Maryland Estate Tax in 2026: Exemption, Rates & Calculator

How Maryland taxes an estate

Maryland law technically computes tax as the LESSER of a decades-old federal credit-table calculation or a flat 16% of the excess over $5,000,000 — but verified this round: for any single-jurisdiction Maryland estate at or above the exemption, the flat 16% side is always the smaller (and therefore controlling) number. In practice, that means the flat formula shown here is exact, not an approximation.

Applied to the amount above Maryland's $5,000,000 exclusion.

Worked example

A $10,000,000 Maryland taxable estate has $5,000,000 above the exclusion. At the flat 16% rate, that's $800,000 in Maryland estate tax.

Rules worth knowing

• Maryland is one of only two states (with New Jersey) that levy both an estate tax and an inheritance tax — this page covers the estate tax only. See the inheritance tax calculator for Maryland's separate inheritance tax on transfers to non-exempt beneficiaries.
• The exemption has been $5,000,000 since 2019 and is not indexed for inflation.

Filing deadline

The federal Form 706 return, when required, is due 9 months after the date of death (IRC §6075(a)). Maryland's own Form MET-1 has its own deadline, typically tied to the same 9-month window — confirm the exact requirement with the Comptroller of Maryland rather than relying on the federal date alone.

More on estate tax

For how federal estate tax works alongside state estate tax, the 2026 federal exemption, and spousal portability, see the full estate tax guide.