Maryland

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We have recently learned from taxpayers that filed refund claims of the Maryland Digital Advertising Tax (DAT) that the Maryland Comptroller is issuing responses entitled “Request Received Does Not Constitute a Refund Claim.”  The Comptroller’s notices state that it rejects refund claims if they do not “disclose[ ] sufficient information about the taxpayer’s annual gross…

The Maryland Comptroller issued an interpretation of the Maryland Digital Advertising Tax (DAT) that excludes certain digital advertising from the DAT. A Maryland regulation – COMAR 03.12.01.01 – limits taxable “digital advertising services” to those “advertising services on a digital interface that are: (i) Programmatic; and (ii) Visually conveyed.” Thus, receipts from sales of digital…

On August 15, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that a Maryland statutory provision prohibiting sellers from itemizing the digital advertising tax (DAT) on their invoices violates the First Amendment. As readers are likely aware, the DAT is imposed on gross revenues from digital advertising services in Maryland. After…

Yesterday, the Comptroller of Maryland issued Technical Bulletin No. 59, laying out its position on the Digital Advertising Gross Revenues (ominously abbreviated as “DAGR”) tax base. As the DAGR took effect in January 2022, this guidance is not exactly timely. 

Much of Bulletin No. 59 is devoted to the Comptroller’s view of taxability. A…

Maryland is facing a $3 billion budget gap and is considering a host of tax hikes. On March 24, 2025, the Maryland House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations amended the state’s budget bill, House Bill 352 (cross-filed with Senate Bill 321) to include, among other things, a proposal to expand the sales and use tax…

In a recent unreported decision, the Maryland Appellate Court held that taxpayers were not entitled to a 13 percent interest rate on a judgement after the legislature lowered the state’s refund interest rate during the pendency of the taxpayers’ appeal.

The taxpayers successfully challenged the limits that Maryland state law placed on the tax credit…

The Maryland Court of Special Appeals affirmed the tax court’s decision that a Macy’s captive insurance company is exempt from Maryland corporate income taxes on interest payments received from a Macy’s affiliate. Maryland imposes a premium receipts tax on unauthorized insurance companies, which includes the taxpayer captive insurer in this case. The taxpayer captive insurer…

On July 1, 2022, the Maryland Comptroller of the Treasury revised its Business Tax Tip #29, to acknowledge the exclusion of certain business purchases of digital products. In addition, the revised guidance clarifies the taxability of data processing, information, web hosting, and digital advertising services. This is the Comptroller’s third set of revisions to…

Maryland H.B. 791 clarifies that the definition of “digital product” for sales and use tax purposes does not include certain digital inputs or enterprise software. Specifically, H.B. 791 excludes from taxable digital products the following: (i) products having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities where the purchaser has a copyright or similar…