Delaware vs Maryland taxes

The state tax is lower in Maryland. The county tax is the difference.

On the two states’ own income taxes, Maryland is cheaper. Delaware’s schedule rises to 6.6% on taxable income above $60,000, and its standard deduction is $3,250. Maryland’s rate on most of an ordinary salary is 4.75%. On $75,000 a single filer pays $3,609 in Delaware state tax and $3,199 in Maryland, so Delaware costs $410 more, and $1,517 more on $150,000.

Delaware also deducts Delaware Paid Leave, modeled at the 0.4% an employer may take from wages: $300 on $75,000.

Then Maryland’s county income tax arrives, charged on the same taxable income as the state tax, and every county and Baltimore City levies one. In Montgomery County, at 3.2%, it adds $2,190. That outweighs everything else: a single filer on $75,000 keeps $1,480 more in Delaware than in Montgomery County.

Which Maryland county you compare against

The county rate sets the size of the gap, but on these figures Delaware keeps more against every one of them. On $75,000, single:

• Worcester County (2.25%, the lowest): Delaware keeps $830 more
• Cecil County (2.74%): $1,165 more
• Montgomery, Wicomico, Queen Anne’s, Caroline, Baltimore City and the others at 3.2%: $1,480 more
• Kent and Dorchester (3.3%, the cap): $1,549 more

The gap grows with salary, because on each extra dollar Maryland’s state rate and a 3.2% county rate together come to more than Delaware’s 6.6%. Against Montgomery County it is $2,550 on $150,000 and $4,572 on $250,000. Delaware uses one schedule for every filing status, so couples do a little less well there: a couple filing jointly on $150,000 keeps $1,997 more in Delaware against Montgomery County.

Wilmington changes the answer against the lowest counties

The Delaware figures leave out Wilmington’s 1.25% earned income tax, charged on the city’s residents and on anyone who earns income in the city. For someone who lives and works in Wilmington, it adds $938 on $75,000. Against a 3.2% Maryland county, Delaware stays ahead even so. Against Worcester County, a Wilmington resident comes out behind above about $66,500.

Living in one state, working in the other

There is no reciprocity here. The Maryland Comptroller’s filing guidance lists Maryland’s reciprocal states as Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia, and addresses both directions:

• Live in Maryland, work in Delaware. You file returns with both states and take a Maryland credit, on Form 502CR, for the tax paid to Delaware or to a Delaware locality such as Wilmington. Your county tax is still based on where you live.
• Live in Delaware, work in Maryland. You file a Maryland nonresident return, Form 505 with Form 505NR, and pay Maryland tax on the Maryland income plus a special nonresident tax that, by law, equals the lowest county rate paid by Maryland residents. Delaware residents who pay income tax to another state get a credit against their Delaware tax, limited to the smaller of the tax paid and the Delaware tax on that income, under the Division of Revenue’s resident return instructions.

Neither case is modeled above: the figures assume you live and work in the same state.

What the take-home figure does not count

Maryland’s paid leave program starts collecting employee contributions in January 2027, which will add a payroll line on the Maryland side. Delaware’s rate schedule has applied unchanged since 2014, and nothing in it is indexed to inflation. Property tax, sales tax and housing costs are not in these figures.

Questions people ask

Do you take home more in Delaware or Maryland on $75,000?

Delaware, by $1,480 a year, or $123 a month, for a single filer in 2026. That counts federal tax, Social Security, Medicare, state income tax and every state payroll deduction, plus local income tax (for Montgomery County, Maryland).

Is the difference the same at every salary?

No, but the same side stays ahead. The gap is $704 a year at $30,000 and $4,572 at $250,000, for a single filer.

Do Delaware and Maryland have a reciprocal agreement?

No. Maryland's reciprocal agreements cover Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. A Maryland resident working in Delaware files in both states and claims a Maryland credit for the tax paid to Delaware. A Delaware resident working in Maryland files a Maryland nonresident return, and Delaware allows its residents a credit for income tax paid to another state.

Does Wilmington have its own income tax?

Yes. Wilmington levies a 1.25% earned income tax on its residents and on nonresidents for income earned in the city. It is the only local income tax in Delaware and is not included in the Delaware figures here.

Is there a paid leave deduction in either state?

In Delaware, yes: Delaware Paid Leave is 0.8% of covered wages, and the employer may deduct up to half of it from pay. This page assumes the full half; some employers deduct less or nothing. Maryland's own program starts collecting employee contributions in January 2027, so nothing is deducted in Maryland for 2026.

What this comparison covers

Income tax and payroll deductions on wages: federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, state income tax, every state payroll deduction, and local income tax where there is one. It does not compare sales tax, property tax, housing or the cost of living, which can outweigh the difference in take-home pay. Figures assume the standard deduction, no dependents and no pre-tax retirement contributions. See how we calculate.