What actually sets Maryland apart
The Homestead Tax Credit does not carry over when a house is sold, and the phase-in resets. Buyers in Maryland regularly inherit a bill well above the seller's because the seller had years of capped growth behind them. Check the assessed value, not the current bill.
Property taxes in Maryland at a glance
- Average effective tax rate: 1% of home value per year
- Median home value: $397,700
- Estimated tax on a median-value home: $3,989 per year (about $332 per month)
- Rank by tax rate: 21st of 50, highest first
- Rank by amount actually paid: 12th of 50, highest first
- Where these figures come from: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, for the Maryland statewide averages shown above — ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates, last reviewed September 2026.
What the Maryland rate leaves out
Maryland is 21st of the fifty by rate and 12th by the bill a median-value owner receives — a shift of 9 places, and the $397,700 median home value is what causes it. The rate is a reasonable shorthand here, but it is not the whole answer, and both numbers are worth checking before comparing Maryland with anywhere else.
How Maryland works out what you owe
The state, not the counties, assesses property. Every parcel is reassessed once every three years and any increase is phased in over the three years that follow.
The Homestead Tax Credit caps the annual growth in taxable assessment on a principal residence at 10% statewide, and many counties set a lower local cap.
Exemptions Maryland homeowners should claim
Each of these reduces a Maryland bill every year you hold the property, and almost none are granted without a claim:
- Homestead Tax Credit: Applies the assessment growth cap. It must be applied for once, and it does not transfer with the property, so a new buyer has to file.
- Homeowners' Property Tax Credit: An income-tested credit that limits the bill to a set percentage of household income, available regardless of age.
Where you buy inside Maryland changes the bill
A statewide average hides its extremes. Where they show up in Maryland:
- Montgomery County: the Washington suburbs, where the county rate is joined by municipal rates in Rockville, Gaithersburg and Takoma Park
- Baltimore City: an independent city with by far the highest rate in the state, roughly double most surrounding counties
- Anne Arundel County: Annapolis and the bay shore, with a comparatively low county rate and a separate rate inside the city
Maryland and its neighbours
The same $397,700 — the Maryland median — taxed at each neighbouring state's average rate:
- Pennsylvania at 1.35%: about $5,369 a year, roughly $1,380 more than the $3,989 a Maryland owner would pay on the same value.
- Delaware at 0.53%: about $2,108 a year, roughly $1,881 less than the $3,989 a Maryland owner would pay on the same value.
- Virginia at 0.74%: about $2,943 a year, roughly $1,046 less than the $3,989 a Maryland owner would pay on the same value.
- West Virginia at 0.54%: about $2,148 a year, roughly $1,841 less than the $3,989 a Maryland owner would pay on the same value.
Appealing a Maryland assessment
If the assessed value on your Maryland home overstates what it is worth, the route is an appeal to the SDAT supervisor, then the Property Tax Assessment Appeal Board. The window is within 45 days of the triennial notice of assessment, and it is strict — missing it means waiting a full cycle.
Frequently asked questions
When are Maryland property taxes due, and when must exemption claims be filed?
The fiscal year begins 1 July, with the annual bill due by 30 September or payable in semi-annual instalments. Applications go to the State Department of Assessments and Taxation; the income-tested credit is claimed annually by 1 October.
Does this calculator use my exact Maryland county tax rate?
No — it applies the Maryland statewide average of 1%. Rates are set locally, and the spread inside Maryland is wide enough to matter: on a $397,700 home, $57 a year separates Maryland from an averagely taxed state before any county variation is counted. Check the parcel's own rate with its Maryland county before relying on this figure.
Reference sources
Related calculators
How this estimate is built
Principal and interest come from the standard amortization formula, worked through in full on the formula reference page. Property tax, insurance, PMI and loan-program figures layer on top from published assumptions — each one sourced, dated and listed on the methodology page. Every result here is an estimate built from public data, not a quote: confirm the specifics with a lender before relying on it.
For developers
This calculation is also available as a REST API and through an MCP server, both running the same engine as this page — so the figures match by construction rather than by convention. No key required.