Bill > HB1273

This bill, the Maryland Homeowner Protection and Homestead Tax Credit Portability Act of 2026, makes two primary changes to Maryland property tax law. First, it reduces the maximum percentage of a homeowner's property tax that can be offset by the homestead tax credit from 110% to 105% for state, county, municipal, and bicounty commission property taxes, meaning homeowners will receive a slightly smaller tax break on their primary residence. Second, it establishes a new homestead credit portability adjustment for eligible homeowners who are moving. This adjustment allows a homeowner to transfer a portion of the tax credit benefit from their previous home to their new home, calculated by subtracting the taxable assessment of their previous dwelling in the year they sold it from its assessment in that same year, and then subtracting that difference from the assessment of their new dwelling, with the adjustment capped at $500,000 of the new dwelling's assessment. The homestead tax credit is a credit applied to property taxes for a homeowner's primary residence, and this portability feature aims to ease the transition for homeowners moving to a new primary residence by allowing them to carry over some of their tax relief.

Budget and Finance

https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/HB1273?ys=2026RS