Maryland Form 515 for Nonresidents: Tax, Deadlines, 183-Day Rule

Maryland Form 515 is the nonresident income tax return you file when you work in a Maryland county or Baltimore City and you live in an out-of-state jurisdiction that imposes a local income or earnings tax on Maryland residents. It exists to collect the Maryland county local income tax from commuters whose home jurisdiction taxes Marylanders the same way. If your home jurisdiction does not tax Maryland residents, you file Form 505 instead and the Form 515 local withholding does not apply to you.¹

Who Has to File Form 515

Four conditions must all be true. You are not domiciled in Maryland. You earned wages or salary for work performed in a Maryland county or Baltimore City. You lived in a jurisdiction that imposes a local income or earnings tax on Maryland residents. And you are required to file a federal return.¹

The form reaches only wage and salary income from personal services. Rental income from a Maryland property, Maryland business income, or Maryland-source investment gains do not pull you into Form 515 on their own.

Your Maryland gross income also has to clear the filing threshold for your status. For 2025 returns filed in 2026, a single filer under 65 must file at $15,750 of Maryland gross income. The joint threshold is $31,500, and head of household is $23,625. Thresholds rise slightly if you or your spouse is 65 or older.²

Which Out-of-State Homes Actually Trigger It

The reciprocity logic is simple. If the place you live taxes Maryland residents who commute there, Maryland taxes you for commuting into Maryland. The Comptroller identifies the qualifying jurisdictions, and the most common ones are certain cities and townships in Pennsylvania and Wilmington, Delaware. Localities in Pennsylvania and eight other states have been identified as imposing a local income or earnings tax on Maryland residents.³

Not every Pennsylvania commuter is caught. Residents of York and Adams counties can claim an exemption from Maryland local withholding on Form MW507, because those counties do not tax Maryland residents. Pennsylvania residents of other jurisdictions that do not tax Marylanders can claim the same exemption on line 7 of the MW507.⁴ The Comptroller may also determine that a particular locality does not actually impose a tax on Maryland residents, or that it provides a credit or exemption that effectively shields them. In either case, no Form 515 filing is required.¹

DC, Virginia, and West Virginia Residents

If you live in the District of Columbia, Virginia, or West Virginia, you are generally exempt from Maryland income tax on wages earned in Maryland under reciprocal agreements. You claim the exemption on line 4 of Form MW507. West Virginia residents are not required to pay Maryland income tax on wage or salary income regardless of how long they spend in the state.⁴ Because wages are exempt entirely, you do not file Form 515.

Pennsylvania Residents: Partial Exemption

Pennsylvania residents get a split result that often confuses people. They are exempt from the Maryland state income tax on their wages and claim this on line 5 of the MW507. They remain liable, though, for the local tax at the rate of the Maryland county where they work, unless they qualify for the local exemption on line 6 or 7.⁴ A Pennsylvania resident working in Montgomery County, for example, can owe no Maryland state tax yet still owe the county’s local income tax and have to file Form 515 to report it.

How the Tax on Form 515 Is Calculated

The tax is based on your Maryland-source wage income, adjusted for deductions and exemptions, multiplied by the local income tax rate of the Maryland county where you worked. Each county sets its own rate, and the rates currently range from 2.25% to 3.20%.⁵ The county that controls is the one where you were employed as of the last day of the tax year.

The mechanics route through Form 505NR, the nonresident allocation schedule. You start with your total taxable net income, compute the Maryland tax from the state rate schedules, and apply an income allocation factor to arrive at the Maryland tax amount. The local tax is then calculated separately using the allocated Maryland income and the applicable county rate.¹

This is not the same bill a regular nonresident gets. Most nonresidents who file Form 505 are not subject to any county income tax. They pay a special nonresident tax equal to the lowest county rate, currently 2.25%.⁶ Form 515 filers pay the actual local rate of their work county, which can be higher.

Pennsylvania residents will see only the local tax come out of this computation, since the state portion is covered by the reciprocal agreement. Filers from other covered jurisdictions compute both the Maryland state income tax and the local tax.

When You Also Need Form 505

If your only Maryland income is wages from personal services, Form 515 covers your entire Maryland tax obligation. If you also have other Maryland-source income, such as rental income from Maryland property, business income, or gains from Maryland-source investments, you must file Form 505 in addition to Form 515. Form 505 captures the state tax on all Maryland-source income; Form 515 handles the local tax on your employment income.² A side rental or a partnership interest is the usual way this gets missed.

Deadline, Extension, and Late-Filing Costs

Form 515 for tax year 2025 is due April 15, 2026. If April 15 falls on a weekend or legal holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.¹

If you do not owe additional tax beyond what was already withheld and you requested a federal extension, the Maryland extension is automatic and no separate request is needed. If you do owe additional tax or did not request a federal extension, you can request a Maryland extension online at marylandtaxes.gov or by phone at 410-260-7829. The extension gives you six more months to file, but it does not extend time to pay. Any tax owed is still due by the original April deadline.²

The Comptroller can assess a penalty of up to 10% for failing to file a return or failing to pay on time. Interest also accrues on any unpaid balance. For the 2024 tax year, the interest rate on unpaid tax was 11.4825% annually (0.9568% per month or partial month) for payments made before January 1, 2026.⁷ The rate resets annually, so check the current figure if you are filing late. More serious consequences, including criminal fines and imprisonment, apply to false or fraudulent returns, and the Comptroller is authorized to seize wages, salary, or property to collect delinquent tax.

The 183-Day Trap

One situation changes the form entirely. If you are domiciled in DC, Pennsylvania, or Virginia but maintain a place of abode in Maryland for 183 days or more during the tax year, you become a statutory resident of Maryland. At that point you file a Maryland resident return reporting your total income, not Form 515 or Form 505.⁴ Renting a Maryland apartment while working in the state can push you across the threshold even when your permanent home is elsewhere.

1
Comptroller of Maryland. 2025 Maryland Form 515
2
Comptroller of Maryland. 2025 Maryland Nonresident Tax Forms and Instructions
3
Comptroller of Maryland. Personal Tax Tip 56 – When You Live in One State and Work in Another
4
Comptroller of Maryland. 2025 Form MW507 – Employees Maryland Withholding Exemption Certificate
5
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Tax-General Code 10-106.1
6
Comptroller of Maryland. Maryland Withholding Tax Facts – January 2025
7
Comptroller of Maryland. 2024 Maryland Nonresident Tax Forms and Instructions