Maryland Sales Tax Calculator

Maryland’s 6% rate and the newer special rates

Maryland's general sales and use tax is 6% statewide, with no county or city sales tax, so Baltimore, Bethesda and Ocean City charge the same general rate. The 2025 legislative session added and changed a few special rates that matter for specific purchases:

Most shoppers will only see the general rate. The 3% rate mainly affects businesses buying cloud, hosting, software and IT consulting services, but it also reaches individuals who pay for some of those services directly.

• 3% on data and information technology services and software publishing (NAICS sectors 518 and 519 and subsectors 5132 and 5415), effective July 1, 2025
• Adult-use cannabis rose from 9% to 12% on July 1, 2025
• Several exemptions were repealed on July 1, 2025, including snack foods sold through vending machines, precious metal bullion and coins sold for more than $1,000 (except at the Baltimore Convention Center), and custom computer software and related services

Food, medicine and what stays tax-free

Medicine is exempt in Maryland, and the definition is broad: prescription drugs, non-prescription drugs, patent medicines and oxygen sold for medical purposes all qualify. That is more generous than states that tax over-the-counter drugs.

Food sold by a substantial grocery or market business for consumption off the premises is exempt. Even in a qualifying grocery store, food from salad, soup or dessert bars, party platters, heated food and sandwiches is taxable. Since July 1, 2025, snack foods such as chips, pretzels, popcorn and nuts are taxable when sold from a vending machine. Also from that date, cannabinoid beverages with 5 milligrams or less of THC per serving are excluded from the definition of exempt food.

Shop Maryland Tax-Free Week

Maryland holds an annual Tax-Free Week in August. In 2026 it ran from August 9 to August 15. During the week, qualifying clothing and footwear priced at $100 or less per item is exempt from the ${pct(MD.state, 0)} tax, and the first $40 of a backpack or bookbag is tax-free.

The $100 limit applies to each item, so you can buy any number of qualifying items in one trip. An item priced above $100 gets no exemption at all; the cap is not a deduction.

For example, a back-to-school haul of three $45 pairs of jeans, a $90 pair of sneakers and a $60 backpack saves $15.90 in tax during the week. The remaining $20 of the backpack price is still taxed: $1.20.

Calculating Maryland sales tax

With a single rate, the math is simple. Forward: a $1,500 refrigerator costs $90.00 in tax, $1,590.00 in total. Backward: divide the receipt by 1.06; a $84.80 total is $80.00 of goods and $4.80 of tax.

For a $1,000 IT service taxed at 3%, the tax is $30, half what a $1,000 item of goods would carry at the general rate.

Consumer use tax in Maryland

If you buy taxable goods or services for use in Maryland and the seller does not charge Maryland tax, you owe use tax at the same rate. Individuals can file the Comptroller’s Form ST-118, Consumer Use Tax Return.

Buyers who use a digital product or a taxable IT service both inside and outside Maryland can give the seller a multiple points of use certificate. That splits the purchase, and the buyer pays Maryland use tax on the share used in Maryland.

Maryland compared with nearby states

Maryland's flat 6% rate is higher than Virginia's 5.77% average and lower than Pennsylvania's 6.34%. Delaware has a 0% general sales tax, which makes it tempting for Marylanders near the state line.

A purchase in Delaware is still subject to Maryland use tax when you bring it home for use in Maryland. A $2,000 laptop bought in Delaware carries $120.00 of Maryland use tax, payable on Form ST-118.

Who the 3% technology tax affects

The 3% rate applies to services in specific federal industry codes: computing infrastructure, data processing and web hosting (NAICS 518), web search portals, libraries, archives and other information services (519), computer systems design (5415) and software publishing (5132). The Comptroller points readers to census.gov/naics for the full list of services in those codes.

On a $5,000 IT consulting contract, the tax is $150 at 3%, compared with $300.00 if it were taxed at the general rate. The law also includes narrow exemptions, including cloud computing sold to qualified cybersecurity businesses and sales to or by qualified quantum-computing companies in the University of Maryland Discovery District in Prince George’s County.