Both have been filled with great leaders, un-sung heroes, intrigue, and conflict. Like Maryland’s other elected officials, the 30 people who have served as comptrollers have affected the lives of citizens in many ways since 1851. Unique among state financial officers, Maryland’s Comptroller has diverse and far-reaching responsibilities that touch the lives of every Marylander.
Maryland Constitutional Offices & Agencies
- The Comptroller is elected by the voters to a term of four years (Const., Art. VI, sec. 1).
- Maryland’s comptrollers have been lawyers, doctors, bankers, miners, newspapermen, teachers and farmers and all of them have been men.
- The office provides information technology services critical to the daily operation of most state agencies.
- If you are unsure of the appropriate e-mail address to use, please e-mail the General Information account.
- Local admissions and amusement tax revenues are collected by the Comptroller as well.
- These licenses are issued to construction companies and warehouses, hawkers and peddlers, restaurants, and traders, among others.
The Comptroller begins his duties on the third Monday in January following election (Const., Art. VI, sec. 5). In order to do that, you will need your Social Security Number (SSN), date of birth, and the «Agency Number» and «Check/Advice Number» from your most recent paystub. If you don’t have it, contact your Agency’s Payroll Representative before attempting to create an account.
- Some of its duties also stem from the Sales and Use Tax Division which organized in 1947.
- In addition, the Office supports the work of the Board of Public Works, and conducts policy research.
- Established in 1953, we handle and provide payment of salaries and wages for all state employees whose salaries are paid from funds appropriated by the General Assembly.
- A direct deposit will stop within 21 days of filing the form with the Central Payroll Bureau.
- It also tests motor fuel to ensure the quality of the product for the consumer.
- All operating costs of the Center are reimbursed by user agencies that are charged for services performed.
Salary Advances
Either way, their mandatory use will provide the employee and agencies with a standardized approach to the request of, and repayment of, payroll advances. The Central Payroll Bureau processes and issues paychecks to all State employees, including those in the Department of Transportation (though not the Maryland Transit Administration) and the University System of Maryland. The Bureau also handles deductions, payroll taxes, federal withholding (W-2) forms, and other payroll reports for State government. ANNAPOLIS DATA CENTERThe Information Technology Division operates the largest computer center in Maryland State government – the Annapolis Data Center. All operating costs of the Center are reimbursed by user agencies that are charged for services performed.
Beginning in January 2023, all main offices of the Comptroller of Maryland began to report to the Comptroller through the Chief of Staff. Directly under the Chief of Staff is the Administration and Finance Division. The Comptroller is elected by the voters to a term of four years (Const., Art. VI, sec. 1). Moreover, neither the Constitution nor the Annotated Code of Maryland specifies qualifications for this office. Yet, the Comptroller must give a bond and keep the office at the seat of government (Code State Government Article, sec. 4-102).
Employees
The Comptroller of Maryland and the entire agency stand at the ready to serve the taxpayers, vendors, and tax professionals of Maryland. Further, it is our mandate to provide a transparent, lighted path forward in government; opening the Free State’s books and deciphering in the clearest way possible how taxpayer dollars are spent, and what Marylanders get in return for their hard work. The Revenue Administration Division was created in July 1993, when the revenue divisions of the Comptroller of Maryland were reorganized from a tax-type to a functional basis.
OFFICE OF REVENUE OPERATIONS & ACCOUNTING
Provide competent and friendly support services related to administration of voluntary and mandatory payroll deductions, subsidies and taxes. If you wish to send sensitive information, email a description of the issue (without the sensitive data), and let us know you have confidential information to send. We will reply back via an encrypted email account, which will have «#secure#» in the email subject. In reply to the secured email, you may then provide the additional detail, including the sensitive information. The Office oversees much of the public work of the Comptroller of Maryland, including the agency�s field offices, public engagement initiatives, and internal and external communications.
The agency publicizes forgotten bank accounts, insurance benefits and other unclaimed assets of taxpayers. The major revenue sources are individual and business income taxes and sales and use taxes. The agency also collects taxes on motor fuel, estates, admissions and amusement, and alcohol and tobacco.
Direct Deposit
The office provides information technology services critical to the daily operation of most state agencies. Acting as Maryland’s chief accountant, the comptroller pays the state’s bills, maintains its books, prepares financial reports, and pays state employees. For the Comptroller, the Division administers finance, procurement and other administrative functions. It is responsible for the preparation and execution of the agency’s budget, payment of invoices, accounting for expenditures of the agency, and procurement of goods and services (except for those concerned with information technology). In addition, the Division maintains a centralized mail room and supply facility, and oversees fleet management, timekeeping, and payroll. These forms (created as PDF’s) can either be used as electronic fill-in forms or printed for manual use central payroll bureau and circulation.
The first comptroller, Philip Francis Thomas, had a salary of $2,500 and a staff of one clerk. This first office provided the money and accounting that made the government work and still does today. Comptroller Thomas and his early counterparts put together fiscal reports, printed piles of forms and collected revenue from lotteries and property taxes as well as license fees for peddling, hunting and fishing and getting married. The first comptrollers also spent a lot of their time signing forms until the office was able to obtain an official signature stamp in 1858. The comptroller audits taxpayers for compliance, handles delinquent tax collection, and enforces license and unclaimed property laws.
Under this program, vendors who are owed money from State or federal agencies may have these payments offset by the amount of tax dollars owed by those vendors. Under the Division, the State’s Corporate Purchasing-Card Program reduces the number of invoices and checks used in the purchasing and procurement process. More than 700,000 transactions are made totaling over $200,000,000 each year. The General Accounting Division was the original office of the State Comptroller, created with the establishment of the office in 1851.
The Information Technology Division operates a statewide computer network and provides data center disaster recovery capabilities. It also develops and maintains application systems for the Comptroller of Maryland and certain other State agencies. Moreover, the operating system and security software environment in which agency applications are executed is maintained by the Division. In addition, the Division monitors information technology-related services, and keeps records of information technology equipment inventories for the Comptroller’s Office. A standardized payroll advance request and recovery process was created as a result of recently passed legislation.
Related State Agencies
When sending an email to the Comptroller of Maryland, do not include information such as your full social security number (use only the last 4 digits), bank account numbers, routing numbers, or any other sensitive information. All requests for records maintained by the Comptroller of Maryland pursuant to the Maryland Public Information Act should be submitted via this website, email or mail. By enforcing the collection of use tax, the comptroller’s goal is to provide a level playing field for local businesses in competing with out-of-state retailers who sell through catalogs and on the Internet. Alaska has a «Commissioner of Administration.» Maryland’s 1851 Constitution calls for the «Comptroller of the Treasury» to «superintend fiscal affairs…for the support of the public credit.»