The term “Color of Money” is uses in the DoD to refer to an Appropriation Category for a DoD financial account.  The type of account can range from Procurement, Research and Development (R&D), Operations and Maintenance (O&M), and others. Each category is considered to be a different color of money.

Appropriation Accounts

Each account is considered a “color”, I don’t know why. The five major accounts include:

• Military Personnel (MILPER)
• Operations and Maintenance (O&M)
• Procurement
• Military Construction (MILCON)

See Types of Funds and Appropriation Categories for more details on the individual accounts.

Updated: 8/26/2021

Rank: G10.8