The RELIEF Act of 2021 is an emergency economic impact and tax relief package that will provide more than $1 billion for Maryland working families, small businesses, and those who have lost their jobs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
RELIEF Act Economic Impact Payments
The RELIEF Act includes direct economic impact payments for low to moderate income Maryland taxpayers who filed for and received the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) on their 2019 Maryland State Tax Return. These economic impact payments will be issued by the Maryland Comptroller to all qualified taxpayers. No application is necessary to receive this relief.
Relief payments will be made to Maryland residents who claimed and received the EITC on their 2019 Maryland state tax return. Maryland taxpayers who claimed and received the Earned Income Tax Credit had the following annual earnings:
- $50,954 ($56,844 married filing jointly) with three or more qualifying children;
- $47,440 ($53,330 married filing jointly) with two qualifying children;
- $41,756 ($47,646 married filing jointly) with one qualifying child;
- $15,820 ($21,710 married filing jointly) with no qualifying children
Relief payments will NOT be made to:
- Taxpayers who did not yet file their 2019 tax return, or who did not claim or receive the Earned Income Tax Credit on their 2019 tax return;
- Persons claimed as a dependent on another taxpayer’s return (for example, a child or student who may be claimed on a parent’s return or a dependent parent who may be claimed on an adult child’s return);
- Taxpayer who did not have Maryland residency when RELIEF Act was enacted;
- A deceased individual, or an estate or trust
Individual or joint filers who qualified for and claimed the EITC in Tax Year 2019 will receive direct stimulus payments of the following amounts:
- $300 to individual tax filers;
- $500 to spouses who filed a joint return, for a surviving spouse, or head of household.
Your Maryland economic impact payment is not taxable on your Maryland state tax return. However, unless exempted, it will be included as income at the federal level. The amount, if any, included in your federal adjusted gross income would then be eligible for a subtraction modification at the state level.
Unemployment Assistance
The RELIEF Act provides a State Income Tax Exemption for Unemployment Insurance Benefits for qualifying filers. Payments are currently subject to federal and state income taxation. Beginning with Tax Year 2020 and including Tax Year 2021, the Act exempts from the state income tax the unemployment benefits received by an individual earning less than $75,000, and couples filing jointly or individual heads of households earning less than $100,000.
Unemployment Grants
The Act provides $1,000 one-time grant payments to certain indoviduals whose unemployment claims have been in adjudication for 30 days. The Department of Labor determines the recipients of the Unemployment Grants and will submit to the Comptroller a list of individuals who will receive payment. If you are selected by the MD Department of Labor to be a recipient of the Unemployment Grant, the Secretary of Labor will determine when your name will be submitted to the Comptroller's office for payment and they will authorize payments as soon as they are received. Paper checks will be mailed directly to you.