Maryland Renters' Tax Credit

Maryland Renters’ Tax Credit

Historical reference: the 2026 cycle is closed

Maryland’s 2026 Renters’ Tax Credit application cycle closed on October 1, 2026. The official Maryland OneStop record lists that date as the filing deadline and shows the application window running from February 2 through October 1, 2026. The State’s 2026 paper form gives the same deadline. The official sources currently available for this program describe the 2026 cycle; I found no later application cycle or deadline announced there. This page therefore documents the closed cycle and should not be read as an invitation to submit a late application.

The 2026 cycle looked at a renter’s home, rent paid, household income, and other qualifying circumstances during 2025. Its application is no longer current for a future round. If Maryland publishes a new form and application window, applicants should use that newer year’s instructions because the qualifying year, thresholds, dates, and form details may change. The official source links below are useful for checking whether the State has posted an update.

The Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) administers the benefit. For the closed cycle, Maryland described it as a direct check payment of up to $1,000 for qualifying renters who paid rent in Maryland. That amount was a maximum, not a guaranteed payment. Eligibility and any award depended on the applicant’s circumstances and SDAT’s review.

What the program was

The Renters’ Tax Credit is a state benefit intended to recognize the property-tax burden that renters may carry indirectly through rent. It is not a monthly rent subsidy and does not lower the rent charged by a landlord. A renter had to file an application for each year in which they wanted to be considered; a prior award did not make the next application automatic.

For 2026, applicants reported the rent they personally paid during 2025, along with household residents and gross income. The official form says all resident co-tenants, including the applicant and spouse, must report gross income from all sources. The form lists wages, interest and dividends, capital gains, rental or business income, benefits, pensions, gifts above $300, expenses paid on the applicant’s behalf by others, inheritances, and other money received. It says taxable status for federal or state income-tax purposes does not determine whether income must be reported.

The RTC-1 asks applicants to break rent out by month and identify utilities or services included in the rent. Its instructions exclude subsidies paid on the renter’s behalf from the amount of rent reported. It also excludes certain service fees, garage charges, late charges, and security deposits. For a resident of a trailer park, the instructions say to report the rent paid for the trailer pad or lot. Exact treatment matters because an estimate from a chart cannot replace the detailed review made from the application.

SDAT’s 2026 paper instructions provide guides for deciding whether an applicant should consider applying. For renters age 60 or older or renters who are 100% disabled, the guide compares approximate gross household income with monthly rent. It assumes utilities are paid separately; if gas, electric, or heat is included in rent, the form says a renter may need a higher monthly rent to qualify. For applicants under 60 with a qualifying dependent, the form lists household income guidelines by household size. These are screening guides, not approval guarantees. SDAT determines eligibility from the complete information.

Who could qualify in the 2026 cycle

The 2026 RTC-1 instructions describe three routes based on applicant status. Applicants had to meet one of these routes and all five legal requirements below. The dates and income information here belong to the closed cycle and should not be assumed to apply to another year.

Applicant-status routes

• Age 60 or older: The applicant had to have reached age 60 on or before December 31, 2025.
• Totally and permanently disabled: The applicant had to be 100% totally and permanently disabled as of December 31, 2025, and provide proof from a source accepted by the form: the Social Security Administration, another federal retirement system, the Federal Armed Services, or a local city or county health officer.
• Under age 60 with a dependent: The applicant had to have had at least one dependent under age 18 living with them during 2025. If a federal income-tax return was filed, the dependent had to be listed on it. The application instructions call for copies of the dependent’s Social Security card and birth certificate. This route also excluded applicants who received federal or state housing subsidies or resided in public housing, and it used household-income guidelines.

For the under-60 route, SDAT’s 2026 form listed these 2025 gross-income guidelines:

The form says renters meeting the guide should apply so the State can make a determination using exact rent and gross-income information. The numbers are not a promise of an award. They describe the closed 2026 application only.

Five legal requirements

SDAT listed five legal requirements for all applicants:

1. The applicant had to hold a bona fide leasehold interest in the property and be legally responsible for the rent.
2. First-time applicants and applicants who moved during the previous year had to provide a lease, rental agreement, cancelled checks, money-order receipts, or other proof of rent paid. Other applicants had to provide proof if SDAT requested it.
3. The principal residence had to be in Maryland, where the applicant lived for at least six months during 2025.
4. The dwelling could be any type of rented residence or a mobile-home pad on which the home rested, but not a unit rented from a public housing authority or an exempt organization.
5. The applicant, spouse, and/or co-tenants had to have a combined net worth below $200,000 as of December 31, 2025.

