Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT): Federal Analysis
Summary
This practice note provides a comprehensive analysis of the Department of the Interior's (DOI's) PILT or PILOT program, which is a federal initiative that offsets the loss of property tax revenue for local governments due to the presence of nontaxable federal lands within their jurisdictions. This analysis covers the legal framework established by the PILT Act of 1976 and subsequent amendments, including the eligibility criteria for entitlement lands and detailed payment calculation formulas involving alternatives based on acreage and population ceilings. It discusses the impact of recent appropriations acts like the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024, which appropriated $621.6 million for the program.