How do I know when Maryland will decouple from federal tax law?

Maryland law generally conforms to changes to federal income tax laws, unless either of the following decoupling actions occurs:

• If the Maryland legislature enacts new tax legislation that does not follow an amendment to the Internal Revenue Code, then decoupling will occur. The General Assembly Assembly meets every year for 90 days, from mid-January through mid-April (not including special sessions).
• If the Comptroller of Maryland determines that the impact of an amendment to the Internal Revenue Code on Maryland income tax revenue for the fiscal year that begins during the calendar year in which the amendment is enacted will be greater than $5 million, then decoupling will automatically occur for that taxable year.

In either of these situations, we will notify you of their occurrences through special mailings, our annual Federal-State Tax Institutes and this Web site.

For information on recent decoupling actions, see Administrative Release No. 38, Decoupling from Federal Income Tax Laws.