# Maryland SB 0277: Estates and Trusts - Venue for Administrative and Judicial Probate and Application of Inheritance Tax

Maryland SB 0277, Estates and Trusts - Venue for Administrative and Judicial Probate and Application of Inheritance Tax, is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Chris West (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-05-12 (Approved by the Governor - Chapter 503); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0277-2026RS
- As of: 2026-10-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Maryland SB 0277
- State: Maryland
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Estates and Trusts - Venue for Administrative and Judicial Probate and Application of Inheritance Tax
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-19
- Last action: 2026-05-12, Approved by the Governor - Chapter 503
- Sponsor: Chris West (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Estates and Trusts, Taxes - Miscellaneous, Beneficiaries, Courts -see also- AppCt; Circuit; District; Orphans'; etc., Estates and Trusts -see also- Beneficiaries, Exemptions, Financial Institutions -see also- Banks; Credit Unions; etc., Inheritance Tax, Personal Property, Personal Representatives, Real Property, Residency -see also- Immigrants and Citizenship
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 2 (162 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 2

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- New inheritance tax rules for nonresidents: mixed, high. Beginning July 1, 2026, Maryland changes who pays inheritance tax. The State ends the old reciprocity exemption for personal property from a nonresident decedent. Tangible personal property located in Maryland that you inherit from a nonresident is now subject to Maryland inheritance tax. The law a…
- New county rules for probate cases: mixed, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, Maryland sets clear rules for which county handles probate. If the person who died lived in Maryland, file in the county of domicile. If they lived in another U.S. state, file where most of their Maryland property by value was located. If they never lived in Maryland or live…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Chris West (Republican), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-04-03 | House | Third Reading Passed | pass | 119 | 0 | 10 |
| 2026-03-05 | Senate | Third Reading Passed | pass | 43 | 0 |   |

## Actions (14)

- 2026-05-12: Approved by the Governor - Chapter 503
- 2026-04-06: Returned Passed (Senate)
- 2026-04-03: Third Reading Passed (119-0) (House)
- 2026-04-02: Favorable Adopted Second Reading Passed (House)
- 2026-04-02: Favorable Report by Judiciary (House)
- 2026-03-06: Referred Judiciary (House)
- 2026-03-05: Third Reading Passed (43-0) (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: Second Reading Passed with Amendments (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: Favorable with Amendments {803727/1 Adopted (Senate)
- 2026-03-02: Favorable with Amendments Report by Judicial Proceedings (Senate)
- 2026-01-27: Hearing 2/03 at 2:00 p.m. (Senate)
- 2026-01-27: Hearing canceled (Senate)
- 2026-01-20: Hearing 2/03 at 1:00 p.m. (Senate)
- 2026-01-19: First Reading Judicial Proceedings (Senate)

## Bill text

- Enacted, 2026-05-12: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/Chapters_noln/CH_503_sb0277t.pdf)
- Third Reading, 2026-03-03: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/sb/sb0277t.pdf)
- First Reading, 2026-01-19: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/sb/sb0277f.pdf)

## Related bills

- SB 0496: Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Coverage for the Treatment of Obesity - Authorization (became law)
- SB 0366: Motor Vehicles - Intelligent Speed Assistance System Pilot Program - Establishment (became law)
- SB 0244: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program (became law)
- SB 0148: Income Tax - Credit for 9-1-1 Specialist Retirement Income (Supporting Our 9-1-1 Specialists Act) (became law)
- SB 0016: Child Support - Earnings Withholdings Limits (became law)
- HB 0529: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program (became law)

## Sources
- [Enacted (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/Chapters_noln/CH_503_sb0277t.pdf)
- [Third Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/sb/sb0277t.pdf)
- [First Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/sb/sb0277f.pdf)

## Related
- [SB 0496: Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Coverage for the Treatment of Obesity - A…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0496-2026RS)
- [SB 0366: Motor Vehicles - Intelligent Speed Assistance System Pilot Program - Establishm…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0366-2026RS)
- [SB 0244: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0244-2026RS)
- [SB 0148: Income Tax - Credit for 9-1-1 Specialist Retirement Income (Supporting Our 9-1-…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0148-2026RS)
- [SB 0016: Child Support - Earnings Withholdings Limits](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0016-2026RS)
- [HB 0529: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB0529-2026RS)
- [Maryland bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/maryland/bills)
- [Maryland state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/maryland)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0277-2026RS (as of 2026-10-11).