Updated July 26, 2026. Quick answer (2026): Moving from Maryland to Tennessee in retirement, you stop paying Maryland income tax on withdrawals and leave a Maryland death tax behind. Four separate taxes change when you move — state income tax on withdrawals, state estate tax, state inheritance tax, and what probate costs your heirs. Most comparisons only price the first one.
Maryland vs Tennessee: every tax that changes
| What changes | Maryland (leaving) | Tennessee (arriving) |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax | graduated to 6.5% (10 brackets; new 6.25%/6.5% high-income brackets added for TY2025+), plus county income taxes (local cap raised to 3.3%) | none (Hall tax on interest/dividends fully repealed as of TY2021) |
| Social Security | not taxed (fully subtracted) | Not taxed (no state income tax). |
| Pension / 401(k) / IRA | Pension exclusion for age 65+ or totally disabled: up to $41,200 for TY2025 (indexed to max SS benefit; | Not taxed (no state income tax). |
| Estate tax | yes (BOTH taxes – only state) – estate tax exemption $5,000,000 (fixed since 2019, not indexed); graduated rates up to 16%; Maryland-only portability of unused spousal exclusion allowed. Inheritance tax paid on a bequest is credited against estate tax | none (inheritance/estate tax fully phased out after 2015) |
| Inheritance tax | yes – 10% on ‘collateral’ beneficiaries (e.g., nieces/nephews, cousins, friends, unmarried partners); EXEMPT: spouse, children and other lineal descendants and their spouses, parents, grandparents, siblings, stepchildren/stepparents, and small transfers under $1,000 | none |
| Probate fee model | hybrid | reasonable-fee |
| Probate filing fee | Register of Wills probate fees scale with estate value (regular estates: e.g., $100 for $10k-$20k, $150 for $20k-$50k, rising to $2,500 for estates ≥$5M; no probate fee for small estates ≤$50,000) — official schedule at registers.maryland.gov | Set per county clerk; commonly ~$150-$400 to open (e.g., metro counties toward the high end). Varies-by-county representative range, unverified. |
| Small-estate limit | $50,000 — or $100,000 if the surviving spouse is the sole heir/legatee — small estate administration, Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §5-601 (value net of secured debts of record). | $50,000 in personal property — Tennessee Small Estates Act affidavit (Tenn. Code Ann. §30-4-102 & §30-4-103); 45-day wait unless waived. Widely documented; not re-verified against tn.gov this pass. |
Every cell is quoted from our statute-cited 51-jurisdiction dataset. Download the full dataset as CSV.
1. What changes on your annual tax bill
Maryland taxes retirement withdrawals: Pension exclusion for age 65+ or totally disabled: up to $41,200 for TY2025 (indexed to max SS benefit; Tennessee does not. On a $100,000 annual withdrawal, the Maryland bill is whatever its graduated to 6.5% (10 brackets; schedule produces; in Tennessee it is $0. Social Security is treated as follows — Maryland: not taxed (fully subtracted) Tennessee: Not taxed (no state income tax).
2. What changes at death: state estate tax
This is usually the larger number. Maryland levies an estate tax — yes (BOTH taxes – only state) – estate tax exemption $5,000,000 (fixed since 2019, not indexed); graduated rates up to 16%; Maryland-only portability of unused spousal exclusion allowed. Inheritance tax paid on a bequest is credited against estate tax — and Tennessee levies none (none (inheritance/estate tax fully phased out after 2015)). Establishing domicile in Tennessee removes that exposure for assets that are not Maryland real property.
3. What changes at death: state inheritance tax
An inheritance tax is charged to the person who receives the money, by relationship — not to the estate. Maryland: yes – 10% on ‘collateral’ beneficiaries (e.g., nieces/nephews, cousins, friends, unmarried partners); EXEMPT: spouse, children and other lineal descendants and their spouses, parents, grandparents, siblings, stepchildren/stepparents, and small transfers under $1,000 Tennessee levies none. Nieces, nephews, siblings and unmarried partners are the heirs most affected.
4. The one nobody prices: what probate costs your heirs
Maryland uses a hybrid fee model (PR: reasonable compensation subject to statutory percentage CAP (Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §7-601): may not exceed 9% of the first $20,000 of the estate plus 3.6% of the excess over $20,000 (i.e., $1,800 + 3.6%), unless the will provides more. Attorney fees: reasonable (§7-602), commonly evaluated against the same cap in practice.); Tennessee uses a reasonable-fee model (No statutory percentage; personal representative and attorney compensation is reasonable compensation for services, approved by the probate court (see Tenn. Code Ann. §30-1-407 and related case law). Cite from knowledge, not re-verified this pass.). Filing fees — Maryland: Register of Wills probate fees scale with estate value (regular estates: e.g., $100 for $10k-$20k, $150 for $20k-$50k, rising to $2,500 for estates ≥$5M; no probate fee for small estates ≤$50,000) — official schedule at registers.maryland.gov Tennessee: Set per county clerk; commonly ~$150-$400 to open (e.g., metro counties toward the high end). Varies-by-county representative range, unverified.
