Each month, the Tennessee Department of Finance & Administration (F&A) reports how much tax revenue the state collected for the previous month. These reports help policymakers and the public understand how actual revenue collections compare to estimates from the start of the fiscal year. The Sycamore Institute’s Tennessee Tax Revenue Tracker provides a quick visual snapshot of each monthly report.
Tennessee’s July 2018 Revenue Collections
The image below shows Tennessee’s revenue collections for FY 2017-2018 relative to the estimates for which the state “budgeted” at the start of the fiscal year. Ultimately, Tennessee collected about $344 million (or 2%) more than was originally budgeted for the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2018. Some of these over-collections were accounted for in spending decisions made during the FY 2018-2019 budget process, but about $295 million will be available for spending in future years.
For additional details, read F&A’s official July 2018 report on revenue collections.
Why Revenue Forecasts Are So Important
Forecasting how much tax revenue Tennessee will collect in a given year or month is a difficult but important part of maintaining a balanced budget, which the state constitution requires. F&A’s revenue forecasts have a major influence on decisions about spending. Overestimating revenues could force state policymakers to cut spending mid-year. On the other hand, underestimating revenues creates unplanned surpluses which can be spent the following year or saved in the rainy day fund. The trade-off of a surplus is that policymakers may have preferred to either spend the money or reduce taxes in the current year.
See our Tennessee State Budget Primer for more on the implications of state revenue estimates and how accurate these estimates have been in recent years. To learn how F&A creates its revenue forecasts, read the department’s methodology here.
Tennessee’s June 2018 Revenue Collections
The image below shows Tennessee’s revenue collections so far in FY 2017-2018 relative to the estimates for which the state “budgeted” at the start of the fiscal year. As of June 30, 2018, Tennessee had collected about 95% of its total budgeted revenue for the current fiscal year. Actual collections were about 3% higher than estimated. For additional details, read F&A’s official June 2018 report on revenue collections.
Tennessee’s May 2018 Revenue Collections
The image below shows Tennessee’s revenue collections so far in FY 2017-2018 relative to the estimates for which the state “budgeted” at the start of the fiscal year. As of May 31, 2018, Tennessee had collected about 84% of its total budgeted revenue for the current fiscal year. Actual collections were about 3% higher than estimated. For additional details, read F&A’s official May 2018 report on revenue collections.
Tennessee’s April 2018 Revenue Collections
The image below shows Tennessee’s revenue collections so far in FY 2017-2018 relative to the estimates for which the state “budgeted” at the start of the fiscal year. As of April 30, 2018, Tennessee had collected about 77% of its total budgeted revenue for the current fiscal year. Actual collections were about 3% higher than estimated. For additional details, read F&A’s official April 2018 report on revenue collections.
Tennessee’s March 2018 Revenue Collections
The image below shows Tennessee’s revenue collections so far in FY 2017-2018 relative to the estimates for which the state “budgeted” at the start of the fiscal year. As of March 31, 2018, Tennessee had collected about 63% of its total budgeted revenue for the current fiscal year. Actual collections were about 2% higher than estimated. For additional details, read F&A’s official March 2018 report on revenue collections.
Tennessee’s February 2018 Revenue Collections
The image below shows Tennessee’s revenue collections so far in FY 2017-2018 relative to the estimates for which the state “budgeted” at the start of the fiscal year. As of February 28, 2018, Tennessee had collected about 55% of its total budgeted revenue for the current fiscal year. Actual collections were about 2% higher than estimated. For additional details, read F&A’s official February 2018 report on revenue collections.
Tennessee’s January 2018 Revenue Collections
The image below shows Tennessee’s revenue collections so far in FY 2017-2018 relative to the estimates for which the state “budgeted” at the start of the fiscal year. As of January 31, 2018, Tennessee had collected about 49% of its total budgeted revenue for the current fiscal year. Actual collections were about 3% higher than estimated. For additional details, read F&A’s official January 2018 report on revenue collections.
Tennessee’s December 2017 Revenue Collections
The image below shows Tennessee’s revenue collections so far in FY 2017-2018 relative to the estimates for which the state “budgeted” at the start of the fiscal year. As of December 31, 2017, Tennessee had collected about 40% of its total budgeted revenue for the current fiscal year. Actual collections were about 4% higher than estimated. For additional details, read F&A’s official December 2017 report on revenue collections.
Tennessee’s November 2017 Revenue Collections
The image below shows Tennessee’s revenue collections so far in FY 2017-2018 relative to the estimates for which the state “budgeted” at the start of the fiscal year. As of November 30, 2017, Tennessee had collected about 30% of its total budgeted revenue for the current fiscal year. Actual collections were about 1% higher than estimated. For additional details, read F&A’s official November 2017 report on revenue collections.
Tennessee’s October 2017 Revenue Collections
The image below shows Tennessee’s revenue collections so far in FY 2017-2018 relative to the estimates for which the state “budgeted” at the start of the fiscal year. As of October 31, 2017, Tennessee had collected about 24% of its total budgeted revenue for the current fiscal year. Actual collections were about 1% higher than estimated. For additional details, read F&A’s official October 2017 report on revenue collections.
