This free Maryland paycheck calculator shows your 2026 take-home pay. It covers federal income tax, Maryland state tax, your county's local income tax, Social Security and Medicare. Maryland is one of the few states where the county line really matters. Every county charges its own income tax. Two neighbors on the same salary can take home hundreds of dollars apart.
The calculator has a county picker covering all 24 Maryland jurisdictions. Local rates run from about 2.25% up to 3.3%. Pick yours before reading the results. The example figures on this page use Montgomery County's 3.2% rate, one of the highest in the state.
How Maryland taxes your paycheck in 2026
Maryland's state income tax runs from 2% to 6.5%. The 6.25% and 6.5% top brackets are new from the 2025 budget act and aim at high incomes. On top of the state tax sits a required county income tax between 2.25% and 3.3%. It is based on where you live, not where you work. Together, a high earner in a top-rate county now faces a marginal rate of up to 9.8%. Marginal rate means the rate on your next dollar earned.
The standard deduction changed too. The old 15%-of-income formula is gone, replaced by a flat amount of $3,400 for single filers. Each person also gets a $3,200 exemption. That exemption shrinks as you earn more, then disappears. It starts shrinking above $100,000 of income for singles and $150,000 for joint filers. That quietly raises the tax rate two-income Maryland households actually pay across that range.
Two counties need special handling and get it in this calculator. Anne Arundel applies its local tax in marginal brackets instead of one flat rate. Frederick uses a rate-by-income-level schedule. Everywhere else the county rate is a single flat percentage of taxable income.
The county tax: why your address is a tax decision
The gap between the lowest-rate and highest-rate Maryland counties is more than a full percentage point of income. On a $100,000 salary that is over $1,000 a year. It rides entirely on which side of a county line you live. Few state-level tax debates move a paycheck that much.
The county tax follows where you live on the last day of the tax year. Employers take it out alongside state tax as one combined Maryland amount. That is why a Maryland pay stub shows one state line, not two. The county share is baked into it.
Commuters get a break worth knowing. Maryland has reciprocity deals with DC and Virginia. Reciprocity means you pay tax only to the state you live in. So if you live in Maryland and work in either place, you pay only Maryland tax. There is no DC or Virginia return to file, and no tax taken out twice. Tell your employer to withhold for Maryland and the county rate rides along automatically.
What a Maryland paycheck looks like in practice
Maryland takes a bigger bite at middle incomes than its 2% to 6.5% state schedule suggests. The county layer adds roughly 3% on top from the first taxable dollar. The flat $3,400 standard deduction shields very little. A single filer on $60,000 in Montgomery County keeps about 77% of gross pay. That is a few points less than in neighboring Virginia, which has no local income tax.
Federal deductions are the same as everywhere. Your employer takes out federal income tax based on your W-4 form. Social Security is 6.2% up to the $184,500 wage base. Medicare is 1.45%, plus another 0.9% on pay above $200,000. Maryland has no separate state disability or family-leave lines on the stub.
Pre-tax savings work the standard way in Maryland. 401(k) contributions skip federal, state and county income tax, but not FICA. FICA is the Social Security and Medicare tax. HSA money taken from your paycheck skips all of it, because Maryland follows the federal HSA rule. That is different from California and New Jersey. Use the calculator fields to see both effects at your county's rate.
Maryland paycheck FAQ
- How much is $60,000 after taxes in Maryland?
- A single filer on $60,000 with no pre-tax deductions, living in Montgomery County, takes home about $46,197 a year in 2026. That is roughly $1,777 per biweekly paycheck. The total tax rate is about 23.0%. That includes Montgomery County's 3.2% local tax, which every Maryland county charges in some form.
- How much is $100,000 after taxes in Maryland?
- A single filer on $100,000 with no pre-tax deductions, living in Montgomery County, keeps about $71,807 a year in 2026. That is roughly $2,762 per biweekly paycheck. The total tax rate is about 28.2%. That includes the 3.2% Montgomery County local tax. Pick your own county in the calculator, since rates range from 2.25% to 3.3%.
- Do all Maryland counties charge local income tax?
- Yes. All 24 Maryland jurisdictions, meaning 23 counties plus Baltimore City, charge a required local income tax. Rates run between 2.25% and 3.3%, based on where you live. Anne Arundel uses marginal local brackets and Frederick uses a rate-by-income schedule. The rest are flat. The calculator's county picker handles all of them.
- I live in Maryland but work in DC or Virginia — who taxes me?
- Only Maryland taxes you. Reciprocity deals mean Maryland residents working in DC or Virginia pay Maryland state and county tax only. Reciprocity means you pay tax only to the state you live in. Have your employer withhold for Maryland so you are not chasing refunds from another place at filing time.
- What is Maryland's top combined tax rate now?
- Up to about 9.8% on your next dollar earned. That is the new 6.5% top state bracket from the 2025 budget act plus a top county rate of 3.3%. Middle incomes pay much less than that. Still, the county layer means even modest salaries face roughly 3% local tax from the first taxable dollar.
Sources
- Maryland Comptroller — 2026 withholding tax facts
- Maryland Comptroller
- Tax Foundation — state income tax rates 2026
All sources accessed and figures verified August 2026.