Maryland Business Taxes: Agencies, Portals, Forms & Dates

Which Maryland agency handles which tax

Maryland splits business compliance across three state agencies plus the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Knowing which portal handles which filing saves hours of searching when a deadline arrives.

The Comptroller of Maryland collects state business income taxes, Pass-Through Entity (PTE) taxes, employer income tax withholding, sales and use tax, admissions and amusement tax, alcohol tax, and motor fuel tax. The Comptroller replaced its legacy iFile and bFile systems with the Maryland Tax Connect portal for online registration, return filing, W2 bulk uploads, and payments.

The State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) manages legal entity formation, charter amendments, Annual Reports, and Business Personal Property Tax Returns through the Maryland Business Express (MBE) portal. The Maryland Department of Labor (MDOL) oversees employer Unemployment Insurance (UI) quarterly reporting through the BEACON portal and manages employer registration for the Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program. Alongside state filings, the IRS groups federal obligations into five general types of business taxes: income tax, estimated taxes, self-employment tax, employment taxes, and excise tax.

• marylandtaxes.gov: Business Tax Services Skip to Main Content Maryland Tax Connect for Individual Taxpayers i
• IRS: Business taxes

Step-by-step registration checklist for a new Maryland business

Before you can register for Maryland tax accounts, you must obtain a Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) from the IRS. The only exception is if you operate a sole proprietorship, do not have an FEIN, and are applying strictly for a sales and use tax license.

Once your federal number and SDAT charter (if forming an LLC, corporation, or partnership) are in place, you open your state tax accounts using the Combined Registration Application (CRA) on Maryland Tax Connect. Allow two weeks for the Comptroller to process a Central Registration Application and mail your license and any requested coupons.

• Step 1: Get your FEIN from the IRS (unless you are a sole proprietor applying only for a sales and use tax license using your Social Security Number).
• Step 2: Register your legal entity charter or trade name with SDAT on Maryland Business Express.
• Step 3: Submit the online Combined Registration Application on Maryland Tax Connect to open your sales and use tax license, income tax withholding account, unemployment insurance account, admissions and amusement tax account, use tax account, tire recycling fee account, or transient vendor license.
• Step 4: File a paper CRA (Form CRA) by mail to 110 Carroll Street, Annapolis, MD 21411-0001 or by fax to 410-260-7908 if you need an alcohol tax license, tobacco tax license, motor fuel tax account, sales and use tax exemption certificate, or want to add a sales and use tax account to an existing or consolidated account.
• Step 5: Verify who signs the application. Only an authorized person can submit a registration: a corporate officer for a corporation, a partner for a partnership, any member for an unincorporated association, or the owner for a sole proprietorship. If an accountant or third party submits the registration, you must attach a signed Maryland Power of Attorney (Form 548) to a paper CRA.
• Step 6: If you have one or more employees localized in Maryland, register for the state FAMLI program and verify your employer Unemployment Insurance access in BEACON.

• interactive.marylandtaxes.gov: Entrance Home Individuals Businesses Tax Professionals Careers CompNet Search Online Servi
• labor.maryland.gov: Division of Unemployment Insurance

SDAT Annual Reports, Personal Property Tax Returns, and the $300 fee waiver

Every domestic and foreign business entity formed, qualified, or registered to do business in Maryland must file an Annual Report each year to stay in legal good standing. For the 2026 filing season, Annual Reports are due on or before April 15, 2026.

If you need more time, you can request a 60-day extension online through SDAT's website or Maryland Business Express on or before April 15, which moves your extended due date to Monday, June 15. SDAT only accepts extension requests submitted online.

When you complete your Annual Report on Maryland Business Express, the system asks two questions to determine whether you must also file a Business Personal Property Tax Return alongside your report: Does the business own, lease, or use personal property located in Maryland? Does the business maintain a trader's license with a local unit of government in Maryland? If you answer yes to either question, you must file both the Annual Report and the Personal Property Tax Return together.

Employers can waive the $300 SDAT Annual Report filing fee by enrolling in MarylandSaves, the state-endorsed employee retirement program. MarylandSaves requires no employer contributions, charges no administrative fees to employers, and carries no employer fiduciary liability. Enrolling earns the $300 Annual Report fee waiver for each year your business remains qualified (businesses already approved on the MarylandSaves SDAT ID list receive the waiver for their 2026 filing).

