Taxes
$5,529,178,429 / 69.5%
Where money comes from
Where Montgomery County, Maryland Gets Its Money
Montgomery County, Maryland pays for services with a mix of local taxes, state and federal aid, fees, charges, and other revenue. This page explains the main revenue categories and why not every budget dollar comes from property taxes.
Data status: FY27 Recommended operating revenues
Last checked: 2026-05-19. Recommended figures are proposals from the County Executive and may differ from the final adopted budget.
The Short Version
FY27 Recommended RevenueTaxes are the largest category in the official FY27 Recommended operating revenue snapshot, at $5,529,178,429 and 69.5% of the total shown on that source page.
That does not mean every county service is paid only by property tax. The revenue mix also includes intergovernmental aid, service charges, permits, investment income, fines, and other sources.
FY27 Recommended Operating Revenue By Category
The bars compare each revenue category's share of total operating revenue shown in Montgomery County, Maryland's official FY27 Recommended revenue snapshot. The same figures appear in the table below the chart.
How to read this chart: each bar shows the category share within the source total. The exact dollars and percentages are repeated in the table below.
Intergovernmental
$1,661,296,564 / 20.9%
Charges for Services
$463,167,644 / 5.8%
Miscellaneous
$139,387,171 / 1.8%
Licenses & Permits
$59,953,737 / 0.8%
Investment Income
$54,415,180 / 0.7%
Fines & Forfeitures
$50,439,812 / 0.6%
| Service Area | FY27 Recommended | Share | Plain-English Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taxes | $5,529,178,429 | 69.5% | Taxes include property tax, county income tax, transfer and recordation taxes, fuel-energy tax, telephone tax, hotel/motel tax, and other tax revenue. This category is broader than property tax. |
| Intergovernmental | $1,661,296,564 | 20.9% | Intergovernmental revenue is money from other levels of government, such as state and federal sources, rather than money raised directly through county taxes. |
| Charges for Services | $463,167,644 | 5.8% | Charges for services are tied to specific county services rather than broad taxes. They should not be read as general-purpose tax revenue. |
| Miscellaneous | $139,387,171 | 1.8% | Miscellaneous revenue groups several smaller sources. Check the official source before using it to describe any single revenue stream. |
| Licenses & Permits | $59,953,737 | 0.8% | Licenses and permits are payments connected to regulated activities or approvals, not broad taxes. |
| Investment Income | $54,415,180 | 0.7% | Investment income comes from county funds that are invested before they are needed for operating cash flow. |
| Fines & Forfeitures | $50,439,812 | 0.6% | Fines and forfeitures are a small revenue category and should not be treated as a main way the county pays for services. |
How To Read This Revenue Mix
Each row is a revenue category from the official FY27 Recommended operating revenue snapshot. The dollar figure is the recommended amount for that category. The percentage is that category's share of the total revenue shown by the source.
Revenue categories are not the same as tax bills. The Taxes row combines several taxes. The Charges for Services row is separate from broad taxes because those charges are tied to specific services.
What The Main Categories Mean
Taxes
$5,529,178,429 / 69.5%
Taxes include property tax, county income tax, transfer and recordation taxes, fuel-energy tax, telephone tax, hotel/motel tax, and other tax revenue. This category is broader than property tax.
Taxes is the largest FY27 Recommended operating revenue category in the official Visual Budget Snapshot.
Intergovernmental
$1,661,296,564 / 20.9%
Intergovernmental revenue is money from other levels of government, such as state and federal sources, rather than money raised directly through county taxes.
Intergovernmental revenue is the second-largest FY27 Recommended operating revenue category in the official Visual Budget Snapshot.
Charges for Services
$463,167,644 / 5.8%
Charges for services are tied to specific county services rather than broad taxes. They should not be read as general-purpose tax revenue.
Charges for Services is an FY27 Recommended operating revenue category in the official Visual Budget Snapshot.
Miscellaneous
$139,387,171 / 1.8%
Miscellaneous revenue groups several smaller sources. Check the official source before using it to describe any single revenue stream.
Miscellaneous is an FY27 Recommended operating revenue category in the official Visual Budget Snapshot.
Tax-supported And Non-tax-supported Funds
Tax-supported money is the part of the budget supported mainly by general tax revenue. Other funds can be tied to fees, grants, enterprise operations, special districts, or legal restrictions.
This matters because a dollar in one fund may not be freely available for another service. A fee collected for a specific program should not be read as general-purpose money unless the official budget says it can be used that way.
Fees And Charges
Fees and charges are part of the revenue mix, but they do not work like broad taxes. They are usually connected to a service, permit, facility, district, or other specific activity.
The county's fiscal plan says user charges can be used where a service provides a direct benefit to users. That does not mean all services should be funded this way; it means the source and fund label matter.
What People Often Misunderstand
A common mistake is to treat revenue as if it all came from property taxes. In the FY27 Recommended snapshot, Taxes is a broad category, and the operating budget also includes intergovernmental money, charges for services, licenses and permits, investment income, fines, and miscellaneous revenue.
Another mistake is mixing tax-supported and restricted funds. Some money can be used broadly; other money is tied to a grant, fee, district, enterprise fund, or legal purpose.