Maryland Property Tax Calculator 2026

The Maryland property tax calculator is a free, browser-based tool that estimates your annual property tax bill from your home's assessed value. It applies Maryland's 0.92% statewide effective rate, or your own combined rate, and returns an annual and monthly figure in seconds, with nothing sent to a server.

How Maryland Property Tax Works

Property tax in Maryland is an annual tax levied on real estate by the State, by the 23 counties and Baltimore City, and by incorporated municipalities. The amount you owe is your property's assessment multiplied by the combined rate of those governments. On average, Maryland homeowners pay 0.92% of their home's value in property tax each year, 0.02 percentage points below the U.S. figure of 0.94%.

The effective rate combines every levy on the home: State tax, county or Baltimore City tax, municipal tax where there is one, and any special taxing district. Because Maryland has multiple taxing jurisdictions, your actual rate depends heavily on where in the state your property is located. The 0.92% figure is all real-estate tax paid on owner-occupied homes in Maryland divided by their total value, as published in the Tax Foundation's Property Taxes by State and County, 2026 from Census Bureau American Community Survey data for 2020–2024. It is a statewide average — not a rate any single jurisdiction charges, and not your bill.

The Census Bureau puts the median owner-occupied home in Maryland at $419,900 and the median real-estate tax bill at $4,093 a year — roughly $341 per month when paid through a mortgage escrow account (American Community Survey, 2020–2024).

Who Collects Property Tax in Maryland — and How Rates Are Set

In Maryland, property is valued by the State, not by county assessors: the State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) appraises every property once every three years and certifies the assessments to local governments. The 23 counties, Baltimore City and the incorporated municipalities set their own rates, issue the bills each July and collect the tax, including the small State tax. Rates are set by the State, the county and the municipality only, so a Maryland bill carries no separate school-district rate.

Rates are set annually by each government, in dollars per $100 rather than in mills. On SDAT's table of rates for July 2025 tax bills the State rate is $0.112 per $100, Baltimore County's is $1.10 and Baltimore City's is $2.248. Maryland assesses homes at 100% of fair market value, reviewed once every three years; any increase is phased in in equal thirds over those three years. Rates are quoted per $100 of that assessment. If your home's market value rises faster than neighboring properties, your share of the tax burden can increase even if the rate stays the same.

To find your exact rate, check SDAT's annual county and municipal tax rate table or ask your county's finance or treasurer's office, which issues the bill. Your most recent property tax bill will also show the breakdown of all levies applied to your parcel.

Maryland Property Tax Exemptions and Relief Programs

Maryland's main homeowner relief comes as credits. The Homestead Tax Credit limits how much the taxable assessment of a principal residence can rise each year: 10% for the State tax, and a cap of between 0% and 10% set by each county and municipality; it needs a one-time application to SDAT. The Homeowners' Property Tax Credit limits the bill to a share of income for households with combined gross income of $60,000 or less and net worth under $200,000; it counts only the first $300,000 of assessed value and must be applied for every year by 1 October. Veterans with a permanent 100% service-connected disability, and their surviving spouses, pay no property tax on their home, and blind owners get $40,000 off the assessment. Source: Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation — Homeowners' Property Tax Credit Program.

The veterans' exemption is all-or-nothing: it covers the whole dwelling, but only where the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has declared a permanent 100% service-connected disability (Tax-Property Article, section 7-208). Land actively used for farming is assessed on its use value rather than its market value (section 8-209). If you believe your assessment is incorrect, you have the right to appeal — in Maryland within 45 days of the date on the assessment notice.

To apply for any exemption, contact your local SDAT assessment office. Most exemptions require an annual or one-time application and proof of eligibility (residency, age, disability documentation, etc.).

How to Appeal a Maryland Property Tax Assessment

If the number this calculator returns looks too high, the lever is the assessment, not the tax rate — rates are set by your county and the state, but the assessed value is appealable. Maryland's State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) reassesses every property on a three-year cycle, so roughly a third of the state is reassessed each year and you receive a Notice of Assessment. The deadline is short and easy to miss: an appeal must be filed within 45 days of the notice date, not 45 days from when you opened the envelope. Miss that window in a reassessment year and you can still file a petition for review by the first working day after January 1 for either of the two off-cycle years. The process runs in three escalating stages — a Supervisor's Level hearing first, then the Property Tax Assessment Appeals Board (which must be appealed to within 30 days of the supervisor's final notice), and finally the Maryland Tax Court, within 30 days of the board's order. SDAT's own advice is to stick to what affects value: sales of comparable properties that support your figure, and any mathematical error or inaccurate description on the property worksheet, such as the number of bathrooms. It says past values, the percentage increase and the size of the tax bill are not relevant. Between cycles, a property is revalued only for events such as an owner-requested zoning change, a change in use or character, improvements that add at least $100,000 in value, a subdivision, or an error in calculation or measurement. Updated October 2026.

Tips to Manage Your Maryland Property Tax Bill

First, verify your assessment is accurate. Ask your local SDAT assessment office for your property worksheet and check for errors in square footage, bedroom/bathroom count, or lot size. Even small errors can inflate your assessed value and tax bill. If the assessment seems high, look up recent sale prices of comparable homes in your neighborhood and file an appeal if warranted.

Second, apply for every credit you qualify for: file the one-time Homestead Tax Credit application, and if your household income is $60,000 or less, apply for the Homeowners' Property Tax Credit every year by 1 October. Third, if your mortgage servicer handles tax payments through escrow, review your escrow statement annually. Servicers sometimes over-estimate and hold excess funds — you may be entitled to a refund. Finally, Maryland property tax is due on 1 July and can be paid without interest until 30 September. Owner-occupied homes are billed in two instalments unless you choose to pay in full: the first can be paid without interest by 30 September and the second by 31 December, and the second may carry a small service charge (Maryland Tax-Property Article, sections 10-102 and 10-204.3).

Is Appealing Your Maryland Property Tax Assessment Worth It?

At Maryland's 0.92% statewide effective rate, a 10% assessment reduction on a $420,000 home saves about $386 a year, roughly $1,159 over three years — Maryland values each property once every three years, so a reduction won at reassessment lasts until the next one. The Tax After a Successful Appeal rows above run the numbers on your own home; the 10% is only an example, and where the Homestead Tax Credit is already holding your taxable assessment below the new value, a reduction saves less. Maryland gives three appeal levels: the Supervisor of Assessments, then the Property Tax Assessment Appeal Board, then the Maryland Tax Court, with 45 days to appeal after a notice of assessment. The 45-day window is set by Maryland Tax-Property Article § 14-502 and the 30 days to reach the board by § 14-509; the process is administered by the State Department of Assessments and Taxation. Updated October 2026.