Verified against Maryland Register of Wills · Updated August 27, 2026
Maryland Inheritance Tax in 2026: Rates, Exemptions & Calculator
Maryland exempts a wide circle of family — spouses, domestic partners, parents, grandparents, children and their descendants, a child's spouse, and siblings — entirely. Anyone outside that list pays a flat 10%, with an unusual twist: the $1,000 exemption is a cliff, not a deduction.
Calculate Maryland inheritance tax for your situationWho owes Maryland inheritance tax
Maryland sorts beneficiaries into classes based on their relationship to the person who died. Each class has its own exemption amount (if any) and tax rate — here's the full breakdown:
| Relationship to the deceased | Exemption | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Spouse/domestic partner, parents/grandparents, children/descendants, their spouses, siblings (fully exempt) | — | Exempt |
| Nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, and other non-exempt beneficiaries | $1,000 (cliff) | Flat 10.0% |
| Charities and exempt organizations (fully exempt) | — | Exempt |
Worked example
A niece isn't on Maryland's exempt list, so the flat 10% rate applies. Because the $1,000 exemption is a cliff rather than a deduction — the statute exempts transfers only when the total value is $1,000 or less — a $50,000 inheritance is fully taxed at 10% on the entire amount, not just the amount above $1,000, producing $5,000 in tax.
Rules worth knowing
- The $1,000 exemption only applies if the ENTIRE inheritance is $1,000 or less. Inherit $1,001 and the full $1,001 is taxed at 10% — not just the $1 over the line. This trips people up because it doesn't work like a standard deduction.
- Maryland separately levies its own estate tax (up to 16%, with roughly a $5 million exemption) on large estates — a completely different tax from the inheritance tax on this page. A single estate can owe both.
Filing deadline
This calculator doesn't independently track Maryland's specific filing-deadline text — confirm the exact due date with the Register of Wills in the county administering the estate.
More on inheritance tax
For how the calculation works across all five states that still charge inheritance tax, exemptions worth knowing about, and strategies to reduce what's owed, see the full inheritance tax guide.