Maryland Annual Report: Due Date, Late Fees & What Happens If You Miss It

Every spring, thousands of Maryland business owners get the same email or letter: your Annual Report is due. For a company with an accountant and a calendar reminder, it's a ten-minute chore. For everyone else, it's easy to put off, especially for a company that barely did anything last year. That's the trap. Maryland expects the report whether the business made money, lost money or sat idle, and a single missed year starts a chain that can end with the state taking away the company's right to exist.

Here's how the report works, what it costs, what being late really costs, and how to dig out if the deadline already passed.

What the Annual Report Actually Is

The State Department of Assessments and Taxation, SDAT, calls it Form 1, the Annual Report and Business Personal Property Return. It's really two filings on one form. The Annual Report part tells the state the company still exists and confirms its basic information. The personal property part reports the equipment, furniture and other business property the company has in Maryland, so the county can tax it.

Every business entity registered with SDAT files it, starting the year after the company was formed. An LLC set up in 2025 files its first report by April 15, 2026, even if it never opened a bank account.

Who Files and What It Costs

The filing fee depends on the type of entity, according to SDAT's 2026 Form 1:

Out-of-state companies registered to do business in Maryland pay the same fee as their Maryland counterparts. A Delaware LLC registered here, for example, owes the same $300 as a Maryland LLC.

The April 15 Deadline and the Free Extension

The report is due April 15. When April 15 lands on a weekend, SDAT's instructions move the deadline to the following Monday.

If you need more time, SDAT grants a 60-day extension to June 15 at no cost. There are two catches. The extension has to be requested online, through SDAT's personal property extension site, and it has to be requested on or before April 15. Paper extension requests are no longer accepted, and you can't ask for one after the deadline has passed.

Do You Need the Personal Property Section?

Not every company has to fill out the property pages. Per the 2026 form, the business personal property sections are required if the business owns, leases or uses personal property in Maryland with a total original cost of $20,000 or more. A consultant working from a laptop usually doesn't cross that line. A restaurant, a shop or a contractor with tools and trucks usually does.

Skipping the property section when you owe it is expensive. SDAT says companies that don't file get estimated assessments of twice the estimated value of the property they own, and the county bills tax on that number.

What to Have in Front of You

Gathering this first turns the report into a short sitting instead of an afternoon:

• The company's exact name and its SDAT Department ID, found in the Business Entity Search
• The principal office address and the resident agent's name and Maryland street address
• If you owe the property section, a list of furniture, equipment, tools and other property in Maryland, with what each cost and the year you bought it
• Any property you sold, scrapped or moved out of state since last year's return
• A card or bank account for online filing, or a check to SDAT for mail

Three Ways to File

That last row matters on deadline day. A paper report handed in at SDAT's counter is in the state's hands that day instead of riding in the mail.

What Being Late Costs

Maryland doesn't charge one flat late fee. Per the 2026 Form 1, a late return carries an initial penalty of one-tenth of one percent of the company's county assessment, plus interest of 2% of that penalty for every 30-day period, or part of one, that the return is late. You can't prepay it. SDAT calculates the penalty after the return is filed and bills it, and it shows up in the Penalty Amount column on the company's Business Express account.

For a company with little or no property, the dollar penalty can be small. The bigger cost is what happens to the company's status, and that's where late reports get expensive in time, lost deals and paperwork.

What Happens If You Miss It

A missed report, or a report filed without the fee, knocks the company into Not in Good Standing. From that point:

• No Certificate of Status. SDAT won't issue a good standing certificate, which lenders, buyers, other states and many government contracts require.
• Penalties Keep Growing. The interest on the penalty adds up every 30 days.
• Forfeiture. SDAT warns that continued failure to file can end in forfeiture of the charter or the right to do business in Maryland. A forfeited Maryland corporation no longer exists under state law until it's revived.

Penalties that sit unpaid for three years or more are turned over to the state's Central Collection Unit, and they have to be paid there before the company can be revived.

Catching Up on Missed Years

If the company is not in good standing but hasn't been forfeited, the fix follows SDAT's Good Standing Checklist: file every missing year's report, pay the penalties shown on the account, make sure the resident agent and principal office are current, and clear any hold from the Comptroller or the Department of Labor. Prior years can usually be filed online.

Timing is the catch. SDAT says reports filed online for companies that aren't forfeited take 3 to 5 business days to update the company to good standing. If a lender needs your certificate this week, that window matters.

When the Company Has Already Been Forfeited

A forfeited company needs everything above plus a filing that brings it back: Articles of Revival for a Maryland corporation, Articles of Reinstatement for an LLC, or a Certificate of Reinstatement for a partnership. That filing carries SDAT's $100 base fee, plus $50 to expedite. If the company ever reported business personal property, SDAT also wants a tax clearance certificate from each county or city where it was reported. A receipt won't do.

These filings can be submitted online, but standard review takes weeks. At SDAT's counter, the filing is in the state's hands that day, and on a same-day rush, SDAT reports document approvals in under 30 minutes. That's what we do: you or your attorney or accountant prepare and sign the reports and the revival or reinstatement, you upload them through our secure upload, and we read them over, book the appointment, advance the state's fees at the counter and scan SDAT's receipt back to you the same day. Our price is $165 flat for the first document and $49 for each additional one, plus the state's fees at cost, and you can follow our courier on a live map from our dispatch depot to the counter.

If the Business Is Done, Close It Instead

A lot of missed reports belong to companies that stopped operating years ago. Letting one quietly slide into forfeiture isn't the same as closing it, and the reports, penalties and property assessments can keep stacking up in the meantime. If the business is finished, closing it properly ends the yearly filing on your terms. An LLC files Articles of Cancellation, which SDAT lists at no base fee, and a corporation files Articles of Dissolution. Ask your attorney or accountant what has to be brought current before the company closes. Those filings can go in at SDAT's counter the same way a revival does.

A Quick Checklist

• Put April 15 on the calendar every year, starting the year after formation
• Need time? Request the free extension online on or before April 15
• Fill out the property section if the business has $20,000 or more in Maryland property
• Include the fee: $300 for most companies, $0 for nonstock corporations
• Missed a year? File it, then pay the penalty SDAT bills
• Forfeited? Add the revival or reinstatement and any tax clearance certificate
• On a deadline? Have it filed at SDAT's counter instead of waiting on the mail

If you need a good standing certificate once you're caught up, see our Maryland Certificate of Status guide. For SDAT's fees, speeds and appointments, read the SDAT filing guide, or go straight to SDAT Filing Services.

Fees, penalties and processing times come from SDAT's published forms, and can change. We confirm the current amounts on every filing before we go in. We file paperwork you or your attorney or accountant prepare; we don't give legal or tax advice.