Assistance Programs in Montana

The Low Income Energy Assistance Program, LIEAP, helps low-income Montana households pay winter heating bills and covers furnace emergencies during the heating season. Apply from October 1 through April 30 by delivering or mailing the combined LIEAP and Weatherization application to your local eligibility office. For help, call the Human and Community Services Division at 406-444-1788.

Free home energy-efficiency work for income-eligible Montana households: insulation, air sealing, and heating-system repairs that lower future bills. Both homeowners and renters can apply, at any time of year, using the combined LIEAP and Weatherization application filed with your local eligibility office. For help, call the Human and Community Services Division at 406-444-1788.

SNAP is Montana's food assistance program: monthly food money on an EBT card you use like a debit card at most grocery stores. Apply online at apply.mt.gov, which also covers Medicaid and TANF cash on one application, in person at your local Office of Public Assistance, or by phone through the Public Assistance Helpline at 1-888-706-1535.

WIC gives healthy food, breastfeeding support, nutrition education, and health referrals to pregnant and postpartum people, infants, and children up to age 5. To start, find a clinic and prescreen at signupwic.com, or call 1-844-583-3237. A father, grandparent, foster parent, or guardian raising a child under 5 can apply for that child.

Montana Medicaid and Healthy Montana Kids (HMK) Plus are free or low-cost health coverage for children, pregnant people, parents, older adults, people with disabilities, and low-income adults. Montana expanded Medicaid, so adults ages 19 to 64 with low income may qualify through the HELP Plan. Apply online at apply.mt.gov or at your local Office of Public Assistance at 1-888-706-1535. For questions about current benefits, call the Member Help Line at 1-800-362-8312, Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm.

Montana offers a refundable Earned Income Tax Credit equal to 10 percent of your federal EITC, so it can pay out even when it is larger than the state tax you owe. If you qualify for the federal EITC, claim the Montana credit on your state income tax return using Form 2. Free tax-preparation sites can file both returns and claim the credit at no cost.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, TANF, is Montana's monthly cash assistance for low-income families with children. Most adults take part in TANF Pathways, the work program run for the state by Maximus, which helps you move toward a job. Apply online at apply.mt.gov, in person at your local Office of Public Assistance, or by phone at 1-888-706-1535.

Temporary weekly payments if you lost work through no fault of your own, from the Montana Department of Labor and Industry. File online through the claimant portal at uiclaimant.mt.gov, then request payment each week you are unemployed. For help, call the Claims Processing Center at 406-444-2545.

The Montana Elderly Homeowner/Renter Credit is a refundable credit of up to 1,150 dollars that helps older Montanans with the property taxes or rent they paid on their home. You may qualify if you were 62 or older at the end of the year and had total household income under 45,000 dollars. Both homeowners and renters claim it on Form 2 with Schedule 2EC, even if you do not otherwise have to file.

Montana Legal Services Association gives free civil legal help to low-income Montanans on housing, family, public benefits, consumer, and other noncriminal matters. Call the HELP Line at 1-800-666-6899, open Tuesday through Thursday, 9am to 1pm, or find free legal information, forms, and your local provider at montanalawhelp.org.

Dial 2-1-1 from any Montana phone for free, confidential help finding local assistance with housing, utilities, food, healthcare, and more. Montana 211 is a statewide service run by regional United Way partners, and it answers around the clock, every day. You can also search at montana211.org.