Updated July 25, 2026. Quick answer (2026): Moving from Maryland to Florida 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 Florida: every tax that changes
| What changes | Maryland (leaving) | Florida (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 |
| 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 (constitutionally prohibited) |
| 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 | statutory-percentage |
| 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 | ~$400 formal administration; ~$345 summary administration (estates ≥$1,000); ~$235 summary <$1,000 — clerk fees per Fla. Stat. §28.2401 (base $395/$340 plus $4 service charge) |
| 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). | Summary administration: $150,000 as of July 1, 2026 (Fla. Stat. §735.201, amended by CS/HB 1337, Ch. 2026-57, signed April 29, 2026; was $75,000), or death more than 2 years ago regardless of value; exempt homestead not counted. Disposition without administration (§735.304): raised $10,000 → $20,000 of exempt personal property by the same act. |
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; Florida does not. On a $100,000 annual withdrawal, the Maryland bill is whatever its graduated to 6.5% (10 brackets; schedule produces; in Florida it is $0. Social Security is treated as follows — Maryland: not taxed (fully subtracted) Florida: 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 Florida levies none (none (constitutionally prohibited)). Establishing domicile in Florida 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 Florida 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.); Florida uses a statutory-percentage model (Presumptive (not mandatory) statutory schedules. Attorney (Fla. Stat. §733.6171): $1,500 for estates ≤$40,000; +$750 for $40-70k; +$750 for $70-100k; 3% of the next $900,000; 2.5% from $1M-$3M; 2% from $3M-$5M; 1.5% from $5M-$10M; 1% above $10M — presumed reasonable, must be disclosed as negotiable. PR (§733.617): 3% of first $1M; 2.5% next $4M; 2% next $5M; 1.5% above $10M.). 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 Florida: ~$400 formal administration; ~$345 summary administration (estates ≥$1,000); ~$235 summary <$1,000 — clerk fees per Fla. Stat. §28.2401 (base $395/$340 plus $4 service charge)
Full detail: probate cost by state and small-estate limits by state.
Does this actually apply to you?
Below $1,000,000 no US state estate tax applies anywhere — Oregon has the lowest threshold in the country and that is where it starts. So for most estates the whole “escape the death tax” framing is irrelevant, and the only thing that changes when you move is your annual income tax. Here is exactly where the line falls for this pair: Maryland also levies an inheritance tax, charged to the heir by relationship regardless of estate size.
| Estate value | Maryland | Florida |
|---|---|---|
| $1,500,000 | Under $5,000,000 | No estate tax |
| $3,000,000 | Under $5,000,000 | No estate tax |
| $6,000,000 | Taxed (over $5,000,000) | No estate tax |
| $10,000,000 | Taxed (over $5,000,000) | No estate tax |
Thresholds are the 2026 figures in our verified dataset and apply to the taxable estate. Federal estate tax is separate and far higher. Test your own number with the comparison tool.
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. Florida uses a statutory percentage schedule, so the fee is computable exactly, 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 Florida probate cost.
Four taxes, two states, one order of operations
Everything above changes together: what Maryland stops taking on withdrawals, what Florida 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 Florida. 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 Florida?
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 Florida 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 Florida 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 Florida retirement taxes. To compare any other pair, start at the retirement tax relocation hub.
Widen the comparison
This page prices one corridor. To see every destination Maryland retirees consider and every origin state moving to Florida, start there instead. For any pair not covered, the retirement tax comparison tool runs all 51 jurisdictions, and the probate cost calculator works out what settling the estate costs in each.
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 Florida Retirement Taxes (2026),” statute-cited; clearmoneyguide.com/maryland-to-florida-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
- Fla. Const. art. VII (no personal income tax)
- Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §7-601
- Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §5-601
- Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §2-206
- Fla. Stat. §733.6171
- Fla. Stat. §733.617
- Fla. Stat. §735.201 (as amended by Ch. 2026-57)
- Fla. Stat. §28.2401
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.