Summary
On June 24, 2015, the Department of Interior (DOI) announced $405 million in payments to counties under the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program for fiscal year (FY) 2015. These payments compensate local governments, usually county governments, for property tax revenue that would otherwise be collected on non-taxable land owned by the federal government.
In FY 2015, Congress did not extend mandatory full funding for PILT, and instead funded it through the appropriations process. This year’s PILT allocation represents a -7.4% decline compared to FY 2014. This Issue Brief provides background on PILT and details on the FY 2015 payments.