2026 tax year · Montana
Marketplace seller taxes in Montana
Etsy, eBay, Shopify and the rest report your gross and withhold nothing. The gap between that and what you are taxed on is your costs, in Montana that gap is worth $7,134 in tax.
Take a driver who grossed $45,000 over 18,000 business miles. After mileage at 74.3 cents and the rest of the stack, worked through on the marketplace seller page $26,775 comes off and $18,225 is left as taxable profit. That profit is what Montana and the IRS charge against.
What that leaves you owing in Montana
Montana uses graduated 2026 income tax brackets topping out at 5.65%, across 2 brackets, on top of federal income tax and self-employment tax.
| Self-employment tax | $2,575 |
| Federal income tax | $67 |
| Montana income tax | $138 |
| Total tax | $2,780 |
| Effective rate on gross | 6.2% |
Earning more in Montana
A single filer taking the standard deduction, this work as the only income, the calculator above handles the other filing statuses. Miles rise with earnings, so the deduction rises too, and the effective rate on gross climbs more slowly than it would for someone whose income grew without expenses attached:
| Volume | Gross | Mileage off | Taxable profit | Montana tax | Total tax | Rate on gross |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part-time | $15,000 | $0 | $15,000 | $0 | $2,119 | 14.1% |
| Steady side income | $45,000 | $0 | $45,000 | $1,334 | $9,914 | 22.0% |
| Full-time | $72,000 | $0 | $72,000 | $2,752 | $17,555 | 24.4% |
Montana specifics that change the number
On the 2026 rate itself: top rate reduced from 5.9% in 2025. Essentially a flat tax with small lower bracket.
Montana is one of the twelve states that still taxes Social Security benefits, which matters if you are drawing benefits alongside self-employment income.
Montana is also one of five states with no general sales tax, so the total tax picture is lighter than the income tax line alone suggests.
Selling into and out of Montana
Income tax follows you: Montana taxes your profit wherever the buyer was. Sales tax does not. Marketplace facilitator laws make the platform collect and remit sales tax on your behalf in most states, which is why a seller can have customers in all fifty and still file only one income tax return. Selling off-platform is where that stops being true.
On $18,225 of profit, what the states around Montana would charge:
| State | Its tax | vs Montana |
|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | $0 | −$199 |
| South Dakota | No income tax | −$199 |
| Wyoming | No income tax | −$199 |
| Idaho | $966 | +$767 |
- North Dakota would take $199 less, $0 against Montana's $199.
- South Dakota has no income tax at all, so the same work done there costs $199 less in state tax than it does in Montana.
- Wyoming has no income tax at all, so the same work done there costs $199 less in state tax than it does in Montana.
- Idaho would take $767 more, $966 against Montana's $199.
Marketplace seller tax questions in Montana
How much should a Montana seller set aside?
About 6.2% of gross on the $45,000 example, $2,780 across self-employment tax, federal income tax and $138 to Montana. In practice that means moving about $62 of every $1,000 payout into a separate account the day it lands, and sending roughly $695 to the IRS each quarter, no platform withholds any of this for you. Set aside from each payout rather than finding it in April.
Does the $45,000 on my 1099-NEC match what Montana taxes?
No. Montana taxes profit, not gross. After $26,775 of deductions the taxable figure is $18,225, so the Montana bill is $138 rather than what gross alone would suggest. The form reports what the platform paid out, it knows nothing about your costs, and no one subtracts them for you. On this example 60% of the gross never becomes taxable income, but only for the seller who kept the records to prove it.