COVID-19 News and Announcements
Please be advised that effective 3/16/2020, SDAT’s Tax Credits office will be closed to the public until further notice. Unfortunately, processing times will be slowed during the duration of this situation. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your patience, and strongly encourage all applicants to submit online filings.
- Homeowners' and Renters' tax credit applications can be filed online through http://www.taxcredits.sdat.maryland.gov.
- Homestead tax credit applications can be filed through https://sdathtc.dat.maryland.gov.
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Please be advised that due to recently passed legislation, beginning in 2020 the due date to submit a Homeowners' or Renters' Property Tax Credit application is October 1, which is extended from the prior due date of September 1.
The State of Maryland has developed a program which allows credits against the homeowner's property tax bill if the property taxes exceed a fixed percentage of the person's gross income. In other words, it sets a limit on the amount of property taxes.
To help homeowners deal with large assessment increases on their principal residence, state law has established the Homestead Property Tax Credit. The Homestead Credit limits the increase in taxable assessments each year to a fixed percentage. Every county and municipality in Maryland is required to limit taxable assessment increases to 10% or less each year. View a listing of homestead caps for each local government.
The Renters' Tax Credit Program provides property tax credits for renters who meet certain requirements. The plan was modeled after and designed to be similar in principle to the Homeowners' Tax Credit Program, which is known to many as the Circuit Breaker Program. The concept rests on the reasoning that renters indirectly pay property taxes as part of their rent and thus should have some protection, as do homeowners.