How to Start an LLC in Maryland (2026 Guide)
Maryland is cheap to enter and expensive to stay: a $100 filing gets you in, but every LLC owes a $300 annual report by April 15 — one of the highest recurring fees in America. This guide covers all 8 steps, the SDAT/Business Express filing paths, the MarylandSaves waiver that can erase the $300, and the county tax layer most guides skip.
To start a Maryland LLC, file Articles of Organization with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) — $100 standard filing (6–8 weeks) or $150 expedited filing (about 7–14 business days). Maryland Business Express supports online filing, while same-day rush service uses a separate higher fee. Every Maryland LLC then files Form 1 — the combined Annual Report + Business Personal Property Return — by April 15 each year for $300, regardless of formation date or revenue. A business that qualified for the MarylandSaves waiver in the preceding year can have the $300 filing fee waived for the current filing year.
- State filing fee
- $100 standard · $150 expedited
- Expedited review
- 7–14 business days
- Mail processing
- 6–8 weeks
- Annual report (Form 1)
- $300 · due Apr 15
- MarylandSaves waiver
- $300 fee waived
- Agency
- SDAT — not a Sec. of State
Why Form an LLC in Maryland?
If your business operates in Maryland, form your LLC in Maryland — liability protection, banking, and licensing all key off your home state. Formation runs through the State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) rather than a Secretary of State, with the Maryland Business Express portal handling online filings so fast that a morning submission is often a same-day rush approval.
An LLC separates your personal assets from business debts and lawsuits. Still comparing structures? Read LLC vs Sole Proprietorship. Maryland's honest pitch: excellent speed and infrastructure, in exchange for the steepest routine maintenance bill in the mid-Atlantic.
- Same-day online formation: Business Express filings submitted by 2:30 PM are typically approved the same business day.
- No franchise tax: default LLCs owe no entity-level income tax — profits pass through once.
- Simple sales tax: 6% statewide with zero county or city sales taxes.
- The waiver nobody uses: qualifying through MarylandSaves can waive the $300 annual report fee for an eligible filing year — the single best money move in Maryland compliance.
- One famous deadline: April 15 — the same day as your taxes, impossible to forget.
The catch — $300 a year, every year: Maryland's Form 1 fee applies to every LLC — zero revenue, zero property, zero employees, still $300. There's no proration and no first-year skip: form in December 2026 and your first $300 is due April 15, 2027. Over ten years that's $3,000 in pure maintenance — unless the business has already qualified for the MarylandSaves fee waiver (when approved) for that filing year.
How to Start a Maryland LLC in 8 Steps
Your name must be distinguishable from every Maryland entity and include "LLC," "L.L.C.," "L.C.," "LC," or "Limited Liability Company." Search free on Business Express; reserve for $25 — but only for 30 days, the shortest window in this series.
Maryland calls it a resident agent — an adult Maryland citizen or a Maryland entity with a physical in-state address who accepts legal documents for your LLC.
$100 by mail (6–8 weeks) or $100 standard or $150 expedited through Maryland Business Express; same-day rush service costs substantially more. For almost everyone, the extra $50 buys back six weeks.
Not required by Maryland, but it's what overrides statutory defaults, satisfies your bank, and hardens a single-member LLC's liability shield.
Get Your Free EIN from the IRS
Your federal tax ID for banking, hiring, and Comptroller of Maryland registration. Always free at IRS.gov — about 15 minutes online.
File Form 1 Every Year (April 15)
The combined Annual Report + Business Personal Property Return: $300 (plus a 3% tech fee online), due April 15 for every LLC. A 60-day extension to mid-June is available electronically — and a MarylandSaves waiver can eliminate the fee for businesses that qualified in the preceding year.
Get Business Licenses & Permits
No statewide general license — but retail businesses need a county trader's license (fee scaled to inventory value), and regulated professions license through state boards.
