- Home
- Departments
- Finance & Real Estate
- Auditor
- County Income Tax
County Income Tax
2025 LIT Workshop Documents
Baker Tilly 9.16.26 LIT Presentation
Baker Tilly 6.24.25 Presentation - Senate Bill 1 Impacts
DLGF Presentation - Intro to Local Income Tax
Recording - Baker Tilly LIT Presentation 2.20.25
Baker Tilly LIT Presentation - 2.20.25
County Specific Information - 2.20.25
LIT Distributions
DLGF - Historical LIT and Supplemental LIT distribution reports
About Porter County's Local Income Tax
Porter County first enacted a county option income tax in 2002, following the Bethlehem Steel bankruptcy and the fiscal crisis that resulted for local government units. The Indiana Legislature offered Porter County taxing units a no-interest "bail out" loan, under the condition that Porter County adopt a county option income tax. The County Economic Development Income Tax (CEDIT) was then established at a rate of .0025 (.25%).
In 2003, the Porter County Council held a series of public meetings regarding LIT on March 24nd, 2003 and March 31st, 2003. Those meeting minutes are hyperlinked on those dates.
In 2005, Porter County amended the CEDIT rate after Indiana lawmakers established the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority (RDA). State legislation allowed Porter County to pay its $3.5 million dues to the RDA with a new income tax that would also include property tax relief for homeowners.
Effective July 1, 2005, the CEDIT rate was set at .005 (.5%).
A bill that passed the Indiana Legislature in 2015, H.B. 1485, restructured the county option income tax laws. The tax is now known as the "Local Income Tax," or LIT, with different rate components and uses of the revenue. The transition took effect in 2017.
How is the LIT revenue used in Porter County? One-half of the total funding is distributed to the county, cities and towns for their operational needs; of the remaining half, $3.5 million is distributed to the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority, with the remainder used for a property tax credit on homesteads. For more information, see "LIT Distributions" and "County Homestead Credit."
The chart here shows the county income tax rates in Indiana's 92 counties in 2021, along with the number of counties in each rate range. Porter County is one of the two counties with a rate of 0.5% (.005).