Maryland Paystub Generator

Reading a Maryland pay stub, line by line

A Maryland pay stub hides two income taxes inside one line: the state tax and a county tax on the same income, withheld together and usually printed as a single "MD State Tax" figure. Here is what each line means in 2026:

MD State Income Tax ("MD State Tax", "MD W/H" — the combined line). Maryland's state tax has ten brackets from 2% to 6.5% for single filers — 4.75% covers everything from $3,000 to $100,000 of taxable income, then 5%–5.75% up to $500,000, and since 2025 two new top brackets of 6.25% (over $500,000) and 6.5% (over $1 million). The standard deduction is a flat $3,400 in 2026 (indexed to inflation from this year), plus a $3,200 personal exemption for you and each dependent, phasing out above $100,000 of income. Employers use Form MW507 and, by law, ignore the 2%, 3%, and 4% starter brackets — withholding starts at 4.75% from the first taxable dollar, so almost everyone is over-withheld by exactly $52.50 a year.

County income tax (folded into the same line). Every one of Maryland's 23 counties and Baltimore City levies an income tax of 2.25% to 3.30% on the same taxable income, based on where you live, not where you work. Twelve jurisdictions — including Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Montgomery, Prince George's, and Howard — charge 3.20%; Worcester is lowest at 2.25%; Dorchester and Kent highest at 3.30%. Anne Arundel (2.70/2.94/3.20%) and Frederick (2.25% to 3.20%) run their own progressive brackets. Employers withhold the state and county tax as one amount from a combined rate table (7.95% at the margin for a 3.20% county); some payroll systems split it into "MD State" and "MD Local" lines. Nonresidents pay a 2.25% special rate instead of a county tax.

What you will NOT see in 2026: a paid-family-leave line — Maryland's FAMLI program was delayed twice and the 0.45% employee contribution starts January 1, 2027 (benefits from 2028); state disability insurance (Maryland has none); or an unemployment deduction (employer-only — Labor & Employment §8-607(c) says an employer "may not deduct contributions, wholly or partly, from the wages of an employee"). No separate city tax exists either — Baltimore City's rate is its county-equivalent.

Plus the federal lines on every US stub: federal income tax, Social Security (6.2% up to $184,500 in 2026), and Medicare (1.45%, plus 0.9% on wages over $200,000).

Maryland paycheck facts — 2026

What you actually take home in Maryland (2026 estimates)

Estimated for a single filer taking the standard deduction, including federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, Maryland state tax (statutory brackets after the $3,400 deduction and $3,200 exemption), and a 3.20% county tax — the rate in Baltimore City, Baltimore, Montgomery, Prince George's, and Howard counties:

Where the money goes at $60,000: Maryland state tax $2,484 plus county tax $1,709 — $4,193, or 7.0% of gross, the biggest state-and-local bite of any state on this site. Your stub withholds about $4,245 (the 4.75% floor rule), so roughly $52 comes back at filing. Federal income tax and FICA take the other 16%.

Your county changes the number: a Worcester County resident (2.25%) keeps about $507 more than the table shows at $60,000; an Anne Arundel resident (2.70% on the first $50,000, then 2.94%) about $255 more; a Kent or Dorchester resident (3.30%) $53 less.

Methodology: 2026 federal brackets and $16,100 standard deduction (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32), FICA per SSA, Maryland Tax-General §10-105 Schedule I brackets after the $3,400 standard deduction (Comptroller 2026 Withholding Guide) and $3,200 personal exemption, county tax at 3.20% of Maryland taxable income (Withholding Tax Facts, January 2026). Estimates only — your withholding depends on your W-4/MW507, county of residence, credits, and pre-tax benefits.

What Maryland jobs pay (BLS, May 2025)

Maryland's median hourly wage across all occupations is $28.61 — 17% above the national median of $24.51 and a hair above New Jersey's $28.16, lifted by the federal workforce around Washington. High pay meets high tax: a Maryland software developer at the state median ($138,680) pays about $2,400 more in state and county tax than the same salary across the river in Virginia.

Maryland's workforce in numbers

• 6.3 million residents, civilian labor force of 3.2 million, unemployment 4.2% (Census 2025 estimate; BLS, July 2026 preliminary)
• 599,050 self-employed (nonemployer) businesses (Census, 2023) — about one for every 10 residents, and 4.2 times the number of businesses with employees
• 2.5 million people on employer payrolls at 142,967 establishments, earning $168 billion a year (Census County Business Patterns, 2023)
• Mean annual wage: $77,580 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)

Maryland pay rules — the answers people actually need

Final paycheck: next regular payday, whether you quit, were fired, or were laid off. Labor & Employment §3-505 requires all wages for work already performed "on or before the day on which the employee would have been paid the wages if the employment had not terminated." Unused leave must be paid out unless the employer has a written policy limiting it that you were told about at hire. If wages go unpaid without a genuine dispute, a court may award up to three times the amount plus attorney's fees (§3-507.2).

Pay frequency: at least once every two weeks or twice a month (§3-502); administrative, executive, and professional employees may be paid less often. If payday falls on a non-work day, wages are due the preceding workday. Your Social Security number may not be printed on the check or stub.

Is a pay stub required? Yes — one of the most specific stub laws in the country. Since October 1, 2024 (SB 38, the Pay Stub and Pay Statement law), every private employer must give a physical stub or online pay statement each pay period showing the employer's registered name, address, and phone; the pay date and period; your rate of pay; hours worked (for non-exempt employees); gross and net pay; each deduction; and, for tipped restaurant staff, the effective hourly tip rate. The penalty is up to $500 per employee, and the Commissioner of Labor publishes a free template. Employers must also give written notice of your rate, paydays, and leave benefits at hire, and one pay period's notice before changing them.

Commuters and reciprocity. Residents of DC, Virginia, and West Virginia working in Maryland are exempt from Maryland withholding entirely; Pennsylvania residents are exempt from the state portion only. Maryland residents working in those states owe Maryland — including the county tax — on all their wages.

County minimum wages above the $15 state floor (2026)

Maryland reached $15.00 for every employer on January 1, 2024, and the statute has no inflation indexing — so the state rate is unchanged for 2026. Three counties around Washington run their own floors, all stepping up each July 1:

A full-time job at Montgomery County's $18.00 grosses $37,440 — $6,240 more than the same job in Baltimore at the state rate. Restaurants taking the tip credit must show the effective hourly tip rate on the wage statement (§3-419).

How Maryland compares with its neighbors (take-home on $60,000, 2026 est.)

The county tax is what separates Maryland from its neighbors: at $60,000 a Montgomery County resident pays about $1,560 more in state-and-local tax than a Virginian across the Potomac, and roughly $2,300 more than a Pennsylvanian in a typical 1% local-tax town. Live in a 2.25% county like Worcester and the gap to Virginia shrinks to about $1,050.

(Delaware, Washington, DC and West Virginia figures are directional estimates pending those pages' full data workup.)

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