Maryland homeowners with combined gross household income of up to $60,000 must apply for the state’s Homeowners’ Property Tax Credit by Oct. 1, which falls on Thursday. The State Department of Assessments and Taxation still lists the 2026 application as open, and its online form closes at 11:59 p.m. Eastern that day. The credit limits a tax bill against income; it is not a flat payment.
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A tax bill held to a slice of income
The State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) program page describes the credit as a limit on property tax for homeowners who fit the income and asset tests. The tax is measured on the first $300,000 of assessed value. The amount of income treated as affordable rises in steps: 0% of the first $8,000 of combined household income, 4% of the next $4,000, 6.5% of the next $4,000 and 9% of everything above $16,000.
Applied to a household with $30,000 of income, the arithmetic runs $160 (4% of $4,000), plus $260 (6.5% of $4,000), plus $1,260 (9% of $14,000), for $1,680. Tax above that figure, up to the $300,000 assessment limit, is what the credit is built to cover. The example is an illustration of the published percentages, not a prediction for any bill, because each household’s tax and income differ.
The assessment limit matters for larger homes. For a home assessed at $400,000, the calculation looks only at the tax on the first $300,000, so the remaining $100,000 of assessed value sits outside it. A household in that position should expect the credit to cover less of its full bill than the percentages alone suggest.
Two ceilings, counted from two different lists
The 2026 application, Form HTC-1 reads income broadly: “Income from all sources must be reported, including taxable and non-taxable income.” That takes in Social Security, workers’ compensation, gifts above $300, inheritances and expenses paid by others on the applicant’s behalf. The combined gross figure cannot exceed $60,000.
Net worth is the second gate. It must not exceed $200,000 as of Dec. 31, 2025, and it leaves out the value of the property for which the credit is sought and the cash value of IRAs and qualified retirement savings plans. A household can therefore sit under the income cap and still be turned away on assets, or the reverse.
Oct. 1, April 15 and a July bill
SDAT’s page says the application is due by Oct. 1 each year, and adds that filing by April 15 is to an applicant’s advantage so that any credit due can be subtracted before the July tax bill is issued. Filing in the last days of September or on Oct. 1 still counts for 2026, but it leaves any adjustment to come after the bill is already out.
The Maryland OneStop listing for the application shows the online form open from Feb. 2, 2026 at 8 a.m. Eastern to Oct. 1, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern, and it states an expected approval timeline of 30 to 90 days after submission. The page carries no notice of an extension or closure. No published date after Oct. 1 appears for this year’s window.
Timing carries a practical cost for late filers. With approval running 30 to 90 days after submission, a household that files on the final day should not expect an answer before the end of October at the earliest, which is why the state points to April as the better month.
What SDAT asks to see
The form lists a complete 2025 federal income tax return with schedules, the SSA-1099, a Railroad Retirement verification or rate letter where it applies, and proof of any public assistance grants and Supplemental Security Income benefits. Applications go through OneStop or by mail to SDAT, Homeowners’ Tax Credit Program, P.O. Box 49005, Baltimore, MD 21297. Questions go to 410-767-4433 or 1-800-944-7403, or by email to [email protected]. Applicants sign under penalties of perjury.
Assets count alongside income, and Baltimore City plus 12 counties add credits of their own
Because the credit slides against the tax bill, the household’s combined income and its net worth, the number on the SDAT page is not one that can be read off a table. The form asks applicants to disclose any other dwellings or real estate owned in Maryland or elsewhere, with the address, acquisition date, property account number and estimated value. Those entries can affect whether an applicant passes the $200,000 net-worth test.
Local governments layer their own credits over the state’s. SDAT’s page lists Anne Arundel, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Calvert, Caroline, Carroll, Charles, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Kent, Montgomery and Washington counties as offering supplemental credits, each with its own eligibility rules and application steps on its own website.
Applying through SDAT is free: the OneStop listing shows an estimated cost of $0.00, and the state’s application does not call for a paid preparer. The form itself puts the date plainly: “The deadline for filing an application is October 1, 2026.”
Sorting state credits from local ones after a property-tax deadline
A state credit that slides against income and assets, plus separate local credits with their own dates, leaves a homeowner with several filings to keep apart. A missed date on any one of them can leave a credit unused for the year.
The Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit is an 11-page kit that lays out the 5 kinds of property-tax relief and the circuit-breaker credit that includes renters.
Click here to open The Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit →
AI helped draft this article, which was checked against SDAT’s program page, the 2026 HTC-1 form and the OneStop listing before it went live.
