps with the District Court and the Department of Revenue:

District Court

  • Request a hearing with the District Court where the warrant/lien is filed.
  • Send a written statement with the request describing the funds/wages that you believe are exempt and why.

*Please note: there is a limited window to claim an exemption if you believe your funds/wages are exempt from seizure.

Collections Services Bureau

  • Download and complete the Request for Informal Review (Request for Informal Review (Form CB- 1). To ensure swift processing, please complete the entire form and include the following supporting documentation:
      • Explain why you object to the funds/wages seized.
      • Full detailed bank statements for the previous three months.

* If you object to funds seized from your bank account, the seizure transaction(s) must be included in your bank statements.

      • Three months of pay stubs.

If we are unable to contact you after multiple attempts, your informal review may be denied.

For additional questions or concerns, contact the CSB at 406-444-6964.

When a business owes trust taxes, CSB will identify responsible parties and hold the individual(s) liable for any past-due balances.

Liability

    • CSB will identify the liable individual(s) responsible for filing, withholding, and paying business trust taxes timely.
    • Liability is determined by identifying individual(s) within the ownership/management structure of the business at the time the debt was due, regardless of current ownership or closure.

Trust Tax

Businesses are responsible for and entrusted to withhold and pay funds to the Department of Revenue on behalf of employee(s) or customer(s) per MCA (15-30-2540), (3), (4), (5).

Trust tax types may include:

    • Withholding (WTH)
    • Lodging Sales Tax (LST)
    • Rental Vehicle Tax (RVT)
    • Mineral Royalties Withholding (MRW)
    • Cannabis Tax (CAN)
    • Other Tobacco Products (OTP)
    • Medical Marijuana Provider (MMP)
    • Combined Oil and Gas (COG)

Disputing Liability

If you believe you are not liable for the business or past due balance, review our Informal Review section.

Payment Options

  • Visit our website: TAP and select the ‘Make A Payment’ link.
  • Check or Money Order: make checks payable to the Montana Department of Revenue and reference your Account Number or Letter ID.
  • Contact the Collections Services Bureau to make payment arrangements.

Legal Collection Action

Failure to resolve past-due balances could result in legal collection actions. For more information, please see our sections on Liens and Levies/Garnishments.

  • Any funds owed to you by a state agency or qualifying federal government entity may be offset and applied to your past-due balance.
  • Any tax refunds and/or rebates owed to you may be offset and applied to your past-due balance. For questions, contact CSB.
  • Any other qualifying funds issued by the state of Montana may be subject to offset and applied to a past-due balance. For questions about captured funds, contact the Other Agency Debts unit (OAD) at 406-444-3900. Learn more about OAD.
  • Any qualifying federally issued funds may be subject to offset and applied to your past-due balance through the Treasury Offset Program (TOP). For questions, refer to the contact information listed on your notice.

To object to a legal collection action, such as a warrant/lien or seizure of non-exempt funds or wages, please follow the steps below.

    • Download and complete the Request for Informal Review (CB- 1 form). To ensure swift processing, complete the entire form and include all requested supporting documentation:
      • Full detailed bank statements for the previous three months for all bank accounts associated with you.
        * If you are objecting to funds seized from your bank account, the seizure transaction(s) must be included in your bank statements.
      • Three months of pay stubs.
      • Any other documents you feel support your claim, such as medical bills, credit card bills, child support information, etc.
    • Submit the CB-1 form and all supporting documentation with your preferred contact information to CSB, using one of the following options:

Montana Department of Revenue
Collections Services Bureau
PO Box 6169
Helena, MT, 59604-6169

    • In-person, Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m:

Montana Department of Revenue
340 N. Last Chance Gulch
Helena, MT 59601

If we are unable to contact you after multiple attempts, your informal review may be denied.

For additional questions or concerns, contact the CSB at 406-444-6964.

Unresolved past-due balance(s) may be transferred from CSB to a third-party collection agency. The third-party agency may attempt to contact you. Any further questions should be directed to the third-party collection agency listed below.

PCS contact info:

Professional Credit Services
12204 SE Mill Plain Blvd Ste. 101
Vancouver, Washington 98684
1 (866) 320-6527
Professionalcredit.com
Consumer-helpdesk@professionalcredit.com

What are my options?

  • Contact the third-party collection agency to make payments or payment arrangements.
  • Contact CSB to make payment in full.
  • If you are currently living or working in Montana, contact CSB.

Title companies, banks, or any financial institutions may request a lien payoff amount for a client online through the TransAction Portal (TAP). To satisfy a lien, the department requires payment in full of the debt owed by the taxpayer.

If your client will not receive any proceeds from the sale, you must provide the closing statement and contact the Collections Services Bureau.

Phone: 406-444-6964

OR

Email: DORcollections@mt.gov

Payment Options

Please pay the amount(s) listed on the payoff request you received from the department.

Payment without a payoff request from the department may not satisfy the warrant/lien.

Remit certified payment(s):

    • FedEx or UPS for expedited payment processing.

       Physical address for FedEx or UPS:

      Montana Department of Revenue
      340 North Last Chance Gulch
      Helena, MT  59601

    • USPS Mail

      Remitting payments through USPS mail may result in slower processing times. 

      Mailing address:

      Montana Department of Revenue
      PO Box 1712
      Helena, MT  59604-6309

    • Wire Transfers

      Submitting wire transfers may result in slower processing times.

      Wire Transfer information can be found on the Lien Payoff form.