Maryland Paycheck Calculator
Estimate your take-home pay in Maryland, where state income tax brackets run from 2% to 5.75% and every county, plus Baltimore City, layers on its own mandatory local income tax on top.
California payroll premiums
Mandatory deductions that aren't income tax. They come out of your paycheck whether or not California taxes income.
- CA SDI1.3% (no cap)
1.3% of all wages, with no cap since 2024.
Your Form W-4
Optional. Skip this and you'll get the withholding for a W-4 with nothing claimed on it. The form has had no "allowances" since 2020 — dependents are now a dollar credit in Step 3.
The dollar total from Step 3, not a number of people — typically $2,200 per qualifying child and $500 per other dependent.
Interest, dividends or retirement income with no withholding of its own.
Only deductions beyond the standard deduction, from the Step 4(b) worksheet.
An extra dollar amount held from each paycheck, on top of the tax above.
This calculator provides estimates for informational purposes only. Actual paycheck amounts may vary based on your employer, benefits, local taxes, filing status, and tax elections.
Federal withholding calculation updated September 2026 using IRS Publication 15-T (2026).
Your estimate will appear here
Enter your pay details and click calculate to see your estimated take-home pay, tax breakdown, and annual income.
A note on county income tax: Maryland is one of the few states where local income tax isn't optional or city-specific, every single county plus Baltimore City charges one, generally between 2.25% and 3.3% of taxable income. Select your county in the calculator and its exact rate is applied on top of the state tax. Every jurisdiction is listed with its 2026 rate from the Comptroller of Maryland.
Quick Answer
Maryland's state income tax brackets run from 2% to 6.5% in 2026, with most filers topping out at 5.75%, and every county plus Baltimore City adds a mandatory local income tax on top, generally 2.25% to 3.3%. This calculator runs the full state schedule against your wages after Maryland's $3,400 standard deduction and $3,200 personal exemption, along with federal income tax, Social Security (6.2%), and Medicare (1.45%). Pick your county to add the local tax, which is unavoidable anywhere in Maryland.
How It Works: Formula & Variables
Net Pay = Gross Pay − Federal Tax − State Tax (2% to 6.5%) − County Tax − Social Security − Medicare − Other Deductions
- Gross Pay
- Your total earnings before any deductions, hourly rate times hours, or annual salary divided by pay periods.
- Federal Tax
- Calculated using progressive tax brackets based on your filing status and taxable income.
- State Tax
- Calculated across Maryland's full schedule, applied to your wages after the $3,400 standard deduction and the $3,200 personal exemption. That exemption shrinks above $100,000 of income and disappears entirely above $150,000 for a single filer. County and Baltimore City tax is a separate line.
- Social Security
- 6.2% of gross pay, up to the annual wage base limit.
- Medicare
- 1.45% of gross pay, with no wage limit (plus 0.9% surtax above certain thresholds).
Worked Examples
Example 1: Hourly worker in Rockville (Montgomery County)
Alex works 40 hours a week at $22 an hour. Gross weekly pay is $880. After federal income tax (around $63.68), Maryland state tax ($34.76), Montgomery County tax at 3.2% ($28.16), Social Security (6.2%, or $54.56), and Medicare (1.45%, or $12.76), this calculator estimates take-home pay at about $686.08 a week. Montgomery County sits near the top of the state's range, and that county line is the single biggest difference between two Maryland addresses on the same salary.
Example 2: Salaried employee in Baltimore
Morgan earns $72,000 a year, paid biweekly ($2,769.23 gross per paycheck), filing as Single, and lives in Baltimore City. After federal tax, Maryland state tax ($117.46), the city's 3.2% local tax ($88.62), Social Security, and Medicare, estimated take-home pay comes out to roughly $2,081.69 per paycheck, about 75.2% of gross pay. Baltimore City's local income tax, close to the state maximum, would reduce that further.
Example 3: Married couple in a lower-tax Maryland county
Jordan and Sam file Married Filing Jointly with a combined salary of $118,000 a year, paid biweekly ($4,538.46 gross per paycheck), living in a county with a local rate below Montgomery County's or Baltimore's. After federal tax, Maryland's state tax, Social Security, and Medicare, estimated take-home pay comes out to roughly $3,626 per paycheck, about 80% of gross pay, before their specific county's local tax is added on top.
Key Concepts
Local income tax isn't optional anywhere in Maryland: Every county plus Baltimore City is required by state law to charge a local income tax, unlike Ohio or Missouri, where it depends on the specific city you live or work in.
New top brackets for very high earners: Maryland added 6.25% and 6.5% brackets for income above roughly $500,000 to $1 million depending on filing status, on top of the previous 5.75% ceiling, a move that pushed the state's top marginal rate higher than most neighboring states.
Montgomery County and Baltimore charge near the maximum local rate: Not every Maryland county charges the same local rate. Wealthier, higher-cost jurisdictions like Montgomery County tend to sit closer to the state's allowed ceiling than smaller, rural counties.
A stark contrast with neighboring Virginia: Virginia, just across the Potomac, has no local income tax at all, which means two workers with identical salaries in Bethesda and Arlington can end up with meaningfully different take-home pay.
Useful for comparing job offers: If you're weighing a Maryland offer against one in Virginia or DC, run both through a paycheck calculator and factor in your specific county's local rate, since it changes the real comparison significantly.
Common Mistakes
Treating county income tax as optional: Every Maryland county charges one, so leaving it out of a take-home pay estimate isn't a minor simplification, it's skipping a real and unavoidable part of the tax bill.
Assuming all counties charge the same local rate: Local rates vary by jurisdiction, generally between 2.25% and 3.3%, so the same salary produces different take-home pay depending on which Maryland county you live in.
Comparing gross salaries across states: A $90,000 offer in Maryland and a $90,000 offer in Virginia don't translate to the same take-home pay once county tax is factored in. Always compare net pay, not gross.
Ignoring pre-tax deductions: 401(k) contributions and health insurance premiums lower your taxable income before both federal and state tax apply, so leaving them out understates your real take-home pay.
Frequently Asked Questions
Maryland uses a bracket system running from 2% up to 5.75% for most filers, with higher brackets of 6.25% and 6.5% on very high incomes. On top of the state rate, every Maryland county and Baltimore City also charges a mandatory local income tax, generally between about 2.25% and 3.3%. This calculator works through the full state schedule rather than averaging it, applying Maryland's $3,400 standard deduction and $3,200 personal exemption first, plus your county's exact rate once you select it.
No. Unlike Ohio, where local tax depends on the specific city, every one of Maryland's 23 counties plus Baltimore City is required to charge a local income tax, so there's no way to live in Maryland without one applying. Rates vary by jurisdiction, generally landing between 2.25% and 3.3% of taxable income.
Baltimore City and a number of Maryland counties, including Montgomery County in the DC suburbs, charge close to the maximum allowed local rate, around 3.2% to 3.3% depending on the year. Combined with the state bracket rates, total Maryland income tax for many workers in these areas runs close to 8.5% to 9% of taxable income.
Federal income tax, Maryland's state income tax (2% to 5.75%, or higher for very high earners), a mandatory county or Baltimore City income tax (roughly 2.25% to 3.3%), Social Security (6.2% up to the annual wage base), and Medicare (1.45%, plus 0.9% more for high earners).
Maryland's local income tax system dates back decades and funds a significant share of county government services, functioning almost like a second layer of state tax rather than an optional local add-on. Every county sets its own rate within a state-mandated range, which is why the exact local rate depends on where you live.
Yes, switch between the Hourly and Salary tabs and enter your wage or annual salary along with your pay frequency. The state is already set to Maryland.
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