Whether you’re a Maryland resident or nonresident, find out if you have to file a MD tax return
State taxes are one of the most complicated elements of tax. Sometimes just figuring out whether you have to file at all can be the hardest part.
If you live or work in Maryland you likely have to file a MD tax return. The first step is figuring out whether you are a resident or not. Then, refer to the filing requirements below to see if you have to file a return.
Residents
Most residents – generally those who live in Maryland – have to file a tax return. As residents, the state of Maryland has the right to tax all of your income, no matter where it was earned.
The only exception is those whose income falls below the filing threshold. For example, a single person under the age of 65 who makes less than $9,750 doesn’t have to file a return.
Refer to the chart at the bottom of the article to see the filing threshhold for your age and filing status.
Nonresidents
Nonresidents are generally those who live in a state other than Maryland. Nonresidents have to file a tax return if they received income from Maryland sources. In this case, however, you only have to pay tax on the income you earned in Maryland, not your total income.
As is the case with residents, nonresidents do not have to file a return if their income is below the filing thresholds at the bottom of this article. However, the filing thresholds apply to your overall income, not just your Maryland-source income. So if your overall income is above the threshold but your Maryland-source income is below it, you still have to file.
Special cases for nonresidents
Maryland has reciprocal agreements with the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. If you live in one of those states but work in Maryland, you may not need to file a Maryland return. For more information, refer to section 11 of the Nonresident Tax Forms & Instructions.
The other special case in which you have to file a Maryland return even if you don’t meet the normal requirements: if Maryland taxes were wrongly withheld from your wages. In this case, even though you don’t actually owe any taxes to Maryland, you still have to file in order to get that money refunded back to you. This is one of the reasons it’s so important to get your withholding right at the beginning of the tax year.
Tax Year 2012 Filing Thresholds
The following are the income thresholds below which you do not need to file a return. They are the same for Maryland taxes as they are for federal taxes, so if you make less than these income limits you don’t have to file a state or federal return.
Note that these income thresholds apply to both Maryland residents and nonresidents.
Single
| Under 65 | $9,750 |
| 65 or older | $11,200 |
Head of Household
| Under 65 | $12,500 |
| 65 or older | $13,950 |
Married Filing Jointly
| Both under 65 | $19,500 |
| One spouse 65 or older | $20,650 |
| Both 65 or older | $21,800 |
Married Filing Separately
| All ages | $3,800 |
Qualifying Widow(er)
| Under 65 | $15,700 |
| 65 or older | $16,850 |
Still haven’t filed your Maryland tax return? No problem. You can take care of it online through RapidTax.
Photo via Mark Peters on Flickr.
I work in Florida from home, but while on the road I worked “virtually” in Maryland for 2 weeks. Basically, working for my Florida employer but I worked out of a hotel in MD for two weeks time. Does my employer have to do anything, or file any paperwork or withhold, for those two weeks I worked while in Maryland?
The income is always subjected to taxes in the state that it was earned, and this remains true for remote workers as well even if you worked within the state for a day. This applies to all taxpayers, so if you earn a fairly low amount of your income within your day’s stay, in comparison to another individual who may receive a large sum within a day within their day’s stay in the specific state, both you and the other taxpayer will need to pay taxes on the amount of income earned to the respective non-resident state.
Hello,
I’m moving to MD this winter, and was wondering if I change residency over in Dec from NC would I still have to pay MD state taxes?
Or the flip side, if I changed residency in Jan from NC to MD would I have to pay 2018 NC state taxes?
Thank you,
When it comes to reporting your income earned for part-year resident tax returns with different states, it is dependent on where your income was earned from. Your employers should have the income information accredited to the proper states where you earned a portion of your income, which usually appears in boxes 15-20 on your W-2.
The guideline is if you are a considered a resident of a state, whether part-year or non-resident, the income that you earned within that State is taxable to the specific state that you are earning it in.
My mother is now living in a nursing home in Maryland. She still has a house in Florida and doesn’t work. Will she have to file MD taxes this year. She arrived in MD in July.
Hello Jennifer,
Your mother would be considered a resident of MD. Whether or not she would have to file a tax return with MD depends on if and how much income she earned in Maryland. (Comptroller of Maryland)
Hello,
I own an apartment in Maryland, (not rental property)which I pay property taxes etc. but I live and work in Nairobi, Kenya for the US gov in Kenya for the last 4.5 years. I did not even visit the USA in 2016. Should I owe/file any Maryland taxes?
Despite the fact that you do not reside in the US, you will most likely be required to pay property taxes in the US if you own a personal property here. It is best to contact your State department of revenue in MD to determine your requirements to file a state return.
Hi,
I lived and worked in Texas in 2014 but I never switched over my license or car registration from Maryland to Texas, though I did rent an apartment. This week I received a notice of collection for Maryland taxes from 2014. Do I owe Maryland even though I worked and lived in Texas that entire year? Thanks for replying.
Brandon
You will need to correspond with the state offices on this matter, there is no further advisement that we can provide to you at this point. It would be in your best interest to have this sorted as soon as possible.