Property Tax - Credit for Law Enforcement Officer or Rescue Worker - Expansion to Judicial Officer

Property tax relief expands to judicial officers

Maryland expands optional local property tax credits to include judicial officers alongside public safety officers. Eligible homeowners include permanently and totally disabled officers, surviving spouses who have not remarried, and qualifying cohabitants of fallen officers. A court or authorized agency must find the permanent and total disability. The disability or death must meet service-related rules; willful misconduct or alcohol or drug abuse disqualifies it. Cohabitants must have lived with the officer and shared mutual dependence for at least 180 days during the year before death. The home must be the eligible owner's legal residence and house no more than two families. Maryland domicile is required on the disability ruling or death date, or within the five years before it. Ownership rules address homes held at the disability ruling or death, with separate rules for homes acquired within 10 years afterward. Local governments choose whether to offer the credit and set its amount, duration, and limits; no statewide dollar amount is guaranteed. Counties and municipalities must define eligible public safety and judicial officers by local law. The law took effect June 1, 2025, and allows credits for tax years beginning after June 30, 2022, subject to local implementation.