Maryland’s estate tax is changing. On May 15, 2014, Governor O’Malley signed into law H.B. 739. The current Maryland estate tax exemption is $1 million per individual. Beginning next year, the estate tax exemption will increase gradually so that by 2019, it will match the then federal estate tax exemption (currently $5,340,000 per individual, with indexing for inflation). Also, beginning in 2019, the Maryland estate tax exemption will become “portable” between spouses so that any amount not applied on the death of a spouse will be available at the time of the surviving spouse’s death. Current federal law already includes provisions for portability between spouses. While not reaching a complete elimination of the estate tax, the new exemption amounts will ultimately result in most estates passing free of Maryland estate tax.
This table shows the revisions to the Maryland exclusion amount —
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Decedent dying on or after:
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Applicable exclusion amount:
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January 1, 2014 and before January 1, 2015
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$1,000,000
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January 1, 2015 and before January 1, 2016
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$1,500,000
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January 1, 2016 and before January 1, 2017
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$2,000,000
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January 1, 2017 and before January 1, 2018
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$3,000,000
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January 1, 2018 and before January 1, 2019 |
$4,000,000
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After December 31, 2018
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Then Applicable Federal Exclusion Amount
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