15-30-2114. Exemptions -- inflation adjustment. (1) Subject to subsection (6), an individual is allowed as deductions in computing taxable income the exemptions provided by subsections (2) through (5).

(2) (a) An exemption of $2,380 is allowed for all taxpayers.

(b) An additional exemption of $2,380 is allowed for the spouse of the taxpayer if a separate return is made by the taxpayer and if the spouse, for the calendar year in which the tax year of the taxpayer begins, does not have gross income and is not the dependent of another taxpayer.

(3) (a) An additional exemption of $2,380 is allowed for the taxpayer if the taxpayer has attained the age of 65 before the close of the taxpayer's tax year.

(b) An additional exemption of $2,380 is allowed for the spouse of the taxpayer if a separate return is made by the taxpayer and if the spouse has attained the age of 65 before the close of the tax year and, for the calendar year in which the tax year of the taxpayer begins, does not have gross income and is not the dependent of another taxpayer.

(4) (a) An additional exemption of $2,380 is allowed for the taxpayer if the taxpayer is blind at the close of the taxpayer's tax year.

(b) An additional exemption of $2,380 is allowed for the spouse of the taxpayer if a separate return is made by the taxpayer and if the spouse is blind and, for the calendar year in which the tax year of the taxpayer begins, does not have gross income and is not the dependent of another taxpayer. For the purposes of this subsection (4)(b), the determination of whether the spouse is blind must be made as of the close of the tax year of the taxpayer, except that if the spouse dies during the tax year, the determination must be made as of the time of death.

(c) For purposes of this subsection (4), an individual is blind only if the person's central visual acuity does not exceed 20/200 in the better eye with correcting lenses or if visual acuity is greater than 20/200 but is accompanied by a limitation in the fields of vision to an extent that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angle no greater than 20 degrees.

(5) (a) An exemption of $2,380 is allowed for each dependent:

(i) whose gross income for the calendar year in which the tax year of the taxpayer begins is less than or equal to the exemption amount provided in subsection (2)(a); or

(ii) who is a qualifying child as defined in section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. 152, including a student as defined in that section.

(b) An exemption is not allowed under this subsection for a dependent who has made a joint return with the dependent's spouse for the tax year beginning in the calendar year in which the tax year of the taxpayer begins.

(6) By November 1 of each year, the department shall multiply all the exemptions provided in this section by the inflation factor for the following tax year and round the product to the nearest $10. The resulting adjusted exemptions are effective for that following tax year and must be used in calculating the tax imposed in 15-30-2103.

History: En. Sec. 10, Ch. 181, L. 1933; re-en. Sec. 2295.10, R.C.M. 1935; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 29, L. 1941; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 196, L. 1949; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 233, L. 1957; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 253, L. 1959; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 199, L; 1963; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 363, L. 1974; R.C.M. 1947, 84-4910(a) thru (e), (i); amd. Sec. 8, Ch. 698, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 3, I.M. No. 86, approved Nov. 4, 1980; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 548, L. 1981; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 14, Sp. L. July 1992; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 634, L. 1993 (voided by I.R. No. 112, Nov. 8, 1994); amd. Sec. 44, Ch. 544, L. 2003; Sec. 15-30-112, MCA 2007; redes. 15-30-2114 by Sec. 1, Ch. 147, L. 2009; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 470, L. 2009; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 418, L. 2015.