Maryland LLC Annual Report (Form 1): $300, Due April 15 (2026)
Maryland's Form 1 is two filings fused into one — annual report plus Business Personal Property Return — carrying a $300 fee that applies to every LLC, every year, no exceptions. Except one: MarylandSaves enrollment waives it entirely. Here's the full playbook plus a calculator for your exact obligation.
Every Maryland LLC files Form 1 — the combined Annual Report + Business Personal Property Return — with SDAT by April 15 each year, starting the year after formation. The fee is $300 (plus a ~3% tech fee online), owed by every LLC regardless of revenue or activity. A 60-day extension to mid-June is available, requested electronically by April 15. Businesses under the $20,000 personal-property threshold generally skip the property assessment but still file. MarylandSaves enrollment waives the $300 fee. Late filing brings penalties and, continued, forfeiture.
- Fee
- $300/yr (+~3% online)
- Due date
- April 15 — every LLC
- Extension
- 60 days · request by Apr 15
- MarylandSaves waiver
- $300 → $0
- Property threshold
- $20,000 original cost
- Continued non-filing
- Forfeiture
What Form 1 Is (Two Filings in One)
Maryland fused its annual report and its Business Personal Property Return into a single filing — a design that makes sense once you remember your LLC lives at the State Department of Assessments and Taxation. The two halves:
The annual report half
Confirms your principal office, resident agent, and business status — and carries the $300 fee that every LLC owes, active or dormant, profitable or empty.
The personal property half
Reports business personal property (equipment, furniture, inventory) so counties can assess it. Own or lease property, or hold a trader's license, and this half has teeth. Most small LLCs fall under the $20,000 original-cost threshold and owe no assessment — but the form still gets filed.
- Due April 15, every year — the same date for every Maryland LLC, starting the calendar year after formation. No proration: a December 2026 LLC owes by April 15, 2027.
- $300 + ~3% tech fee online through Business Express (paper filing avoids the tech fee, not the $300).
- 60-day extension to mid-June, requested electronically by April 15 — it extends the paperwork; plan your cash as if the $300 rides with April.
- Amendable if you discover an error after filing.
Your Exact Obligation — Calculated
Maryland Form 1 Obligation Calculator
Formation year × property × MarylandSaves · your fee, sections, and status as of July 17, 2026
Educational estimate. The waiver requires timely MarylandSaves enrollment or plan certification each year; property assessment specifics vary by county. Confirm with SDAT.
The MarylandSaves Waiver: $300 → $0, Legally
MarylandSaves is the state's automatic-IRA program — free for employers to join, with payroll deposits flowing into employees' (or your own) retirement accounts. The legislature's carrot: businesses that enroll, or certify they already offer a qualifying retirement plan, by the program's annual deadline get the $300 SDAT fee waived for that filing year. The math is absurd in your favor: minutes of setup, a retirement account you should arguably have anyway, and $300/yr back — $3,000 over a decade. Set it up during formation week while you're already in admin mode.
How to File in 10 Minutes
Log in to Maryland Business Express
The same account that formed your LLC files your Form 1 — search your entity and select the annual filing.
Complete both halves
Confirm report details; answer the personal-property questions honestly (the $20K threshold and trader's-license questions route you to the right sections).
Pay and archive
$300 plus the ~3% online tech fee (or $0 with your waiver applied). Download the confirmation — your proof of good standing.
File in February. Form 1 season opens well before April, and the deadline shares a date with your federal and state tax returns — the worst possible week to remember one more filing. Pair Form 1 with your bookkeeping close in February and April 15 becomes just a tax day again.
Penalties & Forfeiture
April 16: out of good standing
Your LLC's status flips on Business Express — visible to banks, lenders, and counterparties. Late penalties begin (commonly cited from $100, higher for entities with assessed personal property).
Continued non-filing: forfeiture
SDAT forfeits the LLC's right to do business in Maryland — your liability shield's legal foundation, gone, and your name exposed to claim.
The road back: reinstatement
Filing Articles of Reinstatement (~$100) plus every missed Form 1 and its penalties — always more than the on-time reports would have cost, before counting the re-verification friction with banks and vendors.
Ahmad Adil's Take: every state in this series has a compliance tax; Maryland is the only one with an opt-out button. The $300 stings precisely because it's so avoidable — the waiver is sitting right there, and adoption is still a fraction of what it should be. My Maryland formula, in order: enroll in MarylandSaves the week you form, file Form 1 in February with your books, and treat the April 15 overlap with tax day as a feature — one calendar entry, everything due, nothing forgotten.
- ✓Forms your Maryland LLC for $39 + the state fee
- ✓Files through Maryland Business Express (SDAT) — expedited processing
- ✓Free Maryland resident agent the first year
- ✓No upsells · No data selling · Privacy by Default
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Maryland LLC — FAQ
Ahmad Adil is the founder and CEO of LLC School. The figures here — the $100 Articles of Organization ($150 expedited online), the $300 Form 1 annual report due April 15, the MarylandSaves fee waiver, and Maryland’s state-plus-county income tax stack — reflect current Maryland SDAT and Comptroller guidance. This is educational content, not legal or tax advice.
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