How to Fill Out Maryland Form MW507: Exemptions, Reciprocity, and Signing

To fill out Maryland Form MW507, enter your name, Social Security number, address, county of residence, and filing status at the top; use the Personal Exemption Worksheet on page 2 to calculate the number that goes on Line 1; add any additional per-paycheck withholding on Line 2; complete Lines 3 through 8 only if a specific exemption applies to you; then sign, date, and give the form to your employer’s payroll office. Most Maryland employees finish the form using only Lines 1 and 2.

Download the current version from the Comptroller of Maryland’s website before you start, and check that the year printed at the top matches the current tax year.¹ Many employers hand out a copy during onboarding.

What You Need Before You Start

Have these ready:

Your full legal name, Social Security number, and current home address. The SSN disclosure is required under Maryland’s Tax-General Article.²
Your county of residence. Each of Maryland’s 23 counties and Baltimore City sets its own local income tax rate, currently between 2.25% and 3.30%, which your employer adds to the state rate. The wrong county means the wrong local rate, and a bill at filing time.³
Your filing status: single, married (or surviving spouse), married but withholding at the single rate, or head of household.
An estimate of your federal adjusted gross income for the year. It affects how much each exemption is worth on the worksheet.

Lines 1 and 2: The Core of the Form

Line 1 is the total number of exemptions you are claiming. You get that number from the Personal Exemption Worksheet on page 2 (covered below). Each exemption reduces the portion of your wages subject to Maryland tax. If you skip the MW507 entirely, Maryland regulations require your employer to withhold as if you claimed one exemption at the single rate, which usually over-withholds for anyone with a spouse or dependents.⁴

Line 2 lets you request a flat extra dollar amount withheld from each paycheck on top of what the tables require.¹ This is useful if you have freelance income, investment income, or a second job that would otherwise leave you underpaid at filing time.

Working Through the Personal Exemption Worksheet

The worksheet runs lines a through f and produces the single number you carry to Line 1.

Line a — Personal and Dependent Exemptions

Count yourself, your spouse if you file jointly, and each dependent you claim on your federal return. Multiply that count by the per-exemption value from the table on the worksheet. For most filers the value is $3,200, but it phases out at higher incomes:¹

$100,000 or less single / $150,000 or less joint: $3,200 per exemption
$100,001–$125,000 single / $150,001–$175,000 joint: $1,600
$125,001–$150,000 single / $175,001–$200,000 joint: $800
Over $150,000 single / over $200,000 joint: $0, fully phased out

Two traps to avoid: do not double-count exemptions you have already claimed at a second job, and dependent taxpayers cannot claim themselves.¹

Line b — Dependents Age 65 or Over

If any of your dependents are 65 or older, multiply the number of those dependents by the same per-exemption value from the table.

Line c — Itemized Deductions and Other Adjustments

If your itemized deductions (excluding state and local income taxes) exceed the $3,400 standard deduction, enter the difference. You can add amounts for alimony paid, childcare expenses, qualified retirement contributions, business losses, and employee business expenses. Skip anything your spouse already claims or that you claim at another job.

Line d — Age and Blindness

Enter $1,000 for each situation that applies: you are 65 or older, your spouse is 65 or older, you are blind, your spouse is blind. This $1,000 does not phase out at higher incomes.⁵

Line e — Total

Add lines a through d.

Line f — Maximum Exemptions

Divide line e by $3,200 and drop the fraction. Do not round up. The result is what you put on Line 1 of page 1.¹

Line 3: Claiming Total Exemption From Withholding

Line 3 is for workers who expect to owe no Maryland income tax for the year. Both of these must be true:

Last year you owed no Maryland income tax and were entitled to a full refund of everything withheld.
This year you expect to owe no Maryland income tax and expect a full refund of everything withheld.

If both apply, check both boxes, write in the effective year, and enter “EXEMPT” on Line 3. The form notes this line is aimed at seasonal and student employees whose annual income falls below the minimum filing threshold.¹ If your situation changes mid-year and you start earning enough to owe tax, submit a new MW507 immediately.

