Anne Arundel County Sales Tax: Rates, Exemptions, and Tax-Free Weeks

The sales tax in Anne Arundel County is 6%, the flat statewide rate Maryland applies everywhere. Counties in Maryland have no authority to add a local general sales tax, so the rate at a register in Annapolis, Glen Burnie, or Severna Park is the same 6% you would pay anywhere else in the state. Two categories run higher: alcoholic beverages are taxed at 9%, and short-term passenger car rentals at 11.5%.

The 6% Statewide Rate

Maryland Tax-General § 11-104 sets the sales and use tax at 6% of the purchase price for any taxable item costing $1 or more.¹ For items under a dollar, the tax is calculated in penny increments based on price brackets. The Comptroller of Maryland collects the tax statewide, and no county or municipality in Maryland can layer a separate general sales tax on top of it. You will never see a combined rate above 6% on ordinary retail goods in the county.

Higher Rates on Alcohol, Rentals, and Lodging

Alcoholic beverages are taxed at 9% of the purchase price rather than the standard 6%.¹ That applies whether you are buying a bottle of wine at a liquor store or ordering a cocktail at a restaurant. Separate charges tied to the sale, such as itemized labor or service fees, are taxed at the regular 6%.

Short-term vehicle rentals carry their own elevated rates. Renting a passenger car or recreational vehicle triggers an 11.5% sales tax, and truck rentals are taxed at 8%.² Peer-to-peer car sharing through apps is taxed at 8% unless the vehicle belongs to a fleet of more than ten, which pushes the rate to 11.5%. The taxable price on rentals includes insurance, delivery fees, and equipment charges, though motor fuel already subject to the fuel tax is excluded.

Hotel and lodging stays are subject to the 6% state sales tax plus a separate 2.5% state hotel surcharge.¹ Anne Arundel County also levies a county-level occupancy tax on short-term stays, so the total tax on a hotel room in the county runs noticeably higher than the base 6%.

What Gets Taxed

Maryland’s sales tax applies to tangible personal property sold at retail. That covers the obvious categories: clothing, electronics, furniture, building materials, and just about anything you can physically carry out of a store. Electricity, natural gas, and hotel stays are also treated as tangible personal property for tax purposes.

Digital Products

Digital goods are taxed at the same 6% rate as physical items. Maryland defines a digital product broadly: music downloads, streaming video, e-books, digital newspapers, video games, ring tones, and audio greeting cards sent by email all qualify.³ Subscriptions to streaming services count. A digital gift code that can be redeemed for any of these products is taxed the same way the underlying product would be.

Services

Most standalone services are not taxable in Maryland. The exception is when a service is bundled with the transfer of tangible property, such as custom fabrication or assembly performed as part of a retail purchase. Retailers must show the tax as a separate line item on invoices.⁴

Common Exemptions

Grocery Food

Food purchased for off-premises consumption is exempt, but the rule is narrower than it sounds. The exemption only applies when the seller operates a “substantial grocery or market business,” meaning at least 10% of total food sales come from grocery-type items.⁵ A convenience store that barely sells groceries may not qualify, even for the same box of cereal that would be exempt at a supermarket.

Certain foods stay taxable no matter where you buy them. Heated food, sandwiches ready for immediate consumption, items from salad or soup bars, party platters, and ice cream in containers smaller than one pint are all subject to the 6% tax.⁵ The dividing line is whether you are buying ingredients to cook at home or something prepared to eat right away.

Medicine and Medical Equipment

Prescription medicines and certain medical supplies are exempt under Maryland Tax-General Title 11, Subtitle 2. Durable medical equipment like wheelchairs, oxygen equipment, and prosthetic devices generally qualifies, as do items like insulin syringes dispensed under a practitioner’s direction. Over-the-counter medications without a prescription are typically taxable.

Nonprofits and Government Purchases

Qualifying nonprofit organizations and government agencies can make purchases free of sales tax with a valid exemption certificate issued by the Comptroller.⁶ Vendors should ask to see the certificate before processing a tax-free transaction; without it on file, the vendor can be held liable for the uncollected tax.

Online and Out-of-State Purchases

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Maryland requires out-of-state sellers to collect and remit sales tax once they cross an economic threshold. A remote seller must register with the Comptroller if, during the previous or current calendar year, sales delivered into Maryland exceed $100,000 in gross revenue or 200 separate transactions.⁷ Most major online retailers already collect Maryland’s 6% at checkout.

If you buy something from an out-of-state seller that does not charge Maryland sales tax, you owe the same 6% as a use tax (or 9% on alcohol). Maryland grants a credit for sales tax you already paid to another state, so if you paid 4% elsewhere, you would owe only the remaining 2% to Maryland.⁸ Use tax is reported on a Consumer Use Tax Return filed with the Comptroller’s Revenue Administration Division in Annapolis.

Annual Tax-Free Shopping Weeks

Maryland runs two annual sales tax holidays that Anne Arundel County shoppers can use.

Shop Maryland Tax-Free Week takes place during the second week of August each year, starting the second Sunday and running through the following Saturday. Qualifying clothing and footwear priced at $100 or less per item are exempt from the 6% sales tax, and the first $40 of a backpack or bookbag purchase is also tax-free.⁹ Accessories other than backpacks do not qualify.

Shop Maryland Energy Tax-Free Weekend falls on the weekend before the third Monday in February. In 2026, that runs from Saturday, February 14 through Monday, February 16. Energy Star-certified appliances are exempt, including refrigerators, washers and dryers, heat pumps, air conditioners, furnaces, boilers, dehumidifiers, and programmable thermostats.⁹

The One Local Levy: Admissions and Amusement Tax

Anne Arundel County cannot add a local sales tax, but it does impose an admissions and amusement tax on entertainment activities. Maryland Tax-General § 4-105 authorizes counties and municipalities to levy this tax at rates up to 10% of gross receipts from admissions and amusement charges.¹⁰ When the same event is also subject to the 6% state sales tax, the combined total cannot exceed 11%, which effectively caps the local admissions tax at 5% on those events.

Counties and municipalities can set different rates for different classes of entertainment, so a movie ticket might carry a different rate than a professional sporting event. Annapolis and other municipalities within the county can set their own rates independently of the county’s rate, and the revenue stays local rather than flowing to the state.¹⁰

1
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Tax-General 11-104 – Tax Rate
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Comptroller of Maryland. Business Tax Tip 8 – Calculating Maryland Sales and Use Tax
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Comptroller of Maryland. Business Tax Tip 29 – Sales of Digital Products and Digital Code
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Comptroller of Maryland. Business Tax Tip 2 – What Sales Records Do I Need to Keep
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Comptroller of Maryland. Information About Sales of Food
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Comptroller of Maryland. Nonprofit Organizations
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Comptroller of Maryland. Business Taxpayers FAQs
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Comptroller of Maryland. Sales and Use Tax
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Comptroller of Maryland. Comptroller of Maryland Programs
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Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Tax-General 4-105 – Admissions and Amusement Tax Rate