Maryland has a graduated state individual income tax, with rates ranging from 2.00 percent to 6.50 percent, plus local income taxes that can add up to 3.3 percent. Maryland has a flat 8.25 percent corporate income tax rate, a 6.00 percent state sales tax rate, and an average combined state and local sales tax rate of 6.00 percent. Maryland has a 0.92 percent effective property tax rate on owner-occupied housing value. Maryland has both an estate tax and an inheritance tax. Maryland’s gas tax is 46.21 cents per gallon, and its cigarette excise tax is $5.00 per pack of 20 cigarettes.
Maryland raises tax revenue primarily through individual income taxes (39.7 percent of total state and local tax revenue), property taxes (23.6 percent), and other taxes (19.1 percent). Maryland collects $8,139 in state and local tax collections per capita, carries $9,884 in state and local debt per capita, and has a 75 percent funded ratio of public pension plans. Maryland’s tax system ranks 46th overall on the 2026 State Tax Competitiveness Index.
Each state’s tax code is a multifaceted system with many moving parts, and Maryland is no exception. Use the tabs below to compare Maryland taxes with other states and to see how Maryland raises tax revenue. You can also browse our tax maps, which are compiled from our annual publication, Facts & Figures 2026: How Does Your State Compare?
Get facts about taxes in your state and around the US
The State Tax Competitiveness Index enables policymakers, taxpayers, and business leaders to gauge how their states’ tax systems compare. While there are many ways to show how much state governments collect in taxes, the Index evaluates how well states structure their tax systems and provides a road map for improvement.
122 min read
Facts & Figures serves as a one-stop state tax data resource that compares all 50 states on over 40 measures of tax rates, collections, burdens, and more.
2 min read
Individual income taxes are a major source of state government revenue, accounting for more than a third of state tax collections. How do income taxes compare in your state?
9 min read
Retail sales taxes are an essential part of most states’ revenue toolkits, responsible for nearly a quarter of combined state and local tax collections.
18 min read
Forty-four states levy a corporate income tax, with top rates ranging from a 2 percent flat rate in North Carolina to an 11.5 percent top marginal rate in New Jersey. Four states—Georgia, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania—reduced their corporate income tax rates effective January 1, 2026.
5 min read
Property taxes are the primary tool for financing local governments. While no taxpayers in high-tax jurisdictions will be celebrating their yearly payments, property taxes are largely rooted in the benefit principle of taxation: the people paying the property tax bills are most often the ones benefiting from the services.
9 min read
One relatively easy but meaningful step policymakers can take to make future tax seasons less burdensome is to modernize their state’s nonresident income tax filing, withholding, and reciprocity laws.
7 min read
Facts & Figures serves as a one-stop state tax data resource that compares all 50 states on over 40 measures of tax rates, collections, burdens, and more.
2 min read
Savings and investment are critical activities, both for individuals’ and families’ financial security and for the health of the national economy as a whole. As such, policymakers should consider how they can help mitigate—rather than add to—tax codes’ biases against saving and investment.
5 min read
With state tax revenues receding from all-time highs, there’s been a great deal of handwringing about whether states can afford the tax cuts adopted over the past few years. Given that 27 states reduced the rate of a major tax between 2021 and 2023, is there reason for concern?
4 min read
By violating the principles of simplicity, neutrality, and stability, and failing to raise significant revenue, worldwide combined reporting at the state level is doomed to fail.
6 min read
Reforming economic nexus thresholds would not only be better for businesses but for states as well. It is more cost-effective for states to focus on—and simplify—compliance for a reasonable number of sellers than to impose rules that have low compliance and are costly to administer.
4 min read
Do taxes affect individuals’ decisions regarding where to live and work? Can high taxes cause the outmigration of wealthy individuals?
5 min read
A tax based on alcohol content would be the most neutral, straightforward means of raising revenue from alcohol. But since such a tax would constitute a redesign of the entire alcohol tax system at both the state and federal levels, the next best approach is to create more categories for new products.
4 min read
Does your state have a small business exemption for machinery and equipment?
3 min read
Individual income taxes are a major source of state government revenue, accounting for more than a third of state tax collections. How do income taxes compare in your state?
8 min read
