Maryland Salary Calculator

Maryland Retirement Tax Calculator

See what your retirement income actually keeps in Maryland for 2026 — Social Security, pensions, 401(k)s, IRAs, and military pay, with the pension exclusion and your county's rate applied.

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Retirement income estimator

Maryland · 2026 tax year · Social Security, pension, IRA

65 or older unlocks the pension exclusion.

  • Single
  • Married filing jointly

Joint returns only. Each spouse 65+ counts separately.

Not taxed by Maryland. Reduces your pension exclusion.

Qualifies for the pension exclusion.

Does NOT qualify for the pension exclusion.

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Own subtraction: $20,000 at 55+, else $12,500.

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Updates as you type

How it works

Follow the exact steps to get your result instantly and privately.

STEP 1

Enter your age

Age decides almost everything here. At 65 or older you qualify for Maryland's pension exclusion and an extra $1,000 personal exemption. Military retirees cross a separate threshold at 55.

How Maryland Taxes Retirement Income

Maryland is friendlier to retirees than its reputation suggests, but the benefit is uneven and it turns on which account your money sits in. Three rules do the work. First, Social Security is fully exempt from Maryland state and county tax, even though the federal return may tax up to 85% of it. Second, if you are 65 or older you may subtract qualifying pension income up to $40,600 for 2026 — but that cap is reduced by every dollar of Social Security you receive, so a large benefit can wipe the exclusion out entirely. Third, only employer-sponsored plans qualify. A traditional IRA is taxed in full by Maryland, which means two retirees with identical income can owe materially different amounts depending on where they saved.

Tax Breakdown Layers
Calculation Model
v2026.1
Pension exclusion = min(qualifying pension income, $40,600 − Social Security received)
MD income = Federal AGI − Social Security − pension exclusion − military subtraction
MD taxable = MD income − standard deduction − personal exemptions − $1,000 (if 65+)
Total tax = Federal + (MD state brackets + county rate) on MD taxable
Live Example
Verified

Example: age 67, single, $24,000 Social Security and $40,000 from a 401(k), Baltimore County (3.20%). The exclusion is capped at $40,600 − $24,000 = $16,600, not the full $40,000. Social Security drops out of the Maryland calculation entirely, leaving $23,400 of Maryland income, then $15,850 taxable after the standard deduction, personal exemption and the extra senior exemption. Maryland state tax is $700, county tax $507, federal tax $4,996 — $6,204 total on $64,000, an effective rate of 9.69%.

Worked examples

$24k Social Security + $40k pension

📋
age 67, single, Baltimore County (3.20%)
Result≈ $6,204 total tax — 9.69% effective, $57,796 net

Same income, but from an IRA

📋
age 67, single, Baltimore County — IRA does not qualify
Result≈ $7,523 total tax — $1,320 more for identical income

$48k Social Security + $60k pension

📋
age 70, married jointly, Montgomery (3.30%)
Result≈ $11,202 total tax — exclusion is $0, Social Security exceeds the cap

$30k military retirement

📋
age 58, single, Anne Arundel (graduated)
Result≈ $1,625 total tax — $20,000 subtracted, 5.42% effective

Total tax and net income by pension size — single filer, age 67, $24,000 Social Security, Baltimore County (3.20%). Note the exclusion stops growing at $16,600: that is $40,600 minus the $24,000 of Social Security.

$20,000$16,600
$30,000$16,600
$40,000$16,600
$50,000$16,600
$60,000$16,600
$80,000$16,600
$100,000$16,600
DID YOU KNOW?

| Quick facts

  • Maryland does not tax Social Security benefits at all — not state tax, not county tax. Only the federal return touches them.

  • The maximum pension exclusion is $40,600 for tax year 2026, down from $41,200 in 2025 — the cap tracks the maximum Social Security benefit, so it can fall as well as rise.

  • Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEPs and Keogh plans do NOT qualify for the pension exclusion. Only employer plans — pensions, 401(a), 401(k), 403(b), 457(b) — count.

  • Military retirement has its own subtraction: up to $20,000 if you are 55 or older, up to $12,500 if you are under 55.

From the blog

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Frequently asked questions

No. Maryland exempts Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits from state income tax entirely, and because county tax is calculated on Maryland taxable income, your county does not tax them either. Your federal return is separate: depending on your provisional income, up to 85% of your benefits can be federally taxable. The calculator shows both figures side by side so you can see exactly where the tax is coming from.

$40,600 for tax year 2026, down from $41,200 for 2025. To claim it you must be 65 or older on the last day of the tax year, or totally and permanently disabled, or have a spouse who is totally and permanently disabled. Crucially, the cap is reduced dollar for dollar by all Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits you received — not just the portion that was federally taxable. On $24,000 of Social Security your maximum exclusion is $16,600, and on more than $40,600 of Social Security it reaches zero.

Yes, but qualifying income can be reduced by the pension exclusion if you are 65 or older. Pensions, annuities and endowments from an employee retirement system all qualify — that includes qualified defined benefit and defined contribution plans, 401(a), 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) plans. Whatever is left after the exclusion is taxed at Maryland's state rates plus your county's local rate.

Yes, in full. A traditional IRA does not qualify for the Maryland pension exclusion, and neither does a Roth IRA, a SEP, a Keogh plan or an ineligible deferred compensation plan. This is the single most expensive misconception about Maryland retirement tax. On age 67, single, $24,000 of Social Security and $40,000 of retirement income in Baltimore County, taking that $40,000 from a 401(k) costs about $6,204 in total tax — taking the identical amount from a traditional IRA costs about $7,523. Same income, $1,320 more tax, purely because of the account it came from.

Partly. Maryland lets you subtract up to $20,000 of military retirement income if you are 55 or older on the last day of the tax year, or up to $12,500 if you are under 55. The remainder is taxed at state and county rates. This subtraction is separate from the standard pension exclusion, and you may be able to claim both if you have other qualifying retirement income — but not on the same dollars.

More than its reputation suggests, and it depends heavily on your mix of income. Social Security is completely exempt from state and local tax, there is a pension exclusion worth up to $40,600, an extra $1,000 personal exemption at 65, and specific breaks for military retirees and public safety retirees. Against that, Maryland is one of the few states with a local income tax on top of the state rate, and it taxes IRA withdrawals in full. A retiree living mostly on Social Security and a 401(k) does well here; one drawing heavily on a traditional IRA does noticeably worse.

Four levers show up repeatedly. Keep qualifying money in an employer plan rather than rolling everything to an IRA, since only the former is eligible for the exclusion. Watch the Social Security offset — the exclusion shrinks as your benefit grows, which can make delaying Social Security more or less attractive than the federal maths alone suggests. Consider your county: local rates run 2.25% to 3.30% and follow your residence. And if you retired from the military or from a public safety role, make sure the specific subtraction is actually being claimed. This is general information, not advice for your situation.

Yes. The exclusion is computed per person on Worksheet 13A, so on a joint return each spouse who meets the age or disability test and has qualifying pension income can claim up to the maximum, each reduced by their own Social Security. The extra $1,000 senior personal exemption is also per person. This calculator models a household figure; if your and your spouse's income sources differ substantially, run each of you separately for a closer estimate.

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