Maryland Income Tax Calculator (2026)
Estimate your full 2026 Maryland income tax in one place — the state tax on 2% to 6.5% brackets plus your county piggyback tax. No sign-up, no cost.
Estimate Your Maryland Tax
Maryland local tax is based on where you live, not where you work. Anne Arundel and Frederick use graduated local rates, applied automatically below.
Each exemption — you, your spouse on a joint return, and each dependent — is worth $3,200.
If your Maryland itemized deductions beat the standard deduction ($3,350 single / $6,700 joint or head of household), enter them here and the larger amount is used.
Take-home here is after Maryland state and county tax only. Federal income tax and FICA (Social Security and Medicare) are separate — use our paycheck calculator for your full take-home pay. Estimates only — your actual return may differ.
How Maryland Income Tax Works
Maryland is one of the few states that taxes you twice on the same income: a progressive state income tax, plus a local “piggyback” tax set by your county of residence and collected on the same Form 502 return. Combined marginal rates run from about 4.25% to 9.80% depending on income and county — which is why two Marylanders with the same salary can owe very different amounts.
- State brackets: 2% to 6.5%. Ten brackets. Most middle-income filers land in the wide 4.75% bracket, and the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2025 added two new top brackets — 6.25% and 6.5% — for high earners.
- County piggyback tax: 2.25% to 3.30%. Every county and Baltimore City levies its own flat rate on the same taxable income. Most large counties charge 3.20%; Dorchester and Kent charge the 3.30% maximum; Worcester is lowest at 2.25%. Anne Arundel and Frederick use graduated local rates instead of one flat rate.
- Standard deduction: flat $3,350 / $6,700. The 2025 Act replaced the old 15%-of-income formula with a flat $3,350 for single filers and $6,700 for joint filers and heads of household, indexed for inflation in later years.
- Personal exemption: $3,200 each. Claim one for yourself, your spouse on a joint return, and each dependent. The exemption phases down at higher incomes (federal AGI over $100,000, or $150,000 joint/head of household) — that phase-down is not modeled here.
- Based on where you live. Your county rate follows your residence on December 31 — not your workplace. Nonresidents who work in Maryland pay a special 2.25% rate instead of a county rate.
State tax = brackets applied to MD taxable income (2% to 6.5%)
County tax = county rate × MD taxable income
Total Maryland tax = state tax + county tax
Maryland State Brackets for 2026
| Rate | Single / filing separately | Joint / head of household |
|---|---|---|
| 2.00% | $0 – $1,000 | $0 – $1,000 |
| 3.00% | $1,001 – $2,000 | $1,001 – $2,000 |
| 4.00% | $2,001 – $3,000 | $2,001 – $3,000 |
| 4.75% | $3,001 – $100,000 | $3,001 – $150,000 |
| 5.00% | $100,001 – $125,000 | $150,001 – $175,000 |
| 5.25% | $125,001 – $150,000 | $175,001 – $225,000 |
| 5.50% | $150,001 – $250,000 | $225,001 – $300,000 |
| 5.75% | $250,001 – $500,000 | $300,001 – $600,000 |
| 6.25% | $500,001 – $1,000,000 | $600,001 – $1,200,000 |
| 6.50% | Over $1,000,000 | Over $1,200,000 |
Maryland County Tax Rates for 2026
Official local rates from the Comptroller of Maryland. Your county tax appears on line 28 of Form 502 and is withheld from your paycheck based on the county on your Form MW507.
| County / city | 2026 local rate | County / city | 2026 local rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allegany | 3.20% | Kent | 3.30% |
| Anne Arundel | 2.70% – 3.20% graduated | Montgomery | 3.20% |
| Baltimore City | 3.20% | Prince George’s | 3.20% |
| Baltimore County | 3.20% | Queen Anne’s | 3.20% |
| Calvert | 3.20% | St. Mary’s | 3.20% |
| Caroline | 3.20% | Somerset | 3.20% |
| Carroll | 3.03% | Talbot | 2.40% |
| Cecil | 2.74% | Washington | 2.95% |
| Charles | 3.03% | Wicomico | 3.20% |
| Dorchester | 3.30% | Worcester | 2.25% |
| Frederick | 2.25% – 3.20% graduated | Garrett | 2.65% |
| Harford | 3.06% | Howard | 3.20% |
Worked Example: Single, $80,000, Montgomery County
Take a single filer earning $80,000 who lives in Montgomery County (3.20%), with no dependents, taking the standard deduction:
| Calculation | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Standard deduction (single) | $3,350 | |
| Personal exemption | 1 × $3,200 | $3,200 |
| MD taxable income | $80,000 − $3,350 − $3,200 | $73,450 |
| State tax | $90 + 4.75% × ($73,450 − $3,000) | $3,436.38 |
| County tax (Montgomery) | $73,450 × 3.20% | $2,350.40 |
| Total Maryland tax | $3,436.38 + $2,350.40 | $5,786.78 |
| Effective rate | $5,786.78 ÷ $80,000 | 7.23% |
The county layer alone adds $2,350 — about 41% of this filer’s Maryland bill. The same salary in Worcester County (2.25%) would owe roughly $700 less, and in Virginia roughly $2,000 less, which is why county choice matters so much in the DMV area.
Frequently Asked Questions
