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Montana’s fiscal condition ranks seventh among the 50 states in a new national scorecard, up from 22nd when Gov. Greg Gianforte took office in 2021 and from eighth last year.
Truth in Accounting’s 2026 Financial State of the States report gave Montana a B grade. The group estimated the state had $11.2 billion available to meet $7.3 billion in bills, a $3.9 billion surplus, or about $9,700 per taxpayer, according to its Montana two-pager.
The report said Montana improved for a fifth straight year, “primarily through proactive efforts to reduce long-term debt,” including use of the state’s Debt and Liability Free Fund to retire bonds and notes and to limit new general-obligation borrowing.
Gianforte’s office highlighted the ranking on Nov. 4, tying it to the 2023 law that paid off remaining general-obligation debt, a step the governor’s office said saved about $40 million over two years, and to income and property tax cuts enacted during his tenure. “As we look ahead to the next state budget, we will continue to boost our reserves, save for a rainy day, and return money back to the hardworking Montanans who earn it,” he said.
The same office has already previewed a 2029 biennium budget that would move the state to a 4.7% flat income tax and add $300 million to the Budget Stabilization Fund. Those proposals still have to go through the 2027 Legislature, where Democrats have argued a flat tax would do little for most households.
Truth in Accounting is a Chicago-based group that regularly grades state finances by comparing assets on hand with promised payments, including some long-term obligations that do not always show up in annual budget debates. The latest report is one input, not a forecast of the next downturn, but it is the scorecard the governor has chosen to tout as he makes his last budget pitch.
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