Montana Garage Liability for Motor Vehicle Dealers

Surplus-Lines Tax and Stamping Office in Montana

Reported tax rate. 2.75% of total premium (0.75% for legal professional liability) + 2.50% fire tax on applicable fire premium + 0.175% SLIP+ transaction fee on total premium ^6,7,9,10

Montana requires an eligible surplus-lines insurer and a statutory placement path when it is the insured’s home state. Before placement, the producing producer must advise you that the insurer is unauthorized in Montana and is not subject to the same supervision as an authorized insurer, and that if the surplus-lines insurer becomes insolvent, Montana’s property-and-casualty guaranty fund will not pay losses under the surplus-lines coverage. Confirm the applicable placement route and tax and fee bases with the producer.

• Montana surplus-lines placement routes: When Montana is home state, §33-2-302 generally calls for an eligible insurer and evidence that the line or full amount is unavailable from authorized insurers (or, at renewal, has not become available). The evidence routes are a diligent search of at least three insurers actually writing that line in Montana (or the smaller actual market), the kind appearing on the current Approved Risk List, or natural-disaster multiperil coverage. The list names kinds and classes; it does not prove that a particular business or BOP qualifies. Section 302 separately waives search requirements for an authorized quote with a premium rate at least 10% above the eligible unauthorized quote, if commissioner-approved disclosure is provided; and for a qualifying exempt commercial purchaser (ECP), after disclosure that coverage may or may not be available from an authorized insurer that may provide greater protection with more regulatory oversight, followed by the purchaser’s later written request. Under §318, an ECP must employ or retain a qualified risk manager as defined in §319, have paid over $100,000 in nationwide commercial P&C premiums in the prior 12 months, and meet one additional §318(1)(c) criterion. Some financial thresholds adjust every five years. ^{9,10,8,12,15,16}
• Check the fire-tax allocation on a commercial package: Section 33-2-311 generally requires the surplus-lines producer to collect and pay the tax when Montana is home state, subject to §33-2-323. For a single-state risk with Montana as home state, §33-2-323(4) requires submission to the Commissioner, who collects the tax. Ask the producer which filing and payment route applies. CSI’s July 2026 guide lists code 1005, Commercial Package (Property & Casualty), with a 50% presumptively reasonable allocation and a 1.25% effective fire-tax rate. Treat this as an example: verify the code and allocation used for the policy; do not assume every BOP is classified as code 1005. CSI’s current schedule sets annual tax due dates (quarterly tax payments are accepted) and separate quarterly SLIP+ transaction-fee deadlines. ^11,14,13,17