• dat.maryland.gov: Departmental Forms & Applications Skip to Content Accessibility Information --> Search Sea
• dat.maryland.gov: Businesses in Maryland

Maryland business income tax and Pass-Through Entity (PTE) rules

All businesses except partnerships must file an annual federal income tax return, while partnerships file an information return. At the state level, Maryland business income tax returns and Pass-Through Entity (PTE) estimated tax payments are filed and paid electronically through Maryland Tax Connect (or mailed to the Revenue Administration Division, P.O. Box 8888, Annapolis, MD 21401-8888).

Pass-through entities file Maryland Form 510 (Pass-through Entity Tax Return). If your PTE has qualified nonresident individual members, the entity may elect to file a composite Maryland income tax return on their behalf using Form 510C. Do not use Form 505 to file a composite return. Every qualified nonresident member included on Form 510C must agree that the PTE acts as their agent to receive any refund or pay any tax due.

Watch the refund rules on Form 510 carefully. Form 510 only allows a refund directly on that return if the entity has no nonresident members and the amount on line 13 of the return is zero.

If you need to amend a Maryland business income tax return to claim a refund, you must file the claim within 3 years from the date the original return was filed or within 2 years from the date the tax was paid, whichever is later (an early return is treated as filed on its due date). If a refund claim stems from an IRS adjustment or final federal court decision occurring outside that 3-year or 2-year window, you have 1 year from the date of the adjustment or final decision to file. Refund claims based on a federal net operating loss (NOL) carryback must be filed within 3 years after the due date of the return for the loss tax year.

• marylandtaxes.gov: Tax Guidance
• IRS: Self-employed individuals tax center

Sales and use tax: 6% general rate, 9% alcohol rate, and out-of-state credits

Maryland's general sales and use tax rate is 6 percent on taxable goods and 9 percent on alcoholic beverages. On any taxable sale over $1.00, the 6 percent tax equals 6 cents on each exact dollar plus a bracketed amount on the remaining cents: 1 cent for excess between 1 and 16 cents, 2 cents for 17 to 33 cents, 3 cents for 34 to 50 cents, 4 cents for 51 to 66 cents, 5 cents for 67 to 83 cents, and 6 cents for 84 cents or more.

If you sell at craft shows, fairs, or one-time events and do not hold a permanent license, you must obtain a 30-day temporary sales and use tax license by emailing Templicense@marylandtaxes.gov or calling 410-767-1543 or 410-767-5462 with your event date, event name, location, legal and trade name, FEIN (or SSN for a sole proprietorship), mailing address, email, and phone number. If you participate in 3 or more events a year, you must register for a permanent sales and use tax license on Maryland Tax Connect.

When your business buys equipment or goods out of state and pays another state's sales tax, Maryland grants a credit up to Maryland's 6 percent rate on general goods (and 9 percent on alcoholic beverages).

Worked example: Suppose your Maryland business purchases $5,000 of office computers from a vendor in a state where you pay a 4 percent sales tax ($200 paid to the other state). Under the Comptroller's credit rule, Maryland's 6 percent use tax liability is $300, and you receive a credit for the 4 percent ($200) already paid. By our calculation from the Comptroller of Maryland's Consumer Use Tax credit example, you owe only the 2 percent difference ($100) to Maryland. To claim this credit, you complete the Consumer Use Tax Return, enter the credit amount on line 4 of both coupons A and B, and mail the return to the Revenue Administration Division, 110 Carroll Street, Annapolis, MD 21411. If you overpay sales and use tax and need a refund from the Comptroller, submit Form SUT205 (Sales and Use Tax Refund) or Form SUT212 (Purchases for Refund).

• marylandtaxes.gov: Tax Guidance
• marylandtaxes.gov: Tax Guidance

Employer payroll taxes: Withholding, BEACON unemployment, and 2027 FAMLI

Hiring even one employee triggers both federal and Maryland payroll filings. At the federal level, employers must withhold and pay Social Security and Medicare taxes, withhold federal income tax (reported quarterly on Form 941 and annually on Form W-2), and pay Federal Unemployment (FUTA) tax.

In Maryland, employer payroll compliance runs through two systems:

• Comptroller of Maryland (Maryland Tax Connect): You remit state income tax withholding on a monthly, quarterly, seasonal, or annual schedule. Starting January 1, 2025, the W2 Bulk Upload application and electronic filing for W2, 1099, and 508 year-end reconciliation forms moved permanently from bFile to Maryland Tax Connect.
• Maryland Department of Labor (BEACON Portal): You manage your employer Unemployment Insurance account, check annual UI tax rates, and file quarterly wage reports inside the BEACON portal.
• Maryland Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI): Employers with one or more employees localized in Maryland must register with the state FAMLI program. Employer withholding of FAMLI contributions begins on January 1, 2027. Note that third-party agents (TPAs) cannot register a business for FAMLI directly. The employer must register its own account, and the TPA must register as a TPA first and send an invitation to connect.

