Maryland Just Raised Taxes Across the Board for 2025 — New Brackets, a Capital-Gains Surcharge & a First-of-Its-Kind Tax on IT Services
Between the 2025 hikes, county piggyback taxes, and the new tech tax, Maryland just got more expensive. We keep proactive, remote guidance in your corner.
6.50%
Top State Rate (new for 2025)
~9.7%
Top Combined w/ County Tax
3%
New Tax on IT / Data Services
~80%
of Our Clients Fully Remote
The whole financial picture
From clean books to CFO strategy — one connected team
Whether your Maryland business needs day-to-day bookkeeping, proactive tax planning, reliable monthly reporting, or fractional CFOstrategy, we handle it as one connected system — not a bookkeeper, a tax preparer, and an advisor who never talk to each other. We meet you where you are and grow with you.
Bookkeeping
Clean, current books
Tax
Proactive planning & filing
Controller
Reliable reporting
CFO
Strategy & forecasting
And all of it delivered remotely. A Maryland business gets the full range of our services — and the same depth as a local firm — without anyone ever needing to come into an office. About 80% of our clients run the whole relationship this way.
Quick answer
What changed with Maryland's business taxes in 2025?
A lot — Maryland's 2025 budget made the state materially more expensive. It added two new top income tax brackets (6.25% over $500K and 6.5% over $1M, up from 5.75%), a 2% surcharge on capital gains for filers with federal income over $350K, and a first-of-its-kind 3% sales tax on IT, data, and software services. Layer on county “piggyback” income taxes of 2.25%–3.20% and the top combined rate approaches ~9.7%. The corporate rate is a flat 8.25%, and Maryland offers a PTET election to soften the federal SALT cap.
How We Help Maryland Businesses
Bookkeeping
Accurate bookkeeping is crucial in Maryland to navigate varying county income taxes and ensure compliance with state-specific regulations, especially for businesses operating in diverse economic hubs like Baltimore and the DC suburbs.
Payroll
Managing payroll in Maryland requires careful attention to state and local tax withholdings, particularly with the differing county income tax rates and potential reciprocity agreements with neighboring states like DC and Virginia.
Controller
A fractional Controller helps Maryland businesses, especially those in GovCon or healthcare, optimize financial operations, manage cash flow, and ensure robust internal controls amidst complex state and local tax structures.
CFO
Strategic CFO guidance is vital for Maryland companies looking to scale, offering expertise in financial planning, risk management, and capital allocation to thrive in competitive markets like the Baltimore Metro and DC Suburbs.
How We’d Work With You
Our Approach to a Maryland Business
No two businesses are the same, but the path from “not sure” to in-control is consistent. Here’s what working with us looks like.
Understand Your Position
We get your books clean and reconciled so you can see where the business actually stands, month to month, without guesswork.
Find the Maryland Opportunities
We plan around the 2025 tax hikes and capital-gains surcharge, get county piggyback withholding right, handle the new 3% IT-services tax if you're in tech, and put the PTET election to work against the SALT cap.
Build the System
We put bookkeeping, payroll, and reporting on a repeatable system designed from a whole-company view — so the numbers stay clean and current instead of a year-end scramble.
What You Can Expect
Clarity on what you owe and why, proactive planning instead of surprises, and financials a lender or prime contractor can trust. That’s the outcome we build toward.
Maryland's 2025 Tax Landscape at a Glance
The state stacked several new costs this year — here's what changed.
6.25% / 6.5%
New top brackets over $500K / $1M (was 5.75%)
2%
Capital-gains surcharge (federal income over $350K)
3%
New sales tax on IT, data & software services
What This Can Look Like in Real Dollars
IllustrativeSay you run a Bethesda consulting firm netting about $160,000a year and take all of it as owner’s pay. Every dollar gets hit with the roughly 15.3% self-employment tax. Elect S-corp status, pay yourself a reasonable salary of, say, $95,000, and the remaining ~$65,000 comes out as a distribution that isn’tsubject to that tax.
$160K
Net profit
$95K
Reasonable salary
~$9,500
Potential SE-tax saved / yr
That’s roughly $9,500back in your pocket — a federal move, and with Maryland’s 2025 rate increases, the PTET election to soften the SALT cap matters more than ever. The catch: the salary has to be genuinely reasonable, and both moves need real numbers behind them.
Run your own numbers on the S-Corp CalculatorServing Key Maryland Regions
DC Suburbs (Montgomery/PG County)
Industries: GovCon, Biotech, Professional Services
Compliance Note: High local income tax rates and complex federal contracting regulations.
