Estate + inheritance tax worksheet

Maryland Estate and Inheritance Tax Calculator

Maryland has an estate-level tax with a $5 million basic exclusion and a separate inheritance tax based on the recipient and property.

Updated Oct 2, 20266 primary sources citedEditorial policy

Maryland inheritance tax: one beneficiary

Who this covers and what to enter

For outright transfers from a Maryland-resident decedent in 2026 or 2027. Enter the total prepared net property value passing to this person. The beneficiary pays any tax from that amount.

Date of death Beneficiary relationship Total prepared net value to this person ($) Property administration I confirm a Maryland-resident decedent, a 2026 or 2027 death, an outright transfer to one individual, and prepared net property values. The recipient bears the tax. This excludes trusts, life interests, tax-free legacies paid by the residue, special property exemptions and nonresident estates.

Your estimate

Needs your figuresCalculated

Estimated inheritance tax: —
Amount after this inheritance tax: —

The estate worksheet above requires actual inheritance tax paid. Do not transfer this estimate into its paid-tax credit before payment.

Reviewed October 1, 2026 using the July 2026 MET-1, Register of Wills guidance and 2026 Chapter 503.

Maryland estate tax and paid-tax credits

Who this covers and what to enter

For deaths in 2026 and 2027 using prepared MET-1 amounts. Calculates the Schedule B credit limit before property allocation and paid-tax credits. The qualified agricultural-property election is outside this worksheet.

Date of death Federal gross estate — MET-1 line 1 ($)Before state-only prior QTIP.Prior Maryland-only QTIP — line 2 ($)Only amounts not already in federal gross estate.Federal allowable deductions — line 4 ($)Prepared Form 706 deductions before the separate state death-tax deduction.Current Maryland-only QTIP — line 5 ($)Prepared Schedule D election; do not repeat federal marital deductions.Confirmed Maryland DSUE — line 8b ($)From a valid Maryland portability election, not federal DSUE. Maximum $5 million.Adjusted taxable gifts — Schedule B line 5 ($)Prepared federal adjusted taxable gifts.Gift tax payable — Schedule B line 8 ($)Prepared federal gift-tax-payable worksheet amount.Unified credit reduction — Schedule B line 10a ($)Federal line 10 adjustment, maximum $6,000, reducing the Maryland $1,945,800 credit.Maryland estate — Schedule A line 26 ($)Prepared Maryland situs amount including relevant prior state QTIP.Maryland inheritance tax actually paid — line 14a ($)An estimate from the beneficiary calculator is not a payment.Eligible other-state death tax actually paid — line 14b ($)Prepared credit on property also in the Maryland estate; requires proof and eligibility.Prior Maryland estate tax payments — line 16c ($)Extension and other estate-tax payments. These are prepared amounts for a 2026 or 2027 estate without the qualified agricultural-property election. I have resolved Maryland QTIP, DSUE, property situs, federal gift adjustments and credit eligibility. Only taxes actually paid are entered as paid-tax credits.

Your estimate

Needs your figuresCalculated

Confirm the prepared amounts.

Net Maryland estate tax — line 15: —
Augmented gross estate — line 3: —
Maryland estate tax base — line 7: —
16% limit — line 9: —
Schedule B credit limit — line 11: —
Allowable state death-tax credit: —
Credit after Maryland allocation — line 12: —
Gross Maryland estate tax — line 13: —
Balance before interest / penalties: —
Estimated overpayment: —

Whole-dollar inputs; dollar-and-cent results. The property percentage is rounded to two decimal places. This is state estate tax, not federal tax or a beneficiary distribution.

Paid inheritance tax can reduce the estate tax, so adding the two headline rates gives the wrong answer.

Schedule B limits the credit before property allocation

The form compares the 16% excess-over-exclusion limit with its allowable state death-tax credit. Schedule B uses adjusted gifts, gift tax payable and a Maryland-specific unified-credit amount. The credit is then apportioned using Maryland property, with the percentage rounded to two decimal places. Schedules A and B.

With a $6 million estate base, full Maryland situs, no gifts, deductions, DSUE or tax credits, the 16% limit is $160,000. Schedule B's allowable credit is $400,000, so the gross estate tax is $160,000. With only half the property in Maryland, the allocated credit is $200,000 and the result is still $160,000. Simply multiplying $160,000 by 50% would understate this example.

Paid inheritance tax reduces the estate tax

MET-1 subtracts eligible inheritance and other-state death taxes actually paid. A tax estimate alone is not a paid credit. For example, $160,000 gross estate tax less $25,000 paid inheritance tax leaves $135,000 net estate tax. With $140,000 of prior estate-tax payments, the estimated overpayment is $5,000. Lines 14–17.

Maryland portability is separate from federal portability

Enter only confirmed Maryland deceased-spouse unused exclusion, supported by the state election. Prior Maryland-only QTIP increases the state estate when not already included federally; a current Maryland-only QTIP deduction is a separate entry. The agricultural-property election needs its own computation and is outside this worksheet. Schedules C, D and F and agricultural instructions.

At a $7 million estate base, $2 million of valid Maryland DSUE makes the exclusion $7 million and produces zero in this worksheet. Selecting “married” would not establish that election. Filing for portability may still matter even when no tax is due; see the current filing and extension guidance.

Who pays the inheritance tax?

The ordinary rate is 10% under Tax-General §7-204. Exempt relationships under §7-203 include a spouse, child or lineal descendant, parent, grandparent and sibling, with the statute's stepfamily and descendant-spouse provisions.

A surviving registered domestic partner is exempt. An unregistered partner does not receive the same blanket exemption; separate requirements can protect a qualifying joint primary residence. Register of Wills relationship guidance.

A $100,000 outright cash transfer to a qualifying sibling produces no inheritance tax. The same prepared amount to a nonexempt friend produces $10,000 of tax and $90,000 after that tax when the recipient bears it. A will directing the estate to pay the friend's tax requires a different calculation.

The $1,000 rule is not a deduction from every inheritance

Property totaling no more than $1,000 to one person is exempt. When a nonexempt recipient receives $1,001 in a taxable transfer, the estimate is $100.10 on the full amount. Property administered under a small-estate proceeding is separately exempt; do not assume that every nonprobate transfer qualifies merely because another part of the estate is small. Property exemptions.

Nonresident property rules changed for July 2026 deaths

Chapter 503 makes the situs of intangible property the decedent's domicile for inheritance-tax purposes and removes the prior reciprocal personal-property exemption. These tax provisions apply to deaths on or after July 1, 2026. The beneficiary calculator covers Maryland-resident decedents; a nonresident transfer needs the correct date-specific situs analysis. Chapter 503, sections 2 and 4.

For other beneficiary-based systems, compare Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Kentucky and Nebraska. Their relationships and exemptions must not be substituted for Maryland's.

Neighbouring states to check

Real or tangible property located in another state is governed by that state's rules, not by Maryland's.

District of Columbia estate tax calculator shares a border · estate tax
Pennsylvania inheritance tax calculator shares a border · inheritance tax
Delaware estate and inheritance tax rules shares a border · no current death tax
Virginia estate and inheritance tax rules shares a border · no current death tax
West Virginia estate and inheritance tax rules shares a border · no current death tax

First documented September 4, 2026 · Updated October 2, 2026