• labor.maryland.gov: Division of Unemployment Insurance
• interactive.marylandtaxes.gov: bServices Online Service Center

Self-employed, sole proprietor, and gig worker tax rules in Maryland

You are considered self-employed if you carry on a trade or business as a sole proprietor, work as an independent contractor, are a member of a partnership carrying on a trade or business, or run a part-time or gig-economy business for yourself.

Under IRS rules, you must file an annual income tax return and pay self-employment (SE) tax if your net earnings from self-employment are $400 or more (or $108.28 or more in wages from a tax-exempt church or qualified church-controlled organization). You figure your net profit or loss by subtracting business expenses from business income on Schedule C (Form 1040), and you calculate your Social Security and Medicare tax on Schedule SE (Form 1040 or 1040-SR). Married couples who are the only members of an unincorporated business and file a joint return can elect to be treated as a qualified joint venture rather than a partnership for federal tax purposes.

Because no employer withholds tax from your self-employment earnings, you pay federal income and SE taxes through quarterly estimated payments using the Form 1040-ES worksheet and vouchers (or online via IRS Direct Pay or EFTPS). In Maryland, sole proprietors and general partnerships also file SDAT Form 2 by April 15 if they own, lease, or use business personal property in the state or hold a local trader's license.

• IRS: Self-employed individuals tax center
• dat.maryland.gov: Departmental Forms & Applications Skip to Content Accessibility Information --> Search Sea

Specialty taxes, past-due charter revivals, and UCC filing fees

Depending on your industry and charter status, several specialized rules apply in Maryland and federally:

• Admissions and Amusement Tax: Returns and payments must be filed on the Maryland Tax Connect portal and are due on the 10th day of the following month.
• Unclaimed Property: Maryland is a report-and-remit state. Businesses holding unclaimed property must file annual compliance reports with the Comptroller.
• Federal Excise Taxes: As the fifth general type of federal business tax alongside income, estimated, self-employment, and employment taxes, businesses in regulated sectors file Form 720 (environmental, communications, air transportation, fuel, and retail heavy truck taxes), Form 2290 (highway motor vehicles with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more), or Form 730 and Form 11-C (wagering taxes).
• Past-Due SDAT Annual Reports for Revival or Reinstatement: Effective January 1, 2021, any domestic or foreign entity seeking to revive, reinstate, re-register, or re-qualify its charter with SDAT must file all past-due Annual Reports (non-stock and religious corporations without business personal property file up to 7 years of missing Form 1s).
• SDAT Expedited Dropbox and UCC Fees: SDAT maintains a dropbox in the lobby of 123 Market Place, Baltimore, MD 21202. Standard Annual Reports dropped off in an envelope with the base filing fee require no appointment and no expedited fee. Same-day charter service (in by 10:00 AM, ready by 3:45 PM Monday through Friday) carries a $425 expedited fee in addition to the base filing fee. Effective December 1, 2024, UCC filings carry a $4.50 service fee per filing ($2.00 per certified search), and electronic payments by credit card or ACH carry a $4.50 convenience fee (paper checks do not pay the convenience fee).

• dat.maryland.gov: Businesses in Maryland
• IRS: Business taxes

Flat-price Maryland business tax filing and bookkeeping

Aldro is the cheapest way to get your business taxes done: $399 flat, with bookkeeping at $20 a month.

Our team prepares and files your returns so you never have to juggle federal forms and state portals alone. The flat price covers everything tax for the year (every federal and state or provincial business return: Schedule C, 1065, 1120-S, 1120 and state returns. T2 and T1 with T2125 in Canada), multi-state returns at the same price, the owner's personal return when the business income needs it, city and local business returns and state franchise tax reports included, and each unfiled prior year billed at the same flat price. Extensions and quarterly estimate reminders are included, we work out quarterly estimates, and 1099-NEC slips are included. Bookkeeping covers unlimited bank and card accounts, monthly reconciliation and statements, but not payroll processing or sales-tax filing. If you are switching from Bench or another service, we start within a week of getting the documents.

• marylandtaxes.gov: Tax Guidance
• marylandtaxes.gov: Business Tax Services Skip to Main Content Maryland Tax Connect for Individual Taxpayers i