Audience: Individuals, Businesses, Tax Professionals
Here are some of the most important changes and benefits affecting the approximately 3.5 million taxpayers working on their 2025 Maryland income tax returns.
Note: For forms, visit the 2025 Individual Tax Forms or Business Tax Forms pages.
| Booklet | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Resident (PDF) | Maryland State and Local Tax Forms and Instructions | Instructions for filing personal state and local income taxes for full- or part-year Maryland residents. |
| Nonresident (PDF) | Maryland Tax Forms for Nonresidents | Instructions for filing personal income tax returns for nonresident individuals. |
| Fiduciary (PDF) | Maryland Instructions for Fiduciaries | Instructions for filing fiduciary income tax returns. |
| Number | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Corporation (PDF) | Maryland Income Tax Form Instructions for Corporations | Instructions for filing corporation income tax returns for the calendar year or any other tax year or period beginning in 2025. |
| Pass-Through Entity (PDF) | Maryland Income Tax Form Instructions for Pass-Through Entities | Instructions for filing pass-through entity income tax returns for the calendar year or any other tax year or period beginning in 2025. |
| Electing Pass-Through Entity (PDF) | Maryland Income Tax Form Instructions for Electing Pass-Through Entities | Instructions for filing Electing pass-through entity income tax returns for the calendar year or any other tax year or period beginning in 2025. |
The IRS began accepting all Business tax returns on 01/13/2026.
Maryland started accepting all Business tax returns on 01/13/2026.
The IRS begins accepting all Individual tax returns on 01/26/2026.
Maryland begins accepting all Individual tax returns on 01/26/2026.
For tax years beginning after December 31, 2012, you must file your tax return electronically in order to claim a business tax credit unless you submit a waiver from the electronic filing requirement. To request a waiver from filing the Form 500CR electronically, you must submit a completed Form 500CRW Waiver Request For Electronic Filing of Form 500CR and it must be attached to Form 500CR in the filing of your return.
Beginning with Tax Year 2015 certain individual taxpayers may elect to claim the Community Investment Tax Credit and/or the Endow Maryland Tax Credit on Maryland Form 502CR, and thus avoid the electronic filing requirement. Read instructions to Form 502CR to see if you qualify for this election.
Your income tax return is due April 15, 2026.
Business income tax return dates vary. See Filing Extensions and Deadlines for Corporations
Local Taxpayer Service Offices
Local Tax Rate Changes - For calendar year 2026, local rates for some counties have been adjusted (Allegany and Kent). View a complete list of current city and local counties' tax rate and see note for Anne Arundel and Frederick Counties.
There have been no changes affecting personal exemptions on the Maryland returns.
Personal Exemption Amount - The exemption amount of $3,200 begins to be phased out if your federal adjusted gross income is more than $100,000 ($150,000 for joint taxpayers). The $3,200 exemption is phased out entirely when the income exceeds $150,000 ($200,000 for joint taxpayers). See Instruction 10 in the Resident tax booklet for the reduced amounts, or review the page, Determine Your Personal Income Tax Exemptions. The additional exemption of $1,000 remains the same for age and blindness.
Dependent Form 502B - will be required to be attached to Form 502, Form 505 and Form 515 to determine what exemptions you are entitled to claim.
Standard Deduction - The tax year 2025 standard deduction is $3,350 for single taxpayers and to $6,700 for head of household, a surviving spouse, and taxpayers filing jointly.
Itemized Deduction Limitation - Beginning tax year 2025, itemized deductions for filers with a federal adjusted gross income of $200,000 ($100,000 for married filing separately) must be reduced based on their income.
Should I take the standard deduction or itemize? - The federal tax reform of 2017 significantly raised the federal standard deduction. Under current Maryland law, if you take the standard deduction the federal level, you cannot itemize at the Maryland level. You may take the federal standard deduction, while this may reduce your federal tax liability, it may result in an increase to your Maryland income tax liability. The Comptroller's Office encourages you to run your income tax returns under both deduction methods, and to compare the results of taking the standard deduction versus itemizing your deductions, to see which method causes the lowest overall tax liability.
Limitation on deduction for state and local tax - Federal tax reform limited the amount you can deduct for state and local taxes. You cannot claim more than $40,000 ($20,000 for married filing separately) for state and local taxes you paid. The new federal limitation impacts your Maryland return because you must addback the amount of state income taxes you claimed as federal itemized deductions. The addback is limited to $40,000 ($20,000 for married filing separately) and is reported on line 17b of the Maryland Form 502. Maryland will accept any reasonable interpretation of the limitation reported on line 17b. A reasonable interpretation of the law includes the following example: you, a single filer, paid $8,000 in real property taxes and $4,000 in Maryland state income taxes, Maryland will accept an addback of state income tax of $2,000 on Line 17b.
The resident tax booklets contain both the tax forms and the instructions for each major form. The tax forms on the Web site are available separately from the resident and nonresident instruction booklets.
All of our tax forms have been reformatted to ensure enhanced readability when paper forms are filed. This format has increased the number of pages of some of the tax returns. Make sure that you attach all pages of your return to ensure that your return is processed correctly.
Tax Forms and Instructions Online - Tax forms and instructions for Individual and Business taxpayers are available here online at Maryland Tax Forms and Instructions (business and individuals).
Tax Booklets at Libraries - We have provided a limited supply of tax booklets to a number of libraries throughout the State that have requested them.
Tax Booklets at Comptroller's Taxpayer Service Offices - Tax booklets are available at all of our local taxpayer service offices.
Request a Tax Booklet - Taxpayers may request a resident or nonresident tax booklet by sending an e-mail to taxforms@marylandtaxes.gov.
Increased pension exclusion - Maryland's maximum pension exclusion, which is available to qualifying taxpayers who are age 65 or older; are totally and permanently disabled; or have a spouse who is totally and permanently disabled, is $41,200 for tax year 2025.
Pension exclusion for retired forest/park/wildlife ranger - The pension exclusion available to public safety personnel in prior years is now available only to retired forest, park, and wildlife rangers of the United States, the State of Maryland, or a political subdivision of Maryland. (The pension exclusion for other public safety personnel is still available, but is now calculated as a separate subtraction. See below.) To claim this pension exclusion, a retired forest, park, or wildlife ranger must be (1) age 55 or older, (2) not 65 or older, totally disabled, or have a spouse who is totally disabled, and (3) included on your federal return taxable income received as a pension, annuity, or endowment from an “employee retirement system” qualified under Section 401(a), 403, or 457(b) of the Internal Revenue Code. Use WORKSHEET (13E) to calculate this pension exclusion, up to a maximum of $15,000. An individual may not claim both this subtraction and the standard pension exclusion.
Subtraction modification updates for tax year 2025:
There were three new subtractions for tax year 2025 and one updated subtraction modification.
Also, there have been modifications to a few.
Tax Credits:
Please see the latest updated list of approved eFile software vendors for individuals and businesses.
Click here for more information regarding new business tax credits.