2022 ProSeries/Montana Readme

Release 2022.310

Contents

Items addressed in this release

Items addressed in previous releases

What's new for ProSeries/Montana

Forms

Electronic filing

Additional Information

Items addressed in this release:

• General updates - This release contains an update for the Form 8915-F and other minor program changes.

Issues addressed in a previous release:

• Form NOL - Montana Net Operating Loss (NOL) Schedules has been updated in this ProSeries/Montana.
• Montana Partial Pension, Annuity, and IRA Income Exemption Schedule, has been updated to provide support calculations when federal adjusted gross income is below $38,660.

What's new for ProSeries/Montana

The following items are new for tax year 2022:

• Tax Rate Reduction - Montana's top marginal tax rate has decreased from 6.9% to 6.75% for Tax Year 2022.
• Increased Elderly Homeowner/Renter Credit - The maximum amount of Elderly Homeowner/Renter Credit has increased from $1,000 to $1,150. The standard exclusion from household income has also increased from $6,300 to $12,600.
• Innovative Educational Program and Student Scholarship Organization Credits - The tax credits for contributions made to a Montana public school district or an approved Student Scholarship Organization have increased from $150 to $200,000 per person in Tax Year 2022.
• Jobs Growth Incentive Credit - The Jobs Growth Incentive Credit is a new tax credit available to qualifying employers in Montana that create qualifying net employee growth in state beginning in Tax Year 2022 and through Tax Year 2028. The credit is equal to half of the eligible employer's taxes paid under Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) for qualifying new employees. This credit is nonrefundable and it may be carried forward for up to 10 years.
• Form 2 Changes - There is a new checkbox for military spouses that qualify for relief under Military Spouse Residency Relief Act to process military spouses' returns faster. Military spouses should mark this box if they (1) receive wages and other Montana source income or (2) if they are filing to receive a refund of Montana income tax unnecessarily withheld from wages.
• Form 2 Changes - The direct deposit section has been expanded to include direct deposit a refund into a 529 Qualified Tuition Program (Family Education Savings Account) or 529A (Achieving a Better Life Experience Account).
• Additions Schedule - Line 10 was previously used to add back business expenses taken when calculating Federal Adjusted Gross Income for purposes of the Dependent Care Assistance Credit. This credit was repealed for beginning with Tax Year 2022. This line has been repurposed to report business expenses included in Federal Adjusted Gross Income when those expenses were used to claim a Montana tax credit.
• Subtractions Schedule - the line for the donation of mineral exploration information was removed due to the deduction was repealed beginning 2022. In addition, a new line was added to report Tier I Railroad Retirement benefits separately from taxable Social Security benefits.
• Nonrefundable Credits Schedule - the schedule was redesigned to remove credits that were repealed in Tax Year 2022. Taxpayers will report the carryforward of any repealed tax credits on lines 15a through 15c using the corresponding code. Additionally, the lines for the Innovative Educational Program credit, Student Scholarship Organization credit, and the Media credit have been expanded for taxpayers to report the corresponding credit authorization number for approval to claim the credit.

Forms

All forms are final in this release.

Electronic filing

You can file returns electronically with this version of ProSeries/Montana.

Additional information

Check all returns after printing

The Montana Department of Revenue scans computer-generated forms to quickly process the income tax returns it receives. To meet the requirements for producing computer-generated forms, ProSeries is required to limit the width of the tax information printed on forms that are scanned. In certain cases, data you entered may be truncated. After completing a tax return, review the information that prints (for example, mailing address information), make any necessary changes, and reprint the return before mailing it.

About bar codes on printed state returns

Some states use bar codes on computer-printed tax forms. This special formatting allows the state taxing authorities to process returns more quickly and efficiently. On-screen, you'll see only a small representation of the bar code on the lower-left side of the form. This image is static and does not change based on the information in the return. However, when you print the return, the bar code appears as a large rectangular box on the first page of the form. The width of the bar code is constant; the height varies according to the data in the return. In general, the more complex the return, the larger the printed bar code.

Returns that contain special formatting may be processed at a different location than manually prepared returns. Therefore, the filing instructions that print with the state return may contain a mailing address that's different from the mailing address in the package that is sent to taxpayers. Be sure to have your clients mail their returns to the address in the filing instructions that print with the return.

Important: Because the bar code image is a function of the data in the tax return, it's important that you reprint the page with the bar code if changes are made to any part of the return. Also, do not print blank copies of the main form and prepare them manually. The Montana taxing authority may attempt to scan the form and reject it.

End of ReadMe file for ProSeries/Montana