Montana Title 15. Taxation § 15-6-206. Irrigation and drainage facilities--when exempt

(1) All irrigation and drainage facilities, including bonds, rights-of-way, ditches, flumes, pipelines, dams, water rights, reservoirs, and other property of like character shall be taxed as like facilities of the federal and state government; in cases where property taxes apply and where an increase in land value results, such facilities shall be taxed as such land is improved and such land shall be classified for tax purposes as the tax classification law provides.

(2) Sprinkler irrigation systems are exempt from taxation. Such systems include all pipes, hoses, rollers, spray attachments, connectors, pumps, and other items integral to the functioning of a sprinkler irrigation system installed and used on a farm or ranch but exclude underground water distribution lines and other elements of the system sufficiently affixed to land that they become real property.