Updated July 27, 2026. Quick answer (2026): Moving from Maryland to Georgia in retirement, the top rate on withdrawals falls from 6.5% to 4.99%, and you 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 Georgia: every tax that changes
| What changes | Maryland (leaving) | Georgia (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%) | Flat 4.99% (HB 463, signed May 11, 2026, cut the rate retroactively to January 1, 2026; further trigger cuts of 0.125%/yr are scheduled toward 3.99%) |
| Social Security | not taxed (fully subtracted) | not taxed (fully excluded) |
| Pension / 401(k) / IRA | Pension exclusion for age 65+ or totally disabled: up to $41,200 for TY2025 (indexed to max SS benefit; | Retirement income exclusion (pensions, 401(k), IRA, interest, dividends, capital gains, rental, plus max $5,000 earned income): up to $35,000 per person ages 62-64; |
| 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 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 | hybrid |
| 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 | $175 base for initial petition for letters (O.C.G.A. §15-9-60); with county surcharges typically ~$205-$210, plus ~$65 publication of notice to debtors/creditors |
| 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). | No general small-estate affidavit or dollar threshold. Alternatives: ‘no administration necessary’ order for intestate estates with no debts and unanimous heir agreement (no dollar cap); financial institutions may release up to $15,000 in deposits directly to family for intestate decedents (O.C.G.A. §7-1-239); vehicle title transfer by affidavit via DOR. |
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
Both states tax retirement withdrawals, so this is a rate change rather than an exemption. Maryland runs graduated to 6.5% (10 brackets; against Georgia at Flat 4.99% (HB 463, signed May 11, 2026, cut the rate retroactively to January 1, 2026; — a top-rate difference of roughly 1.51 percentage points. On $100,000 of withdrawals that is on the order of $1,510 a year at the top of the schedule, before any exclusion either state allows.
Maryland: Pension exclusion for age 65+ or totally disabled: up to $41,200 for TY2025 (indexed to max SS benefit; Georgia: Retirement income exclusion (pensions, 401(k), IRA, interest, dividends, capital gains, rental, plus max $5,000 earned income): up to $35,000 per person ages 62-64;
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 Georgia levies none (none). Establishing domicile in Georgia 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 Georgia 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.); Georgia uses a hybrid model (PR: default statutory commission absent will/agreement (O.C.G.A. §53-6-60) — 2.5% of all sums of money received + 2.5% of all sums paid out, plus 10% commission on interest earned on loans made by the PR; separate provisions for in-kind property. Attorney fees: reasonable (no schedule).). 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 Georgia: $175 base for initial petition for letters (O.C.G.A. §15-9-60); with county surcharges typically ~$205-$210, plus ~$65 publication of notice to debtors/creditors
Full detail: probate cost by state and small-estate limits by state.
Will Maryland still tax me after I move to Georgia?
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 Georgia 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 Georgia 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 Georgia 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. If a move is genuinely on the table, here is what to look for in an advisor who knows both Maryland and Georgia.
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Cite or share this comparison
Suggested citation: Clear Money Guide, “Maryland to Georgia Retirement Taxes (2026),” statute-cited; clearmoneyguide.com/maryland-to-georgia-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
- O.C.G.A. § 48-7-27(a)(5), (a)(5.1)
- Georgia DOR: Retirement Income Exclusion
- Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §7-601
- Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §5-601
- Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §2-206
- O.C.G.A. §53-6-60
- O.C.G.A. §7-1-239
- O.C.G.A. §15-9-60
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.