Lines 4–7: Living in DC, Virginia, West Virginia, or Pennsylvania

Maryland has reciprocal tax agreements with the District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. If you live in one of those jurisdictions and work in Maryland, you pay income tax at home, not to Maryland. You still have to claim the exemption on the form, because your employer will not assume it.

Line 4 covers residents of DC, Virginia, or West Virginia. Check the box for your state, certify that you do not maintain a place of abode in Maryland (generally, not living in Maryland for 183 days or more), and write “EXEMPT.”¹

Line 5 is the equivalent for Pennsylvania residents, with the same “no place of abode in Maryland” certification.¹

Lines 6 and 7 handle Pennsylvania residents who also want to be exempt from Maryland local tax. Use Line 6 if you live in a jurisdiction within York or Adams County. Use Line 7 if you live in a Pennsylvania jurisdiction that does not impose an earnings or income tax on Maryland residents. For either, enter “EXEMPT” on the relevant line and also on Line 4.

Workers who live in a state without a reciprocal agreement, such as Delaware, cannot use Lines 4–7. Their Maryland wages are subject to Maryland withholding, and they claim a credit on their home-state return to avoid double taxation.⁶

Line 8: Military Spouse Exemption

Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, as amended by the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act, you can exempt your Maryland wages from withholding if all three are true: your spouse is an active-duty servicemember stationed in Maryland under military orders, you are in Maryland solely to be with your spouse, and you maintain legal residence in another state.¹

To claim it, write your state of legal residence on Line 8 and enter “EXEMPT.” Attach a copy of your spousal military identification card. The Comptroller also requires you to complete a separate Form MW507M and submit it with your MW507 to your employer each year.⁷

Signing and Handing It In

Sign and date the form and give it to your employer’s payroll or HR department. Do not mail it to the Comptroller yourself. Your employer keeps the original and adjusts your withholding beginning with the next available pay cycle.¹

Your employer is required to forward a copy to the Comptroller’s Compliance Division at 7 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, MD 21202 in any of these situations:

The employer has reason to believe the certificate is incorrect.
You claim more than 10 exemptions.
You claim total exemption from withholding but your wages are expected to exceed $200 per week.
You claim exemption based on nonresidence.
You claim exemption under the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act.

Triggering one of these conditions does not mean your exemption is denied. It means the Comptroller’s office will review it.¹

Updating the Form Later

File a new MW507 whenever your situation changes: marriage, divorce, a new child, a move to a different county, or a significant change in income. There is no limit on how many times you can update the form in a year. Your employer applies the new certificate to the next pay cycle.

Keep a personal copy of every MW507 you submit. The IRS recommends employers keep employment tax records for at least four years, and holding onto your own copies gives you documentation if a withholding dispute surfaces later.⁸

Penalties for False Information

The MW507 carries a perjury statement above the signature line. Under federal law, willfully providing false information on a withholding certificate to reduce the tax withheld carries a fine of up to $1,000, up to one year in jail, or both, in addition to the tax, interest, and state penalties owed for under-withholding.⁹ Honest mistakes do not trigger criminal liability, but a single filer with no dependents claiming 10 exemptions is the kind of entry that gets flagged when the form reaches the Compliance Division.

1
Comptroller of Maryland. Maryland Form MW507 – Employee’s Maryland Withholding Exemption Certificate
2
Comptroller of Maryland. Maryland Form MW507M – Exemption from Maryland Withholding Tax for a Qualified Spouse of a Servicemember
3
Comptroller of Maryland. 2026 Maryland State and Local Income Tax Withholding Information
4
Legal Information Institute. Md. Code Regs. 03.04.01.01 – Withholding of Tax at Source
5
Comptroller of Maryland. Exemption Amount Chart
6
Comptroller of Maryland. Employer Withholding Requirements for Teleworking Employees During the COVID-19 Emergency
7
Comptroller of Maryland. Administrative Release No. 1 – Military Personnel and Civilian Spouses – Both Residents and Nonresidents of Maryland
8
Internal Revenue Service. How long should I keep records?
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 7205 – Fraudulent withholding exemption certificate or failure to supply information