Stay compliant in Maryland

Maryland’s recurring obligations are the annual report on April 15¹, income tax for people and corporations that must file, sales tax on the schedule the Comptroller assigns, and employer accounts if you have people on the payroll. Sales tax return deadlines, including weekend and holiday adjustments, are detailed below. Forfeiture notices go out when a report or a penalty is missing, so keep the resident agent address current.

What’s different in Maryland

• The company filing is due April 15 each year, and the fee is $300¹ for an LLC or a stock corporation. That fee is not the personal property tax. The same form reports the property.
• One missed report can end in forfeiture, after notice. A domestic final notice is mailed in early October, and forfeiture follows in December, unless you fix the reason by the date on the notice³.
• Income tax is state plus county. Individuals use the 2026 brackets. C corporations pay 8.25%⁷. A pass-through still files.
• Three counties require more than the state minimum wage. They are Howard, Montgomery, and Prince George’s. Montgomery’s rate depends on the size of the employer.
• Sales tax returns go electronic for tax periods beginning after December 31, 2026⁸. Withholding, corporation tax, and pass-through tax do too, subject to the exceptions in the Comptroller’s guidance.

Do this

1. File Form 1 by April 15. The fee is $300 for an LLC or a stock corporation, and no filing fee on Form 1 for a nonstock corporation. A certified family farm is $100¹. Form 1 is due from every entity that existed on January 1, whether or not it owns property³. File in Maryland Business Express or mail the form with the fee. The filing FAQ says you can mail it if you want to avoid the online fees, and it does not print what those fees are.* Use the amount on the screen. A sole proprietorship or general partnership registered with the department files Form 2, with no fee¹⁵ instead. You can request a 60-day extension, which moves the due date to June 15 if it is approved. The request can be submitted only online².
2. If a penalty notice or a forfeiture notice arrives, use the date on the notice. The late penalty is 1/10 of one percent of the county assessment, plus interest of 2% of that penalty for each 30 days or part of 30 days the return is late. Do not prepay it. The department bills you. Missing the report can also bring an estimated assessment of twice the property’s value, and then forfeiture of the Maryland charter, or of the right to do business in Maryland¹. A domestic final notice is mailed in early October, and forfeiture follows in December, unless you fix the reason by the date on the notice. File the missing Form 1, pay the late penalty, or replace a dishonored check before the date on the Final Forfeiture Notice³. A foreign entity gets a mailed reminder in September rather than the domestic online list. Reinstatement of a domestic LLC is $100⁴. You also file all past-due annual reports, to revive, reinstate, re-register, or re-qualify. A religious corporation, and a nonstock corporation that held no business personal property, instead files the lesser of all missing Form 1s or seven years².
3. Keep a resident agent at a Maryland street address. A change of the agent’s name or address is $25⁴. The forfeiture FAQ says the department sends notices that name the delinquency. If the address on file is dead, you may not see the notice in time.
4. Read the MarylandSaves waiver before you assume the $300 is always due. The 2026 Form 1 has a checkbox for a MarylandSaves waiver of the 2026 filing fee, if the business was already approved¹. The department’s business page says enrolling can earn a waiver of the 2027 annual report fee for a year you stay qualified. SDAT does not keep the eligibility list². Those are two different years. To see whether your business is approved, check the list MarylandSaves keeps.
5. Report personal property on the same form if you own, lease, or use it in Maryland. The $300¹ filing fee is not that tax. The form does not print one statewide property-tax rate. The late penalty is a fraction of the county assessment, which is why a business with little property and a business with a lot do not owe the same penalty. If you report sales and no property, the form asks you to explain how the business runs without it.
6. File individual income tax if you are in the group that has to file. The 2026 state rates are 2% of the first $1,000, up to 6.50% of the amount over $1,000,000 for a single filer and over $1,200,000 for a joint filer. The county tax on the 2026 withholding table is 2.25% to 3.30%. Anne Arundel and Frederick counties use income brackets instead of one rate⁵. The return is due April 15¹⁶. A pass-through entity pays Maryland tax for nonresident members unless it elects to pay for every member. The election is irrevocable for that tax year¹⁷.
