Maryland drivers are being warned that higher tolls may be coming. A new state audit raises a pretty obvious question: Why should taxpayers pay more when the state has failed to collect hundreds of millions already owed aggressively?
Maryland drivers know the routine. You get on the highway, cross a bridge or pass through a tunnel, and the state makes sure the toll bill locates you quickly. If you do not pay it, penalties pile up. If you are a Maryland resident, the state has tools to collect, including intercepting tax refunds.
Apparently, the same urgency has not applied to drivers from other states.
A new audit from the Maryland Office of Legislative Audits found that the Maryland Transportation Authority had $818.1 million in unpaid tolls and penalties from out-of-state motorists as of January 2026. Even more troubling, $668.7 million had been outstanding for more than a year, and $386.3 million for more than three years.
That is not a rounding error. That is a management failure.
To be fair, the entire $818.1 million is not money that Maryland could deposit into a bank account tomorrow. About $230.9 million represents actual unpaid tolls, while $587.2 million is penalties. Collecting every dollar of old penalties is unrealistic. But that does not excuse what the auditors found.
Their conclusion was plain: MDTA “did not take available actions” to collect the money.
That is the part Maryland taxpayers should focus on.
State law allows Maryland to enter into reciprocity agreements with other states. Those agreements could allow states to flag or suspend a vehicle registration when a driver refuses to pay qualifying toll debts. Yet as of February 2026, MDTA had not executed those agreements. It had not hired a third-party collection agency either. It also had not requested approval to refer the accounts to Maryland’s Central Collection Unit.
Meanwhile, Virginia motorists alone owed Maryland $234.7 million. Pennsylvania drivers owed $97.5 million. New Jersey motorists owed another $80.7 million.
MDTA says collecting from out-of-state drivers is complicated, and that is true. Different states have different laws, computer systems, penalties and enforcement procedures. The agency also says it is now working toward a reciprocity agreement with Pennsylvania and pursuing other collection options.
Good. It should.
But taxpayers are allowed to ask why this took so long.
Concerns about unpaid out-of-state tolls were already raised in a 2024 legislative report. In January 2025, MDTA said it was confident it would reach its first reciprocity agreement. By July 2026, that agreement was still being finalized.
This matters even more because Maryland has been talking about higher tolls.
MDTA officials have warned for years that toll increases may be necessary as soon as fiscal 2028. Maryland drivers are already dealing with high costs everywhere they look. Gas, groceries, housing, insurance and taxes all take a bigger bite out of the family budget. Telling those same drivers that they may soon have to pay more to use Maryland roads and bridges, while hundreds of millions of dollars in existing toll obligations remain uncollected, is a tough argument to make.
Republicans should make this a responsibility issue, not a partisan gimmick.
The audit period began in March 2020, during the Hogan administration, and continued through May 2025 under Gov. Wes Moore. So pretending this entire problem appeared overnight under one governor would not be accurate.
But Gov. Moore and his transportation team are responsible for fixing it now.
Before state officials ask Marylanders for another toll increase, they should show taxpayers that every reasonable effort has been made to collect money already owed. That means finishing reciprocity agreements, using outside collectors when it makes financial sense, improving interstate enforcement, and publicly reporting on what is actually being collected.
Marylanders who pay their bills should not be treated as the easiest source of new revenue simply because the government failed to pursue those who did not.
The principle here is not complicated. Run government the way families and businesses have to run their own finances. Collect what you are owed. Control your costs. Fix what is broken. Then, and only then, come back and tell taxpayers why you need more.
Maryland does not have an $818 million excuse to raise tolls. It has an $818 million reason to demand better management.
Endnotes
1. State Audit: $818.1 Million in Outstanding Tolls and Penalties
Source: Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) Audit Report, from August 2026, Maryland Office of Legislative Audits. The audit documents the $818.1 million outstanding balance, its age, the state-by-state totals, and the collection actions auditors said MDTA had not taken.
https://ola.maryland.gov/umbraco/Api/ReportFile/ViewReport
2. Maryland Matters Report on the Audit
Source: Bryan P. Sears, “Maryland Transportation Authority failed to collect $818.1 million in tolls, penalties,” Maryland Matters, September 1, 2026. The report summarizes the audit findings and places them in the context of MDTA’s finances and possible future toll increases.
https://marylandmatters.org/2026/09/01/maryland-transportation-authority-failed-to-collect-818-1-million-in-tolls-penalties/
3. Maryland Drivers Could Face Higher Tolls in 2027
Source: Bryan P. Sears, “Increased tolls may be on the horizon as panel examines transportation funding needs,” Maryland Matters, September 14, 2023. MDTA officials warned that monetary pressures could require higher toll revenue beginning around fiscal 2028.
https://marylandmatters.org/2023/09/14/increased-tolls-may-be-on-the-horizon-as-panel-examines-transportation-funding-needs/
Aaron Ackerman is a contributor at Direct Line News, where he writes on governance, accountability, and Maryland politics
Direct Line News is a Maryland-based free-access publication committed to the Republican reform tradition.
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