Maryland SUTA Tax Calculator
Figure basis: Official U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment InsuranceState Unemployment Tax Act (SUTA) tax is the state unemployment insurance tax that employers pay to fund unemployment benefits in Maryland. This calculator estimates your Maryland SUTA liability for the 2026 tax year. Enter the average annual wages per employee, your number of employees, and your assigned SUTA rate to see the taxable wages, tax per employee, and total tax. SUTA is charged only on the first $8,500 of each employee's wages (the 2026 Maryland taxable wage base); wages above that per employee are not taxed. Your rate is set by the state based on your business's unemployment claim history (your "experience rating"); a new employer pays 2.6%. SUTA is separate from the federal FUTA tax and, in most states, is paid entirely by the employer and never deducted from employee wages. All wage-base and rate figures are sourced from U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment Insurance and verified for 2026. Replace the default rate with the rate on your state tax-rate notice for an exact figure.
In Maryland, employers pay SUTA on the first $8,500 of each employee's wages for 2026, and a new employer pays 2.6%. For 5 employees earning $50,000 each at 2.6%, the estimated annual SUTA tax is $1,105.00 ($221.00 per employee).
How Maryland SUTA tax works
Maryland charges state unemployment tax on each employee's wages up to the taxable wage base of $8,500 for 2026. Once an employee has earned that much in the year, no further SUTA is due on that employee. Your rate is assigned by the state from your experience rating; a new employer pays 2.6%.
taxable wages per employee = min(annual wages, $8,500)
SUTA tax per employee = taxable wages per employee x rate / 100
total SUTA tax = SUTA tax per employee x number of employees
Worked example: 5 employees each earning $50,000 in Maryland at 2.6%. Each employee's taxable wages are capped at $8,500, so the tax per employee is $221.00 and the total is $1,105.00.
Maryland SUTA figures (2026)
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Taxable wage base | $8,500 | U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment Insurance |
| New employer rate | 2.6% | U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment Insurance |
| Experience rate range | 0.3% to 7.5% | U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment Insurance |
The experience-rate range shown is the base statutory range. Most states add mandatory assessments on top (for example a fund-building, solvency, or administrative surcharge), so an employer's effective rate can be higher than the range shown, and the new-employer rate may exclude those add-ons. Your exact assigned rate is on your annual state tax-rate notice.
How Maryland's rate tables move your bill
Maryland keeps a low taxable wage base of $8,500 for 2026, so SUTA stops accruing on each worker early in the year once their wages pass that mark. A low base keeps the per-employee dollar figures smaller than in high-base states, but the rate you are assigned still does most of the work in your total bill.
New employers in Maryland pay a fixed 2.6% until they qualify for an experience rating. On the $8,500 base that caps first-year cost at $221.00 per employee per year. After that, the Maryland Division of Unemployment Insurance places you on an experience rate between 0.3% and 7.5%. The schedule in force each year (Maryland moves between rate tables labeled A through F depending on the balance of the state trust fund) shifts every employer's rate up or down together, so even a stable account can see its rate change when the fund's health changes. A clean account can pay as little as $25.50 per employee, while the top of the range reaches $637.50.
For a new Maryland employer, budget the 2.6% rate for the first full year, then watch two things on your annual rate notice: your own experience factor and which statewide table is active. Enter the exact assigned rate in the calculator above to replace the new employer default and see your true liability for the year.
Maryland SUTA tax: frequently asked questions
What is the Maryland unemployment (SUTA) taxable wage base for 2026?
For 2026, Maryland employers pay state unemployment tax on the first $8,500 of each employee's wages. Wages above $8,500 per employee are not subject to SUTA.
What is the Maryland new employer SUTA rate?
New employers in Maryland pay a SUTA rate of 2.6% until they have enough history to be experience-rated. On the $8,500 wage base that is up to $221.00 per employee per year.
How is Maryland SUTA tax calculated?
Multiply each employee's wages, capped at the $8,500 taxable wage base, by your assigned experience rate, then add up across employees. SUTA is primarily an employer-paid tax and is not deducted from employee pay.
Is the Maryland SUTA rate the same for every employer?
No. After the new-employer period, Maryland assigns each employer an experience rate based on its history of layoffs and claims, generally ranging from about 0.3% to 7.5% for experience-rated employers before any state add-on surcharges. The rate field above defaults to the new-employer rate; replace it with the rate on your state tax notice for an exact figure.
Official sources
- Maryland unemployment taxable wage base and rates (tax year 2026): U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment Insurance, as at Jul 15, 2026.
Reviewed by the CalculatorHub team, edited by James Graham, 15 July 2026. See our methodology. General information, not tax or legal advice.