There is no Maryland stimulus check being issued in 2026. The only state-level stimulus payment Maryland has ever sent was a one-time payment under the 2021 RELIEF Act, which gave $300 to single filers and $500 to joint filers, heads of household, and qualifying surviving spouses who had claimed the Maryland Earned Income Credit on their 2019 state tax return.1TurboTax. Maryland State Stimulus Checks That program is closed. No new direct payment has been enacted since, and a national roundup of state rebate programs for 2026 does not list Maryland.2Kiplinger. State Stimulus Checks
The 2021 RELIEF Act Payment
Governor Larry Hogan signed the RELIEF Act (Senate Bill 496) on February 15, 2021, as an emergency measure.3WBAL-TV. COVID-19 RELIEF Act of 2021 The piece that most Marylanders remember as a “stimulus check” was the direct payment tied to the state Earned Income Credit.
To qualify, a person needed a valid Social Security number and had to have received the Maryland EIC on a 2019 state tax return. The amount was $300 for single filers and $500 for joint filers, heads of household, and qualifying surviving spouses. No application was required. The Comptroller’s office pulled eligibility from 2019 returns and sent money by direct deposit to the account used for the 2019 state refund, or by paper check to the last address on file.1TurboTax. Maryland State Stimulus Checks
Processing started on February 16, 2021. Of 422,531 eligible recipients, the office sent 266,985 electronic payments worth $113.6 million and 148,972 paper checks worth $61.7 million, with 98 percent processed by February 19.4Maryland Comptroller’s Office. RELIEF Act Payment Processing Update Total disbursement reached roughly $178 million.5City of Annapolis. RELIEF Act Announcement About 6,000 recipients had unverified addresses and were directed to contact the Comptroller at 1-833-345-0787 or ReliefAct@marylandtaxes.gov.
If you believe you were eligible and never received the payment, the Comptroller’s office is still the point of contact. There is no public re-opening of the program, so recovery depends on whether the office can confirm eligibility and locate an undelivered payment on its records.
Federal Stimulus Checks: The Deadline Has Passed
Many people searching for a “Maryland stimulus check” are actually thinking of the three federal Economic Impact Payments sent between 2020 and 2021:
- First round, March 2020 (CARES Act): up to $1,200 per adult and $500 per qualifying child, phasing out above $75,000 single and $150,000 joint.6U.S. Department of the Treasury. Economic Impact Payments
- Second round, December 2020: up to $600 per individual and qualifying child, with the same phase-out thresholds.6U.S. Department of the Treasury. Economic Impact Payments
- Third round, March 2021 (American Rescue Plan): up to $1,400 per person and per qualifying dependent, fully phasing out at $80,000 single and $160,000 joint.6U.S. Department of the Treasury. Economic Impact Payments
Anyone who did not receive the full federal amount could claim it as the Recovery Rebate Credit on a 2020 or 2021 federal return. In December 2024, the IRS sent automatic payments to roughly one million taxpayers who had missed the 2021 credit.7Internal Revenue Service. Economic Impact Payments The final deadline to file a 2021 return and claim the credit was April 15, 2025. That deadline has passed, unclaimed amounts have reverted to the U.S. Treasury, and no extension or appeals process is available.8Herald-Mail Media. Stimulus Check 2025
What Maryland Offers Now
No new state stimulus payments have been enacted for 2025 or 2026. The Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act signed by Governor Wes Moore on May 20, 2025, raised revenue through new top-bracket income tax rates, a capital-gains surcharge, and expanded sales tax coverage, rather than issuing rebates.9Grant Thornton. Maryland Enacts Major Tax Hikes If you are looking for cash help from the state, the two live programs are the expanded Earned Income Tax Credit and the Homeowners’ Property Tax Credit.
Expanded Earned Income Tax Credit
The RELIEF Act temporarily raised Maryland’s refundable state EITC from 28 percent of the federal credit to 45 percent for tax years 2020 through 2022, and to 100 percent of the federal amount (capped at $530) for workers without qualifying children.10Maryland Comptroller’s Office. RELIEF Act Tax Alert The Working Marylanders Tax Relief Act of 2022 (HB 422) made those enhancements permanent beginning with tax year 2023, a change the legislature estimated at roughly $650 million in cumulative relief to working families.11Maryland General Assembly. HB 422 Fiscal and Policy Note
Maryland also allows ITIN filers to claim the state EITC even though they cannot claim the federal credit. That change took effect when Governor Hogan allowed Senate Bill 218 to become law without his signature on March 5, 2021, and it remains in place.12Maryland Matters. Earned Income Tax Credit Expansion Quietly Becomes Law13Maryland Comptroller’s Office. Maryland Earned Income Tax Credit If you worked in 2024 or 2025 and had modest income, claiming the Maryland EITC on your state return is the closest ongoing equivalent to the 2021 stimulus payment.
Homeowners’ Property Tax Credit
Maryland caps property tax bills for lower-income homeowners through the Homeowners’ Property Tax Credit Program. For 2026, you qualify if your combined gross household income is $60,000 or less and your net worth (excluding your home and retirement accounts) is under $200,000. The home must be your principal residence. Applications are accepted from February 2 through October 1, and filing by April 15 lets the credit be applied directly to your July tax bill.14Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation. Homeowners’ Property Tax Credit Program The program is run by the Department of Assessments and Taxation, which can be reached at 410-767-5900 or sdat.homeowners@maryland.gov.