Baltimore Metro
Industries: Healthcare, Logistics, Education
Compliance Note: Specific city taxes and diverse industry-specific regulations.
Annapolis/Anne Arundel
Industries: Tourism, Marine, State Government Contracting
Compliance Note: Local income tax variations and state government contracting compliance.
Frederick/Western MD
Industries: Agriculture, Manufacturing, Biotech
Compliance Note: Tiered local income tax rates and agricultural tax considerations.
Eastern Shore
Industries: Agriculture, Tourism, Seafood
Compliance Note: Seasonal business tax implications and specific agricultural tax laws.
Southern MD
Industries: Federal Government, Defense, Aerospace
Compliance Note: Strict federal contracting compliance and local tax considerations.
Frequently Asked Questions About Maryland Business Finances
What are the key compliance challenges for businesses in Maryland?
Maryland businesses face unique compliance challenges, primarily due to the varying county income tax rates (ranging from 2.25% to 3.2%) that are levied in addition to state income tax. Additionally, understanding Maryland's pass-through entity tax and navigating reciprocity agreements with DC, Virginia, and West Virginia are critical.
How does Maryland's local income tax impact my business's payroll?
Maryland's local income tax significantly impacts payroll as the rate depends on where your employees reside, not just where your business operates. This means payroll systems must be configured to correctly withhold the specific county income tax rate for each employee, adding complexity to payroll processing.
When should a Maryland business consider hiring a fractional Controller?
A Maryland business should consider a fractional Controller when it experiences rapid growth, needs to improve financial reporting accuracy, or requires strategic financial oversight without the cost of a full-time executive. This is especially true for businesses in industries like GovCon or healthcare that have intricate financial structures.
What should I know about Maryland's Pass-Through Entity Tax (PTET)?
Maryland's Pass-Through Entity Tax (PTET) allows certain pass-through entities (like S-corporations and partnerships) to elect to pay state income tax at the entity level, potentially offering tax benefits to owners. Businesses need to evaluate if this election is advantageous based on their specific financial situation and owner tax profiles.
Are there any specific tax incentives or programs for businesses in Maryland?
Yes, Maryland offers various tax incentives and programs to encourage business growth and investment. These can include tax credits for job creation, research and development, and investments in specific industries or distressed areas. It's advisable to consult with a tax professional to identify applicable programs for your business.
Who You’re Actually Working With
Two founders who’ve sat on both sides of your financials
You aren’t handed off to a junior bookkeeper. You work directly with the people whose names are on the door — and their backgrounds are exactly the ones a growing business needs in its corner.
Carrie Anderson
Co-Founder · The Lender’s Eye
A former commercial banker and underwriter who personally reviewed 300+ business loans. She knows exactly how a bank reads your financials to decide what you can borrow — because she used to be the one reading them. That’s why our clients’ books come out lender-ready, not just tax-ready.
Jason Anderson
Co-Founder · The Operator’s Eye
A big-firm-trained accountant with a lifelong passion for processes, efficiency, and Six Sigma— made practical, not academic. He builds the job costing, tax strategy, and systems that let a company actually see where its money goes and scale without the wheels coming off.
Both spent years in the oil & gas industry, and both design financial systems from a whole-company view— not just an accounting lens. You get a firm that reads your numbers like a lender and builds systems like an operator.
Meet the teamRemote, and better for it
You’re in Maryland. We’re in Montana.Here’s why that’s an advantage.
The best accountant for your business almost certainly isn’t the one with the nearest office. Modern accounting runs on cloud books, a secure portal, screen-share, and video — so the relationship is built on expertise and responsiveness, not drive time. A great remote firm beats an okay local one every single time.
About 80%of even our own local Montana clients run the entire relationship remotely — and never come into the office. Working with Maryland businesses is exactly the same.
Cloud books, always on
Your numbers live in the cloud — you can see them any time, not just at tax season.
Real conversations
Scheduled video reviews and screen-shares where we walk through the numbers together.
Secure document portal
Send and sign everything safely — no dropping off a shoebox of receipts.
Same-day responsiveness
You get faster answers from us by email and call than from most firms down the street.
Start With a Number, Not a Sales Call
Not ready to talk to anyone yet? Fair. See where your Maryland business stands first — each takes just a few minutes and costs nothing.
Financial Maturity Assessment
See exactly where your finances stand — from chaos to strategy — in about 8 minutes.
Try it freeS-Corp Tax Calculator
Find out whether an S-corp election could cut your self-employment tax this year.
Try it freeMulti-State Nexus Finder
In the MD-DC-VA region, see where your business and employees actually owe tax.
Try it free