These conditions operated together. Being old enough, disabled, or a parent did not by itself establish eligibility. A renter also needed a qualifying leasehold, Maryland residency, an eligible dwelling, and a net worth below the stated limit. SDAT could request additional records, including a statement of living expenses if reported income appeared insufficient to cover rent and other expenses.

What applicants needed to provide

The RTC-1 application requested identifying, rental, household, and financial information. The form asked for the applicant’s name, Social Security number or ITIN, date of birth, mailing and principal addresses, marital status, and the name and information of a spouse or residential co-tenant. It also asked the renter to identify the home type, prior-year address, public-housing status, rental assistance or subsidy, real-estate ownership, and whether rent was paid to a relative.

Applicants had to list the amount of rent paid in each month of 2025 and state which utilities or services were included. They supplied landlord or management-company information for the rental period and their current landlord information. The form asked for all household residents who lived with the applicant in 2025, whether each was a dependent, date of birth, Social Security number, and gross income. If there were more household residents than the form had space for, SDAT’s instructions directed the applicant to attach an additional sheet.

The application broke out many types of income, including wages, interest and dividends, capital gains, net rental or business income, workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, support payments, public assistance, Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Railroad Retirement, pensions, annuities, IRAs, deferred compensation, gifts above $300, expenses paid by others, inheritances, and other money. Applicants who filed or would file a 2025 federal tax return had to include a copy with schedules and forms. The form also specifically identified Social Security and Railroad Retirement documentation that may be needed.

Applicants should not send original documents. For a first application or a move during the previous year, rent evidence was a required part of the submission. Applicants using the disability route needed proof from an accepted source. Applicants using the under-60 dependent route needed the dependent records identified in the form. A complete packet also required answering all questions and signing the application. SDAT could follow up to verify information, so keeping a copy of the submitted application and records would have helped an applicant respond consistently.

How the 2026 application worked

The 2026 application is now closed, but these steps explain the process documented by the official materials and may help readers understand the archived rules:

1. Choose the official filing route. Applicants could use the 2026 Renters’ Tax Credit form in Maryland OneStop or the RTC-1 paper application published by SDAT. Each year requires a new application, so the previous year’s form should not be reused for a future cycle.
2. Check the status and legal requirements. The applicant identified an age, disability, or dependent route and checked each legal requirement. For an under-60 applicant, the household subsidy and public-housing exclusions and income guide also applied.
3. Collect rental and household records. Applicants totaled the rent they actually paid in each month of 2025, separated excluded subsidies or fees, noted included utilities and services, and gathered landlord details. They listed residents and the requested gross income for each person.
4. Attach supporting material. First-time applicants and people who moved during the previous year attached acceptable rent proof. The form required relevant federal tax returns with schedules when filed and supporting records for the applicant’s selected status route. Copies, rather than originals, were to be submitted.
5. Complete, sign, and file the application. The official application window ran from February 2 through October 1, 2026. Online submission was available through OneStop. Paper applicants could use RTC-1 and send it to the Renters’ Tax Credit Program at the mailing address printed on the form. The form listed SDAT’s program email and phone numbers for questions.
6. Respond to SDAT requests. After filing, an applicant needed to answer reasonable requests for verification. SDAT could ask for more evidence or a living-expense statement. Filing did not guarantee approval or a payment; the Department reviewed the information against the program rules.

The 2026 OneStop listing estimated an approval period of 30 to 90 days. That estimate related to that application record and should not be treated as a promise for a later cycle. Likewise, the October 1 deadline is the actual closing date for the historical cycle, not an open extension or a rolling application window.

Official records and checking for a future cycle

• Maryland OneStop: Renters’ Tax Credit Application Form RTC (2026) lists the 2026 deadline, the $1,000 maximum, application details, and administering agency.
• SDAT: Renters’ Tax Credits provides the Department’s program information and application links.
• SDAT: 2026 RTC-1 paper application and instructions contains the eligibility rules, income guides, requested documentation, and paper submission address for the closed cycle.

Because this listing preserves a closed application year, check the official OneStop and SDAT pages before relying on any dates, thresholds, eligibility descriptions, or instructions for a later cycle. Use a newly posted application and its own instructions if the State announces another round. As of this review, the official application record and RTC-1 material available for this program refer to the closed 2026 cycle, and I found no later application window announced in those sources.