Updated May 12, 5:41 p.m.
As the debate over the fiscal year 2027 budget continues, the Montgomery County Council has voted to eliminate a homeowner tax credit that provides residents with a $692 reduction on their property tax bills.
Known as the Income Tax Offset Credit, it was the county’s largest property tax break that existed for homeowners.
“Earlier this week, the County Council voted to set aside my proposed broad-based property tax rate increase that would have raised the rate on all properties by 6.3 percent,” said County Executive Marc Elrich in a Friday statement. The proposed 6.3 cent property tax rate increase is per $100 of assessed value.
“My property tax proposal was estimated to bring in $164.4 million in additional revenues just for our schools,” said the former teacher who announced his proposed budget in March.
The proposed 6.3% tax increase in the county executive’s budget would apply to both residential and commercial property owners. The council’s vote to generate revenue by eliminating the county property tax credit, instead, would bring in about $137 million more for general purposes, but commercial property owners would not be affected, said Elrich.
“While some may characterize this action as a rejection of all of my tax increases, they are simply proposing a different type of tax increase: one I fear is far more regressive,” said Elrich.
The 11-member council did, however, vote in favor of a pay increase for county employees in fiscal year 2027 as part of its collective bargaining agreement.
In the chart above, provided by County Executive Marc Elrich’s office, the move to eliminate Montgomery County’s Income Tax Offset Credit impacts homeowners in what Elrich calls “an unequal and unfair manner.”
