Maryland — Tax Residency Rule

Summary

Day threshold

More than 183 days

Window

Calendar year (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Second condition

Abode maintained > 6 months

Effect

Taxed on worldwide income

Authority

Comptroller of Maryland

Maryland treats you as a statutory resident — taxed on your worldwide income — if both of two things are true in a calendar year: you spend more than 183 days in the state, and you maintain a permanent place of abode there for more than 6 months. Because both conditions must be met, keeping your days at or below 183 — or not holding a qualifying abode — keeps you outside this particular test. Domicile is a separate route to residency that has no day count.

Who it applies to

This matters most if you are:

• A remote worker or frequent traveler who spends long stretches in Maryland but calls another state home.
• Someone who keeps an apartment or house in Maryland while living or working elsewhere.
• A person moving into or out of Maryland mid-year, where days and abode straddle the move.

It applies regardless of where you are domiciled — statutory residency is about physical presence plus an available home, not about your legal permanent home.

The rule — and why it exists

Maryland's statutory-residency test, set out in the Comptroller's Administrative Release 37, has two parts that must both be satisfied:

• The day count. You are physically present in Maryland for more than 183 days during the calendar year.
• The place of abode. You maintain a permanent place of abode in Maryland for more than 6 months of the year — a dwelling you own or rent that is suitable for year-round living.

Why it exists: states use physical presence and a permanent home together as proxies for where your economic life really sits. The two-pronged test stops someone with a genuine base in Maryland from escaping resident taxation purely on a technicality, while sparing short-term visitors who have no home there. This statutory test runs alongside domicile — even if Maryland is not your legal home, crossing the day count while holding an abode can make you a resident for tax purposes.

Counting the days

1. 1Count every day of physical presence in Maryland during the calendar year (1 January to 31 December).
2. 2The days need not be continuous — visits spread across the year are added together.
3. 3A part of a day spent in the state generally counts as a full day.
4. 4The count resets to zero on 1 January each year; it is not a rolling 12-month window.
5. 5Exceeding 183 days (i.e. 184 or more) satisfies the day-count part of the statutory-residency test.

Because the threshold is more than 183 days, staying at 183 or fewer keeps you under the day-count trigger — but remember the abode condition and domicile are assessed separately.

Examples

Example 1 — statutory resident (both conditions met)

You rent a Baltimore apartment all year and are physically in Maryland for 200 days. You spend more than 183 days in the state and hold a permanent abode for more than 6 months, so both conditions are met — you are a statutory resident and Maryland taxes your worldwide income.

Example 2 — over the days, but no qualifying abode

You work on a long Maryland project for 190 days, staying in hotels the whole time and keeping no dwelling in the state. You exceed 183 days, but with no permanent place of abode maintained for over 6 months, the statutory test is not met — though you should still check whether Maryland is your domicile.

Example 3 — has an abode, but under the day count

You own a furnished vacation home in Ocean City that is available all year, but you visit only 150 days. The abode condition is satisfied, yet you are at or below 183 days, so the statutory test is not met on those facts — because both parts must hold together.

Exceptions & edge cases

• Domicile overrides the day count. If Maryland is your true, permanent home (your domicile), you are a resident regardless of days — the statutory test is only one of two independent routes.
• The abode must be genuinely yours to use. A property fully let to tenants that you cannot occupy generally does not count as a permanent place of abode.
• Temporary lodging is not an abode. Hotels, short-term rentals, and seasonal-only lodging typically fail the year-round-living requirement.
• Part-year moves. Moving into or out of Maryland during the year can make you a part-year resident, with days and abode assessed for the relevant portion of the year.

Common misconceptions

• "Staying under 183 days means I'm safe." Only from the statutory day-count test. Domicile can still make you a Maryland resident with any number of days.
• "The day count alone makes me a resident." No — the statutory test also requires a permanent place of abode maintained for more than 6 months. Both must hold together.
• "Only my Maryland income is taxed." Residents are taxed on worldwide income; being taxed on Maryland-source income only is the nonresident treatment.
• "A hotel counts as my place of abode." A qualifying abode is a dwelling suitable for year-round living, not temporary or seasonal lodging.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Comptroller of Maryland — Administrative Release 37 (residency)
• Comptroller of Maryland — official site