Full detail: probate cost by state and small-estate limits by state.
Probate cost in each state, specifically
Maryland uses a hybrid standard — a statutory bound with reasonableness inside it, and its statute does not say whether that route reaches real property. Tennessee uses a “reasonable fee” standard with no schedule, and its small-estate route does not clear a solely owned house. The two states differ on that question, which is exactly the kind of thing a move changes. Full figures with the governing statute, the court filing fee and the small-estate threshold: Maryland probate cost and Tennessee probate cost.
Four taxes, two states, one order of operations
Everything above changes together: what Maryland stops taking on withdrawals, what Tennessee does not take at death, and what probate costs in each. The order you do things in — when you establish domicile, when you convert, when you retitle property — changes the total, and some of it cannot be undone afterwards. If a move is genuinely on the table, here is what to look for in an advisor who knows both Maryland and Tennessee. If you would rather price it yourself first, the two-state comparison tool is free and asks for no email.
Will Maryland still tax me after I move to Tennessee?
Not on your retirement withdrawals, once you genuinely change domicile — but that is a harder test than a change of address, and what you leave behind stays in reach.
- Domicile is a test, not a mailing address. A departing state can and does audit residency. Days present, voter registration, driver’s licence, where your doctors and advisers are, and where you keep what you value all count.
- Real property left behind stays taxable. Keeping a home in Maryland can keep part of the estate within reach of Maryland rules even after you become a Tennessee resident.
- A Roth conversion is taxed where you live in the year you convert. Sequencing a conversion after establishing the new domicile is often worth more than the annual saving — see how all 51 jurisdictions tax Roth conversions.
If you keep a home in Maryland, what happens at death?
Changing domicile moves you. It does not move the house. Maryland levies both an estate tax and an inheritance tax, and it reaches a nonresident decedent’s real property situated there — so a home kept behind after the move stays within Maryland’s reach even once Tennessee is your legal home for every other purpose. Estate tax return required from a nonresident owning Maryland real or tangible property where the gross estate exceeds $5,000,000, with tax based on the Maryland share. Inheritance tax reaches real property only if located in Maryland.
Inheritance tax is a flat 10% on beneficiaries who are not lineal relatives or siblings; close family are exempt. Estate tax due is reduced by inheritance tax paid. The practical consequence is the part most summaries skip: Maryland is the only state levying both, though a credit prevents the same assets being taxed twice. Authority: Md. Tax-General Title 7; Comptroller guidance.
This is the exposure that survives a move, and it is the one worth pricing before the move rather than after. The house also stays within that state’s probate jurisdiction, so the estate faces a separate ancillary proceeding there on top of the probate where you live — the ancillary probate calculator prices that second proceeding. Confirm the current figures with the state revenue department or a licensed professional before acting — thresholds move, and the arithmetic depends on the whole estate, not just the house.
Full state detail
Every figure above is summarized. The complete statute-cited breakdown for each state: Maryland retirement taxes and Tennessee retirement taxes. To compare any other pair, start at the retirement tax relocation hub.
Talking this through
Relocation timing, Roth conversion sequencing and estate exposure interact, and the order you do them in changes the total. If you want a second opinion, understand what it should cost first — see our advisor cost guide.
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Cite or share this comparison
Suggested citation: Clear Money Guide, “Maryland to Tennessee Retirement Taxes (2026),” statute-cited; clearmoneyguide.com/maryland-to-tennessee-retirement-taxes/. Free to cite with attribution. Download the full dataset as CSV, or contact contact@clearmoneyguide.com for custom cuts.
Primary sources
- Md. Tax-Gen. § 10-209 (pension exclusion)
- Md. Tax-Gen. § 10-207 (military)
- Comptroller Technical Bulletin No. 51
- Md. Code, Tax-Gen. sec. 7-309(b)
- Md. Code, Tax-Gen. sec. 7-203
- Md. Code, Tax-Gen. sec. 7-204
- former Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-2-102 (Hall tax, repealed)
- Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §7-601
- Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §5-601
- Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §2-206
- Tenn. Code Ann. §30-1-407
- Tenn. Code Ann. §30-4-102
- Tenn. Code Ann. §30-4-103
Methodology: every figure is quoted from Clear Money Guide’s statute-cited 51-jurisdiction datasets, compiled from state statutes, session laws and revenue-department publications and adversarially verified in July 2026. Nothing here is personalized tax or legal advice. Confirm your own facts with a qualified adviser before you move.