Graduated state income tax of 2%–6.50% plus a county income tax of 2.25%–3.30% — the local layer most guides skip — plus 15.3% federal self-employment tax and 6% sales tax where applicable.
What a Maryland LLC Really Costs (2026)
| Cost Item | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Articles of Organization (required) | $100 standard / $150 expedited | One-time, at formation |
| Form 1 — Annual Report + PPR (required) | $300/yr (+3% tech fee online) | Apr 15, every year |
| MarylandSaves waiver | –$300/yr | If approved based on prior-year qualification |
| Late annual report penalty | $100+ · then forfeiture | After Apr 15 |
| Resident agent service (optional) | $0–$125/yr | Annual, if hired |
| Name reservation (optional) | $25 | 30 days only |
| Trade name / DBA (optional) | $25 | Renewable every 5 years |
| Trader's license (retail only) | ~$15–$800 | Annual, scaled to inventory |
| EIN from the IRS | $0 — always free | At IRS.gov |
Bottom line: $100 standard or $150 expedited to form, then $300/yr — or potentially $0 for the filing fee in a year when the business has already qualified for the MarylandSaves waiver. Model your exact setup below.
Maryland LLC True-Cost Planner
The 3-year math changes dramatically if the business is already approved for a MarylandSaves fee waiver (when approved). Toggle the approved-waiver status below.
Maryland LLC True-Cost Planner
First-year + 3-year totals with the MarylandSaves waiver modeled · verified July 2026
Form 1 modeled at $300/yr flat (online tech fee excluded); MarylandSaves waiver assumes the business qualified in the preceding year and is approved for the current filing year. Excludes taxes, trader's licenses, and local permits.
Maryland's 4 Quirks No Other State Shares Quite Like This
SDAT, not a Secretary of State
Business filings live with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation — a naming quirk with substance: the same agency that forms you also assesses your business personal property.
Form 1 is two filings in one
The annual report and the Business Personal Property Return travel together. Most small LLCs fall under the $20,000 original-cost threshold and owe no property assessment — but everyone files the form.
The MarylandSaves waiver
Qualify through MarylandSaves or certify an eligible retirement plan in the prior year and SDAT may waive the $300 fee for the current Annual Report. It's the rare compliance rule that pays you to follow it.
County income taxes — everywhere
All 23 counties plus Baltimore City levy a local income tax of 2.25%–3.30% on residents. Your pass-through profits face state and county rates — a stack unique to Maryland in this series.
Maryland LLC Taxes at a Glance
Default LLCs pass profits to your personal return, where Maryland's graduated state rates (2%–6.50%) apply plus your county's income tax (2.25%–3.30% — Baltimore City and Montgomery County sit at the 3.30% maximum in 2026). Add federal self-employment tax of 15.3% on 92.35% of net profit. The LLC itself owes no entity-level income tax, and sales tax is a flat 6% statewide with no local add-ons (note Maryland's newer 3% tax on certain data/IT services). If profits are consistently strong, model an S-Corp election (Form 2553) — full math in Step 8.
Enjoys-life Team's Take: founders fixate on Maryland's $300 and miss the two levers that neutralize it. First, MarylandSaves: it's free, it takes minutes, it gives your future self a retirement account — and it can eliminate the $300 filing fee for a later filing year once the business has met the program's qualification rules. Second, the online filing: paying $150 instead of $100 sounds like a fee until you realize the $100 path costs six to eight weeks. Your first invoice is worth more than $50. Choose the filing speed that fits your needs, handle MarylandSaves qualification ahead of time if eligible, and calendar April 15.
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Maryland LLC — FAQ
Enjoys-life Team is the founder and CEO of Enjoys-life. The figures here — the $100 Articles of Organization ($150 expedited online), the $300 Form 1 annual report due April 15, the MarylandSaves fee waiver (when approved), and Maryland’s state-plus-county income tax stack — reflect current Maryland SDAT and Comptroller guidance. This is educational content, not legal or tax advice.
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