Maryland Standard Deduction: Amounts, Filing Rules, and Local Tax

For tax year 2025 (returns filed in 2026), the Maryland standard deduction is a flat $3,350 if you file as single, married filing separately, or as a dependent, and $6,700 if you file as married filing jointly, head of household, or qualifying surviving spouse.¹ The 2025 legislative session replaced the old percentage-of-income formula with these fixed dollar amounts, so any worksheet or guide referencing “15% of Maryland adjusted gross income” with minimum and maximum caps no longer applies.²

Amounts by Filing Status

The deduction is now a single number tied to how you file:

Single, married filing separately, or dependent: $3,350
Married filing jointly: $6,700
Head of household: $6,700
Qualifying surviving spouse: $6,700

The amount does not change with your income. Whether your Maryland adjusted gross income is $30,000 or $300,000, the deduction is the same.

One group cannot use it at all. Fiduciaries filing for estates and trusts are barred from claiming the Maryland standard deduction regardless of what they did federally.¹

How Your Federal Return Controls Your Options

Maryland ties the deduction choice to your federal return, and the rule runs only in one direction. If you took the federal standard deduction, you must take the Maryland standard deduction. You cannot itemize on your Maryland return without having itemized federally.³

If you itemized federally, you get a choice. You can itemize on the Maryland return or take the Maryland standard deduction instead. The statute is explicit that you may elect the standard deduction “whether or not the individual itemizes deductions on the individual’s federal income tax return.”¹

That choice matters. Maryland requires federal itemizers to subtract state and local income tax payments from their itemized total before using it on the Maryland return, which often shrinks the itemized number below the flat standard deduction. If you itemized federally, calculate your Maryland tax both ways and use whichever produces the lower bill.

Non-Residents and Part-Year Residents Prorate

If you did not live in Maryland for the full year, or you are a non-resident with Maryland-source income, you start with the same $3,350 or $6,700 and then reduce it using the Maryland Income Factor.

Non-Residents

Divide your Maryland adjusted gross income by your federal adjusted gross income, carry the result to six decimal places, and multiply by the standard deduction. The factor is capped at 1.000000.⁴ A single non-resident with $30,000 of Maryland income and $100,000 of total federal income has a factor of 0.300000, which reduces the $3,350 to $1,005.

Part-Year Residents

The math is the same, using the income reported on Line 16 of Form 502 divided by the income on Line 1.⁵ If your Maryland income is zero or negative, the factor is zero. If your Maryland income is positive but your federal income is zero or negative, the factor defaults to 1.

The Deduction Also Reduces Your Local Tax

Maryland counties and Baltimore City levy their own income taxes on top of the state tax. For 2026, local rates range from 2.25% to 3.30%, with Dorchester and Kent Counties at the top.⁶ Several counties now apply graduated rates based on filing status.⁷

Because the local rate applies to your Maryland taxable income after the standard deduction, claiming the deduction cuts both your state and local bills at once.⁷ If you have not filed a withholding certificate with your employer, the state defaults to the maximum 3.30% local rate, which can lead to over-withholding when your actual county rate is lower.⁶

Where the Deduction Goes on Your Return

Full-year residents enter the standard deduction on Line 17 of Form 502.⁸ Non-residents use Form 505 with Form 505NR for the proration calculation.⁴ Part-year residents file Form 502 and follow Instruction 26 for the prorated amount.

You can file electronically through the Comptroller’s free iFile system or through commercial tax software.⁹

If You Chose the Wrong Method

If you filed with the standard deduction and later realized itemizing would have saved you money, file Form 502X (Amended Maryland Individual Income Tax Return). Check the itemized deduction box, complete Part II, and explain the change in Part III.¹⁰ The federal rule still governs: you can only switch to itemized on the Maryland return if you also itemized federally.

The general window to amend is three years from the date you filed the original return or two years from the date the tax was paid, whichever is later.¹¹

Adjustments for Future Tax Years

For tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, the statute requires an annual cost-of-living adjustment based on the consumer price index formula in Internal Revenue Code § 1(f)(3), with any increase rounded down to the nearest $50.¹ The Comptroller has not yet published the adjusted figures for tax year 2026; those amounts will appear in the annual forms and withholding guidance when released.

1
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Tax-General 10-217
2
Comptroller of Maryland. Tax Alert – Changes to Standard and Itemized Deductions
3
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Tax-General 10-218 – Itemized Deductions
4
Comptroller of Maryland. Form 505NR – Nonresident Income Tax Calculation
5
Comptroller of Maryland. Maryland Resident Tax Forms and Instructions
6
Comptroller of Maryland. 2026 Maryland State and Local Income Tax Withholding Information
7
Comptroller of Maryland. Maryland Income Tax Rates and Brackets
8
Comptroller of Maryland. Maryland Form 502 – Resident Income Tax Return
9
Comptroller of Maryland. iFile Choose Form Entrance
10
Comptroller of Maryland. Amended Maryland Individual Income Tax Return – Form 502X
11
Comptroller of Maryland. Maryland Form 502X Amended Tax Return