Maryland tax forms & filing.

Things to know about filing in Maryland

• Maryland counties each levy their own local income tax on top of the state rate. Your county of residence determines the local rate. Baltimore City has its own rate separate from Baltimore County.
• Maryland has reciprocity with DC, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia for wage income. Residents working in those states pay only Maryland tax on wages.
• Maryland has an estate tax and an inheritance tax that operate separately. The estate tax has a threshold; the inheritance tax applies to non-lineal heirs regardless of estate size.
• Maryland offers a Student Loan Debt Relief Tax Credit that requires a separate application during a defined enrollment window — not claimed on the return automatically.

Maryland county income tax — every county sets its own rate

Maryland is the only state where every county (plus Baltimore City) sets its own income tax rate, and the county rate stacks on top of the state rate. Your county of residence as of the last day of the tax year determines your county rate for the full year — not where you lived for the majority of the year.

County rates range from a low of about 2.25% to a high above 3.2%, with Baltimore City at the high end and rural Eastern Shore counties typically at the lower end. Combined with the state rate, total Maryland income tax burden varies meaningfully by county — Montgomery and Howard counties (DC-metro affluent) pay materially more than rural-county residents at the same income level.

If you move between Maryland counties during the year, the December 31 residence rule applies — you'll be taxed at the destination county's rate even for income earned earlier in the year at the prior county. We allocate at intake for clients who moved during the tax year.

Maryland estate and inheritance taxes — both can apply

Maryland is one of only two states with both an estate tax and an inheritance tax (the other is New Jersey, which repealed its estate tax in 2018). The two taxes operate independently and can both apply to the same estate.

The estate tax applies to estates above a defined Maryland threshold (lower than the federal threshold), with rates that scale up to a defined maximum. The estate tax is paid by the estate before distributions.

The inheritance tax applies to amounts received by certain heirs — specifically non-lineal heirs (siblings, nieces, nephews, friends, and non-charitable beneficiaries). Lineal heirs (children, grandchildren, spouses, parents) are exempt. The inheritance tax applies regardless of the estate's total size — even a $50,000 bequest to a sibling can trigger Maryland inheritance tax.

Planning around the dual structure matters for high-net-worth Maryland residents. We don't draft estate plans (refer to a Maryland estate attorney) but we coordinate with estate counsel on the tax-return side.

Where's my refund?

The Comptroller of Maryland runs the official refund-status tracker. You'll need your Social Security number, filing status, and exact refund amount (in some cases, the tax year and a return-amount input).

Check your Maryland refund status →

Multi-state considerations

If you lived or worked in more than one state during the tax year, you typically file a part-year resident return in each state. If you live in one state and work in another, you usually file as a resident where you live and as a nonresident in the work state — claiming a credit on the resident return for taxes paid to the work state. Reciprocity agreements between some neighboring states change this default; we map this out at intake.

Maryland-specific multi-state nuances are addressed in the quirks list above when they apply.

Get the current-year forms

State tax rates, brackets, and forms change every year. We point to the Comptroller of Maryland as the authoritative source for current-year information. Form numbers above are stable; rates, deduction amounts, and credit limits are not — always verify before relying on a specific dollar amount.

Open the Comptroller of Maryland website →