Live in Maryland, work in Delaware
State income tax on wages · single filer · tax year 2026
Delaware takes
$2,763
on wages earned there
Maryland takes
$0
after the credit it gives
Both together
$2,763
state tax for the year
Cost of the line
$277
a year, above working at home
What crossing the line costs
costs youDelaware charges more than Maryland would, and Maryland only credits you up to its own bill — so the difference stays with you. Solid is what you actually pay; the faded part of the Maryland bar is the credit it hands back. State income tax only — federal and payroll tax apply on top, and a city wage tax may too.
Which state taxes you, and what it costs
- Here is the thing people get wrong about Maryland and Delaware. Moving somewhere cheaper does not help if the job stays put. The state where you work takes its share first, and your home state only refunds up to what it charges itself. That leaves $277 a year that exists purely because the job is across the line. All in, $2,763.
- This is not one of the country's big crossings. 27,525 jobs in Delaware are held by people living in Maryland. The tax rules do not care about that — they are the same ones that apply to the busiest routes in the country. What can differ is how used to the paperwork your employer is.
- Delaware taxes wages earned inside its borders by non-residents, and Maryland taxes its residents on the same wages wherever they are earned. The resident credit resolves the overlap but does not erase it: Maryland credits tax paid to Delaware only up to what it would itself have charged on that income, so the commuter settles at the higher of the two liabilities rather than the sum. At the reference salary that is $2,763 against $2,486 for the same earner working at home — $277 attributable to the state line itself. ⚠️ The corollary is the part most readers have backwards: moving to a cheaper home state while keeping the job in Delaware changes the split between the two treasuries and not the total.
- This is a smaller corridor by national standards — 27,525 jobs in Delaware held by Maryland residents — but the rules that govern it are the same rules that govern the largest ones. Corridor size changes how familiar an employer's payroll department is with the paperwork, never the tax treatment.
Where the money goes
A $75,000 salary
- Federal income tax$7,670
- Social Security and Medicare$5,738
- State income tax$3,199
- Yours$58,394
| Federal income tax10.23% | $7,670 |
|---|---|
| Social Security and Medicare7.65% | $5,738 |
| State income tax4.27% | $3,199 |
| Yours77.86% | $58,394 |
Which rung you are on
A $75,000 salary
| This rung starts at | $66,500 |
|---|---|
| Next rung starts at | $121,800 |
| Room before it | $46,800 |
Federal only, measured on gross pay — so the first rung is what the standard deduction covers.
The arithmetic, step by step
| Delaware takes, on wages earned there | $2,763 |
|---|---|
| Maryland charges its residents | $2,486 |
| Less the credit Maryland gives | $2,486 |
| Total state tax | $2,763 |
| If you also worked in Maryland | $2,486 |
| Difference | $277 |
On a reference salary of $60,000 a year, single filer. Both states run progressive schedules, so the figures do not simply scale — use the tool above for your own salary.
What this page does not cover
- City wage taxes are not in these numbers. A few places charge them, and where they do the money is real. If your job in Delaware is inside a city that taxes workers, add that on top. Where it is not, the state figures above are the whole of it for Maryland residents.
- The figures take the simple case: one job, in Delaware, worked in person. Money from several states makes the credit a proportion instead of a cap. Working remotely from Maryland can pull you under a different rule entirely, depending on the state.
- The dollars rest on one assumed salary of sixty thousand. Double your pay and they do not simply double, because both states charge more on higher slices of income. What tends to stay put is which side of the Maryland and Delaware comparison you are on.
- These figures cover the STATE layer only. City and municipal wage taxes sit on top of them and are not included: a commuter into Philadelphia pays its wage tax on top of anything here, and Ohio's municipalities run their own credit system, which this site models in its own families. New York City, by contrast, taxes only its residents, so a commuter into it adds nothing at the city level. Whether Delaware or Maryland carries a local layer is a separate question from the state arithmetic above.
- The arithmetic assumes all wages are earned in Delaware and that there is no other income. That matters for the credit: where income comes from several states, Maryland limits the credit to the share of its own tax attributable to the Delaware portion, computed as a ratio rather than the straightforward cap used above. It also assumes days are worked in Delaware rather than remotely — several states tax a non-resident's remote days as though they were worked at the employer's location, which reverses the usual expectation and is handled on this site's reciprocity pages.
- Dollar amounts are computed at a stated reference salary of sixty thousand rather than a corridor wage average, which no published source provides per state pair. Because both states' liabilities and the credit between them are functions of the same income, the direction of the Maryland to Delaware comparison holds at other salaries even though the amounts do not — with one qualification worth stating, that a progressive schedule can change the SIZE of the gap at higher incomes, and in Delaware's case a bracket crossed on one side and not the other is exactly where that happens.
Questions people ask
Do I pay state tax twice, to Maryland and Delaware?
Both states tax the same wages, and then one of them backs off. Delaware taxes what you earn inside it. Maryland taxes you on everything, then subtracts what Delaware already took, up to the size of its own bill. You end up paying the larger of the two, which is $2,763 a year on this route.
Would moving out of Maryland lower my state tax if I keep working in Delaware?
Moving rarely helps while the job stays in Delaware. The work state takes its share first and does not care where you live. A cheaper home state simply means it has less of its own tax to credit, and you still pay Delaware the same. The saving people imagine here mostly is not there.
Do I have to file tax returns in both Maryland and Delaware?
Two returns is the normal outcome here, even when only one state ends up taking anything. Delaware generally wants to see a non-resident return from people who work there, and Maryland wants your whole picture. It is paperwork rather than extra tax.
What if I work from home in Maryland some days instead of going to Delaware?
Working from home usually moves that day's pay out of Delaware and into Maryland alone. A handful of states disagree and tax remote days as if you had commuted. This page assumes you actually travel to Delaware, so if a lot of your week is at home the split will differ from what you see here.
How is liability allocated between residence and work state on the same wages?
Both jurisdictions assert a claim on the same wages — Delaware on a source basis, Maryland on residence. The residence state grants a credit for tax paid to the source state, limited to the residence state's own liability on that income. Net combined liability therefore equals the greater of the two liabilities rather than their sum, $2,763 at the reference salary, and the split between the two treasuries is the only thing the credit changes.
Does changing residence reduce combined liability while the work state is unchanged?
No, while the source state is unchanged. Delaware's claim arises from where the services are performed and is unaffected by residence. Because the residence credit is capped at the residence state's own liability, combined liability equals the greater of the two — so substituting a lower-tax residence reduces the residence-state component toward zero while leaving the total at Delaware's level. The binding variable is the work location, not the home one.
What filing obligations arise in each state on this corridor?
Generally two. Maryland requires a resident return reporting all income; Delaware requires a non-resident return reporting the income sourced to it, which is also the mechanism by which the resident credit is substantiated. ⚠️ A filing obligation is distinct from a liability: a reciprocity exemption or a zero net position removes tax without necessarily removing the return, and the non-resident return is frequently what establishes the credit claimed on the resident one.
How do remote working days affect sourcing between these two states?
Ordinarily wages are sourced to where the services are performed, so days worked remotely from Maryland fall outside Delaware's jurisdiction and the source-state apportionment shrinks accordingly. ⛔ The exception is the "convenience of the employer" rule, which several states apply: a non-resident's remote days are sourced to the employer's location unless the remote work is required by the employer rather than chosen by the employee. The figures on this page model in-person attendance in Delaware throughout.