Anne Arundel County Taxes: Rates, Credits, and Due Dates

If you live, work, or own property in Anne Arundel County, taxes hit you from several directions: a county property tax of $0.977 per $100 of assessed value (combined with the state rate, $1.089 per $100), a graduated local income tax that runs from 2.70% to 3.20%, and recordation plus transfer taxes when real estate changes hands.¹ Property tax bills for fiscal year 2026 are due September 30, 2025, and missing that date is where most trouble starts.

Property Tax: Rate, Bill, and Deadline

For fiscal year 2026, which covers July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026, the real property tax rates per $100 of assessed value are:¹

County: $0.977
State: $0.112
Combined: $1.089

On a home assessed at $400,000, that combined rate produces a bill of roughly $4,356 before credits. Property inside the City of Annapolis pays a combined $1.433, and property in the Town of Highland Beach pays $1.441, once the municipal rate is layered on.¹

The assessed value on your bill comes from the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT), which reappraises every property once every three years and phases the new value in over that cycle.² If you think SDAT’s number is too high, you can appeal at no cost with evidence that comparable sales support a lower value.

Bills become due July 1. You have until September 30 to pay without interest or penalties; both begin accruing October 1.³ Owner-occupied properties can split the bill: the first half is due September 30, the second by December 31. The catch is a service charge of up to 1.65% added to the second installment.⁴ Paying the full amount by September 30 avoids that fee.

The county accepts online payments by credit card or eCheck (a convenience fee applies), checks mailed with the payment coupon, and checks or money orders dropped at the yellow cashier drop boxes. No cash in the drop boxes.⁵

Homestead Credit and Other Property Tax Breaks

The Homestead Tax Credit is the largest routinely available reduction for Anne Arundel County homeowners. It caps the annual growth in your taxable assessment at a fixed percentage no matter how high market value climbs. Maryland’s cap is 10%, but Anne Arundel County sets its own cap at 2%.⁶

The property must be your principal residence, and SDAT requires a one-time application. Once approved, the credit applies automatically each year. In practical terms, if your assessed value jumped from $350,000 to $400,000 in a single year, you would be taxed on $357,000 rather than the full $400,000.⁷

Other credits are narrower but worth checking against your situation: disabled veterans and their surviving spouses, properties in airport noise zones, brownfield sites, conservation land, and commercial revitalization areas each have their own programs.⁸ Maryland separately runs a Homeowners’ Property Tax Credit based on household income, which is open to qualifying low- and moderate-income homeowners regardless of age.

Local Income Tax Rates

On top of Maryland state income tax, county residents owe a local income tax. For 2026, the county uses a graduated structure rather than a single flat rate.⁹

Single, married filing separately, or dependent filers:

2.70% on income up to $50,000
2.94% on income from $50,001 to $400,000
3.20% on income over $400,000

Married filing jointly, head of household, or qualifying surviving spouse filers:

2.70% on income up to $75,000
2.94% on income from $75,001 to $480,000
3.20% on income over $480,000

The Maryland Comptroller collects the local tax alongside the state tax through a single return, and your employer withholds both based on your county of residence. If you moved, check that your employer has the correct county code on file. Nonresidents who work in Maryland but live elsewhere pay a flat 2.25% special nonresident tax instead of any county rate.⁹

Taxes When You Buy or Sell Property

A real estate transaction in Anne Arundel County triggers two separate taxes at settlement. Together they can add tens of thousands of dollars to closing costs.

Recordation Tax

The county’s recordation tax is $3.50 per $500 of consideration, or $7.00 per $1,000. On a $500,000 sale, that runs $3,500. The tax applies to the sale price and to any mortgage or deed of trust recorded with the transaction.¹⁰ Under state law, the county may exempt first-time buyers from the recordation tax on owner-occupied residential property if the buyer has never owned residential property in Maryland and will occupy the home as a principal residence.

Transfer Tax

The county transfer tax is 1% on transactions below $1,000,000 and 1.5% on transactions of $1,000,000 or more.¹¹ On a $500,000 purchase that is $5,000; on a $1,200,000 purchase, $18,000. Allocation between buyer and seller is negotiable at settlement.

Maryland adds a state transfer tax of 0.5%, reduced to 0.25% for first-time Maryland homebuyers.¹² County and state transfer taxes stack.

Business Personal Property Tax

Own a business in the county, and you also owe tax on business personal property: equipment, furniture, inventory, and fixtures. The FY2026 rate is $2.442 per $100 of assessed value in most of the county, $3.397 in the City of Annapolis, and $3.321 in Highland Beach.¹ These are noticeably higher than the real property rates.

Every business must file SDAT’s Form 1 Annual Report and Business Personal Property Return by April 15 each year.¹³ Skip the filing, and SDAT can issue an estimated assessment using its own numbers rather than yours.

Special District Charges on Your Bill

Some bills include an extra line for a special taxing district: a Special Community Benefit District (community services, roads, security), a Shore Erosion Control District, or a Waterway Improvement District.¹⁴ These are geographic areas where property owners voted to tax themselves for a specific purpose, and each district sets its own rate. That’s usually the explanation for a charge you don’t recognize.

What Happens If You Don’t Pay

Interest and penalties are only the beginning. Anne Arundel County holds an annual tax sale, typically in June, where the delinquent tax debt is auctioned to investors.¹⁵ The buyer receives a lien, not the house.

You can still redeem the property after the sale by paying the full lien amount plus interest, any taxes and penalties the lien holder has paid, and reimbursement for expenses such as title searches and attorney’s fees.¹⁶ The window is limited. For owner-occupied residential property, the lien purchaser can file to foreclose the right of redemption nine months after the sale. For all other property, six months.¹⁵ Once a court issues a final decree barring redemption, the property is gone. If a September 30 deadline is going to be a problem, contact the Office of Finance before the sale date rather than after.

1
Anne Arundel County Government. Current Tax Rates
2
Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation. Real Property – Section: About Real Property
3
Anne Arundel County Government. Real Property Tax
4
Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation. Question and Answers on Semiannual Property Tax Payment
5
Anne Arundel County Government. Bills and Payments – Section: Methods of Payment
6
Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation. 2025-2026 Tax Rates and Homestead Credit Caps
7
Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation. Maryland Homestead Property Tax Credit Program
8
Anne Arundel County Government. Tax Credits and Exemptions
9
Maryland Comptroller. 2026 Maryland State and Local Income Tax Withholding Information
10
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Tax-Property 12-103 – Recordation Tax Rates
11
Anne Arundel County Government. Recordation and Transfer Tax
12
Maryland General Assembly. Fiscal and Policy Note – House Bill 82
13
Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation. Form 1 Annual Report and Business Personal Property Return
14
Anne Arundel County Government. Special Taxing Districts
15
Anne Arundel County Government. Tax Sale
16
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Tax-Property 14-828