How to Pay Estimated Taxes Online in Maryland

To pay estimated taxes online in Maryland, use the Comptroller’s direct e-check option at marylandtaxes.gov. It’s free, takes a few minutes, and doesn’t require you to create an account — you just need your Social Security Number, the payment amount, and your bank’s routing and account numbers.¹ Credit card payments work too, but they carry a 2.45% processor fee.²

The Fastest Way: Direct E-Check

The Comptroller’s Individual login page has a link that lets you submit an e-check without registering for anything. Funds pull directly from your checking or savings account, and there’s no fee.¹ For most people making a quarterly payment, this is the option to use.

You’ll need three things in front of you before starting:

Your Social Security Number
The dollar amount you’re paying this quarter
Your bank’s routing number and your account number

The Other Online Options

Registered Online Service Center

If you make estimated payments regularly and want everything tracked in one place, register for the Individual Taxpayer Online Service Center. You’ll create a user ID and password, and the state verifies your identity against a Maryland tax return already on file.³ Once inside, you can submit estimated payments, file your annual return through iFile, and pull up payment history going back five years.

Credit Card

Maryland accepts Visa, MasterCard, and Discover through its third-party processor, Truist/Govolution. The convenience fee is 2.45% of the payment amount with a $1.00 minimum, and that fee goes to the processor rather than the state.² On a $3,000 payment, that adds $73.50. The free e-check is the better choice unless rewards points or the credit float outweigh the fee for you.

Step-by-Step Walkthrough

Whether you use the no-registration e-check or the registered portal, the flow is similar.

Go to the Individual services page at marylandtaxes.gov and select “Make an Estimated Payment,” or use the direct e-check link from the login page.⁴
Enter your Social Security Number so the payment credits to the right account. If you own a business and are paying your personal estimated tax, use your SSN, not your FEIN.
Select the tax year and choose the estimated payment option (Form PV / 502D). The wrong selection can push your money toward an extension or a balance due instead of your quarterly estimate.⁴
Type in the payment amount for this quarter.
Enter your bank’s routing number and your account number, and mark whether the account is checking or savings.
Review the summary screen. It shows the amount, tax year, payment type, and the last four digits of your bank account. Check each field.
Authorize the transaction. A confirmation screen appears with a unique confirmation number. Save it or print it — that number is your proof of payment, and the confirmation date is your official payment date.

The system typically emails a receipt to the address on file. Registered users can also verify a payment later through the Individual Estimated Payment Inquiry feature, which shows five years of history.³

Figuring Out What to Pay

Maryland requires estimated payments if your Maryland tax on income not subject to withholding will exceed $500 for the year.⁵ Self-employment income, rental income, dividends, interest, capital gains, and retirement distributions without adequate Maryland withholding are the usual triggers.⁶

Your four quarterly payments together need to reach at least the lower of these two safe harbors:

90% of your current-year Maryland tax liability, or
110% of last year’s Maryland tax liability

Hit either target and you won’t owe underpayment interest.⁷ The prior-year method is easier because the number is already fixed. First-time filers don’t have that option and have to project current-year income toward the 90% mark.

When you estimate your Maryland liability, remember to include the local income tax. Every county and Baltimore City levies its own rate based on where you live, and for 2026 those rates run from 2.25% in Worcester County up to 3.30% in counties including Dorchester and Kent.⁸ Your quarterly payment has to cover both. The Comptroller’s Payment Voucher Worksheet (Form PVW) walks through the math.

If your income changes partway through the year, you don’t file anything special. Just raise or lower your remaining quarterly payments so the annual total still hits one of the safe harbors.⁹

Quarterly Due Dates

Maryland’s estimated tax deadlines follow the federal schedule:¹⁰

First quarter: April 15
Second quarter: June 15
Third quarter: September 15
Fourth quarter: January 15 of the following year

When a date falls on a weekend or legal holiday, it moves to the next business day. All four 2026 dates land on weekdays.

There’s a shortcut for the fourth quarter. If you file your annual Maryland return and pay any remaining balance by January 31, you can skip the January 15 payment. That works well if your tax documents come together early.

If You Underpay or Overpay

Maryland charges interest on underpaid estimated taxes, running from each installment’s due date until you pay. The statutory floor is 9% or three percentage points above the average prime rate, whichever is higher, and the effective rate in recent years has typically exceeded that floor.¹¹ You avoid the charge entirely if your tax on non-withheld income is under $500 or if you hit either safe harbor.⁶ Beyond that, the Comptroller can waive penalties for “reasonable cause,” decided case by case.¹² Serious illness, a natural disaster, or reliance on incorrect advice from the Comptroller’s office are the kinds of circumstances worth citing in a waiver request.

If your payments end up exceeding your liability, you can take the difference as a refund (Maryland refunds any amount of $1.00 or more), apply it as a credit toward next year’s estimated tax, or split it between the two. Maryland may divert an overpayment first to cover outstanding back taxes or certain other state or federal debts before releasing what’s left to you.¹³

1
Comptroller of Maryland. Logon to the Individual Taxpayer Online Service Center
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Comptroller of Maryland. Payment Methods
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Comptroller of Maryland. Individual Interactive Services Application Selection
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Comptroller of Maryland. Online Payment
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Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Tax-General Code 10-815
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Maryland Comptroller. Personal Tax Tip 54 – Should You Pay Estimated Tax to Maryland
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Maryland Comptroller. 502UP Underpayment of Estimated Income Tax by Individuals
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Comptroller of Maryland. 2026 Maryland State and Local Income Tax Withholding Information
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Comptroller of Maryland. Payment Voucher Worksheet for Estimated Tax and Extension Payments
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Legal Information Institute. Maryland Code Regs. 03.04.01.02 – Estimated Tax Return
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Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Tax-General Code 13-604
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New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Maryland Tax-General Code 13-714 – Waiver of Penalties
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Comptroller of Maryland. iFile Help – Overpayment