Washington, DC into Maryland

Live in District of Columbia, work in Maryland (2026)

Whether the two states have a reciprocity agreement, which form stops the withholding, and what your paycheck actually looks like after both states and any local tax have taken their share.

Is there a reciprocity agreement?

Yes. Maryland has a reciprocity agreement with the District, so Maryland takes $0 from a DC resident. File MD Form MW507 with your Maryland employer. You pay District tax of $5,532, and Maryland's county income tax does not touch you at all.

Reverse-commuting out of the District into Maryland is where the county tax question gets interesting, and the answer is better than most people expect. Maryland and the District have a reciprocity agreement. File Form MD Form MW507 with your Maryland employer and Maryland withholds nothing, so Maryland's share of your wages is $0. The District taxes you as a resident, taking $5,532 at $100,000, and your take-home is $73,649. Here is the part worth reading twice. Maryland's county income tax is levied on Maryland residents. You are not one of them. Because reciprocity means Maryland does not tax you at all, there is no Maryland return, no Maryland liability, and no county tax riding on top of it. A colleague who lives in Montgomery County and sits at the desk next to you pays a county tax that you simply do not, on the very same salary from the very same employer.

At $100,000 single filer, against working at home in District of Columbia

This commute changes nothing about your take-home. You keep $73,649 either way.

Computed from the tax engine with 2026federal brackets, FICA, both states' income tax, and any local tax at either end. Standard deduction, no pre-tax contributions.

Who taxes you, and how much?

Single filer at $100,000, 2026 rules.

Tax	Amount
Maryland income tax (work state)	$0
District of Columbia income tax (resident state)	$5,532
Combined state income tax	$5,532

How the District of Columbia and Maryland rule works

Maryland's local income tax is not a separate levy that a nonresident might get caught by. It is collected as part of the Maryland resident return, on the county where the taxpayer lives. Remove the Maryland residency and remove the agreement's grant of exemption from Maryland tax, and the county piece has nothing left to attach to. The certificate that makes this work is Form MD Form MW507, filed with your Maryland employer, and it stops withholding at source. Without it, Maryland withholds and you would be filing a nonresident return in April purely to unwind something you never owed in the first place. The District, meanwhile, taxes its residents on all income wherever earned, which is the ordinary rule for a resident state and the reason your DC bill of $5,532 does not shrink just because the work happened in Bethesda rather than downtown. Nothing about a Maryland job reduces what the District asks of you.

What this estimate covers

These figures apply 2026 federal brackets after the standard deduction, FICA, District of Columbia's income tax, Maryland's income tax where the agreement does not remove it, and the local tax at each end of the commute. State-administered payroll programs such as disability and paid family leave follow the work state, so where Maryland runs them they come out of your check on Maryland's schedule rather than District of Columbia's. They assume every workday is spent in Maryland and all of your wages are earned there.

One limit is worth naming. A split week, with some days worked from home, is not modelled: the credit, the local tax and the work-state payroll programs would each be apportioned across the two states, and this estimate treats the whole year as Maryland work.

Living in District of Columbia and working in Maryland: FAQ

Do I pay Maryland's county income tax?

No. The county tax attaches to Maryland residents through the Maryland resident return, and reciprocity means you are not taxed by Maryland at all. Maryland's total claim on your wages is $0, county tax included. A Maryland-resident colleague at the same desk pays it and you do not.

Which form stops Maryland withholding?

Form MD Form MW507, filed with your Maryland employer. It certifies that you live in the District and claims the reciprocal exemption. Get it in on your first day, because Maryland withholds by default until your employer has it on file.

How much District tax do I pay?

$5,532 at $100,000 as a single filer. The District taxes its own residents on all income no matter where in the country it is earned, so taking a job in Maryland does not reduce the bill by a cent. Your take-home lands at $73,649.

Do I file a Maryland return?

Not if the exemption certificate is on file with your employer and nothing was withheld, since there is no Maryland liability to report. You file a District resident return covering all your income, including everything you earned at your Maryland job.

Does the commute change my take-home?

No. You keep $73,649 whether the job is in the District or in Maryland, because Maryland takes nothing and the District taxes you the same either way. For once, the tax code is indifferent to which side of the line you work on.

Is the agreement mutual?

Yes, and it works cleanly in both directions. Maryland residents working in the District file the District's Form D-4A; District residents working in Maryland file MD Form MW507. Each side exempts the other's residents from its income tax, so the commute is tax-neutral whichever way you cross.

This estimate is for planning purposes only and does not constitute tax or financial advice. Actual paycheck withholding depends on your employer's payroll system, custom W-4 elections, additional income, and personal tax situation. For specific tax-planning decisions, consult a licensed CPA or tax professional. Cross-state estimates additionally assume all wages are earned in the work state and exclude any apportionment of remote workdays.

How This Page Is Reviewed

The District of Columbia to Maryland commute rule is taken from each state's own reciprocity guidance and withholding forms, and is reviewed against those primary sources before each tax-year update. Local tax figures come from the municipal research files behind the city pages.

Reviewed by

PaycheckCalc Research Desk

Last reviewed

2026-07-14

Primary sources