New Personal Property Exemption Limits Bring Relief to Maryland Businesses

In an effort to strengthen Maryland’s economy, the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) has raised the exemption for personal property assessment for all Maryland businesses from $2,500 to $20,000.

According to SDAT, HB268 will be a welcome tax relief – a $44 million tax relief, in fact – to more than 14,000 of Maryland’s businesses owners. The new house bill is an extension of HB90 from 2018, which exempted nearly 29,000 small businesses from more than $10 million in tax assessments.

The new law took effect June 1, 2022 and is effective for tax years beginning after June 30, 2022. Assessments of filings submitted between January 1, 2022 and June 30, 2022 will automatically be adjusted, so that reported business personal property less than $20,000 is not assessed. In addition, businesses with late filing penalties subject to this new legislation will also have their bill adjusted or will receive a refund check.

Starting in 2023, businesses with a total original cost of personal property less than $20,000 will also be able to self-attest on their Annual Report that their personal property falls within the exemption range and will no longer be required to submit a return detailing their personal property.

As always, our tax professionals will provide updates as they become available. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions on how this may affect you.