The Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) today announced that the 2020 deadline to submit Annual Reports and Personal Property Tax Returns will be automatically extended to July 15 as part of the Hogan administration’s response to COVID-19. Expiration dates for trade names and name reservations, as well as entity forfeiture dates, will also be extended to 30 days after the state of emergency is rescinded in accordance with Governor Hogan’s executive orders.
Please note that it will take some time for these changes to be reflected on SDAT’s website and online searches.
“I applaud Governor Hogan’s leadership during this COVID-19 health emergency, and business-related deadlines are being extended according to his executive order,” said SDAT Director Michael Higgs. “Fortunately, nearly all Charter and Business Personal Property transactions can be completed through Maryland Business Express, and we are not currently experiencing any online filing processing delays. I appreciate the business community’s patience as we actively explore even more online services that could be made available over the next few weeks, as well as our employees’ commitment to providing the best service possible for our customers.”
Last week, SDAT closed all public access at State Center for Charter, Personal Property, Ground Rent, and Tax Credit filings. The majority of Charter and Personal Property filings can be completed online through Maryland Business Express, and turnaround times for those filings remain unchanged. All tax credit applications can also be submitted online; homeowners’ and renters’ tax credit applications can be submitted through Maryland One Stop, and homestead tax credit applications through SDAT’s website.
SDAT has also closed all public access to its 24 county-based Real Property Offices. At this time, those offices are only accepting telephone and written real property assessment appeals; all in-person hearings have been suspended.
PDFs of all SDAT filings and applications may also be downloaded, printed, and mailed, although the Department strongly encourages customers to complete transactions online when possible. Any paper-based submissions will take significantly longer to process throughout the remainder of the COVID-19 crisis.
At this time, phone lines have limited staffing or are only accepting voicemails. Please email your questions to the appropriate program below:
Charter and Business Assessments:
All Charter inquiries not listed below (most filings can be online) CharterHelp@Maryland.gov.
Business Personal Property Program: PersProp@Maryland.gov.
Trade Name Applications and Renewals (can be filed online): TradeNameHelp@Maryland.gov.
Charter Requests for Certified Copies and Certificates of Good Standing (can be filed online): RequestForCopies@Maryland.Gov.
UCC Filings (can be filed online): UCC@Maryland.gov.
Charter Forfeitures: Forfeitures@Maryland.gov.
Franchise Tax and Public Utilities: UtilityTax@Maryland.gov.
Ground Rent Filings: GroundRent@Maryland.gov.
Real Property Assessments:
Email addresses for SDAT’s local offices be found here.
Tax Credit Programs:
Homeowners’ Tax Credits Program (applications can be filed online): Homeowners@Maryland.gov.
Renters’ Tax Credits Program (applications can be filed online): Renters@Maryland.gov.
Homestead Tax Credits Program (applications can be filed online): Homestead@Maryland.gov.
Office of the State Tax Sale Ombudsman (information can be found online): TaxSale@Maryland.gov.
Any Other Inquiries:
411@Maryland.gov.
The Hogan administration has taken a number of unprecedented steps to respond to the rapidly evolving COVID-19 crisis. For health resources regarding COVID-19, including case counts and clinical guidance, please visit the Department of Health’s webpage. For a list of resources to help businesses whose daily operations are affected during the state of emergency, please visit Maryland Business Express’ webpage. For a comprehensive list of ongoing state actions, please visit Governor Hogan’s webpage.