7. File corporation income tax if you are a C corporation, and the pass-through form if you are an S corporation or an LLC taxed that way. The corporation return is due the 15th day of the 4th month after the tax year ends, or the original federal due date if that is later⁶. The rate is 8.25%. Estimates are due when the tax can reasonably be expected to exceed $1,000, on the 15th day of the 4th, 6th, 9th, and 12th months of the tax year. Maryland does not allow a consolidated return. Each corporation files its own⁷. Pass-through estimates use 6.50% plus the lowest local rate of 2.25% for an individual member and 8.25%¹⁷ for an entity member. This page does not pick the federal election on Form 2553¹⁸.
8. File sales tax if you are registered to collect it. Returns are due the 20th day of the month after the period ends. A Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday moves it to the next business day¹⁹. The general rate is 6%²⁰. Sales and use tax returns for periods beginning after December 31, 2026 have to be filed electronically, with exceptions for a disability, a religious objection to the technology, or a special need the Comptroller recognizes⁸. Who registers, and which rate applies to alcohol, digital products, and technology services, is on Get your tax IDs. Closing the account is a separate step if you stop selling. Do not leave a registration open and silent.
9. If you have employees, keep the unemployment account current. Most employers pay unemployment tax, except some nonprofit and governmental organizations. An employer is anyone who employs at least one person in Maryland. Reports and tax are due within 1 month after the end of each calendar quarter. The 2026 wage base is $8,500. A new employer pays from 1.0% to 2.6%. A new construction employer headquartered in another state can be assigned the Maryland construction average, and not below the new-employer rate. Interest after the due date is 1.5% a month, and a late report is $35⁹. Report new hires within 20 days of the day the employee begins work. A miss can mean a written warning the first time, then $20 for each month of a later violation, or $500 if the miss is a conspiracy to hide or falsify the report²¹.
10. Secure workers’ compensation for covered employees. Each employer has to secure compensation for every covered employee, by insurance, a self-insurance group, or approved self-insurance¹¹. The employer FAQ says failing to secure it can mean a fine of $10,000. The employer pays the whole premium. Deducting any of it from wages is a misdemeanor¹³. Under Labor and Employment §9-202, someone working for you under an express or implied contract of hire is presumed to be a covered employee, unless you show the person is an independent contractor or is exempted by the statute¹². Whether an owner with no staff is covered is a question for the commission or a legal professional.*
11. Pay at least the wage that applies in the county where the person works. The state rate is $15 an hour for most employees. The youth rate is at least 85% of the state rate if the employee is under 18. A tipped employee must still reach the full rate. The employer’s cash wage is at least $3.63, and the employer covers any gap. The wage page lists exemptions, including immediate family, some agricultural work, and people who meet the federal test for administrative, executive, or professional work. Read that list before you set a rate. As of July 1, 2026, Howard County is $16 for every employer size, and Prince George’s County is $15.30. Montgomery County is $18 for 51 or more employees, $16.50 for 11 to 50, and $15.95 for 10 or fewer. Montgomery’s cash wage for tipped employees is $4. Overtime is 1.5 times the usual hourly rate after 40 hours in a week, for most employees. The wage page lists jobs with a higher hour count¹⁰. Federal law can still require overtime after 40 hours when Maryland’s page uses a higher hour count. Check the federal wage page before you set a rate.
12. Renew the other credentials on their own dates. A trader’s license runs May 1 through the following April 30²². A home improvement license lasts two years from the day the original license is issued²³. Those rules are on Licenses and permits.

Employer rules

Unemployment, from the tax-rate page: Most employers pay unemployment tax, except some nonprofit and governmental organizations. An employer is anyone who employs at least one person in Maryland. File within 1 month after the end of each calendar quarter. The 2026 wage base is $8,500⁹.

New hires: report within 20 days of the day the employee begins work. A miss can mean a written warning the first time, then $20 for each month of a later violation, or $500 if the miss is a conspiracy to hide or falsify the report²¹.

Workers’ compensation: secure compensation for every covered employee, by insurance, a self-insurance group, or approved self-insurance¹¹. The employer pays the premium. The fine for failing to secure coverage is $10,000¹³.

Minimum wage: $15 an hour at the state level for most employees, and more in Howard, Montgomery, and Prince George’s counties as of July 1, 2026¹⁰.

What you get back

A filed annual report, an income-tax filing if you are in the group that has to file, sales-tax filings where you are registered, and current employer accounts. If the charter is forfeited, the way back is the missing reports plus reinstatement, at $100⁴ for a domestic LLC.