Title 11. Sales and Use Tax — Subtitle 1. Definitions; General Provisions

“Accommodations intermediary” means a person, other than an accommodations provider, who facilitates the sale or use of an accommodation and charges a buyer the taxable price for the accommodation.

For purposes of this subsection, a person shall be considered to facilitate the sale or use of an accommodation if the person brokers, coordinates, or in any other way arranges for the sale or use of an accommodation by a buyer.

acquires tangible personal property in a sale;

obtains a taxable service in a sale; or

acquires a digital code or digital product in a sale.

floor, carpet, wall, window, ceiling, and exterior cleaning; and

janitorial services.

for a digital code, digital product, or taxable service described under subsection (m)(14) or (15) of this section that is received by a buyer at the business location of the vendor, the address of that business location;

if item (1) of this subsection is not applicable and the primary use location of the digital code, digital product, or taxable service described under subsection (m)(14) or (15) of this section is known by the vendor, that primary use location;

if items (1) and (2) of this subsection are not applicable, the location where the digital code, digital product, or taxable service described under subsection (m)(14) or (15) of this section is received by the buyer, or by a donee of the buyer that is identified by the buyer, if known to the vendor and maintained in the ordinary course of the vendor’s business;

if items (1) through (3) of this subsection are not applicable, the location indicated by an address for the buyer that is available from the business records of the vendor that are maintained in the ordinary course of business of the vendor’s business, when use of the address does not constitute bad faith;

if items (1) through (4) of this subsection are not applicable, the location indicated by an address for the buyer obtained during the consummation of the sale, including the address of the buyer’s payment instrument, when use of the address does not constitute bad faith; or

if items (1) through (5) of this subsection are not applicable, including a circumstance in which a vendor is without sufficient information to apply those items, one of the following locations, as selected by the vendor, provided that the location is consistently used by the vendor for all sales to which this item applies:

“Digital code” means a number, symbol, alphanumeric sequence, barcode, or similar code that:

“Digital code” does not include a gift certificate or gift card with a monetary value that may be redeemable for an item other than a digital product.

“Digital product” means a product that is obtained electronically by the buyer or delivered by means other than tangible storage media through the use of technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities.

“Digital product” includes:

“Digital product” does not include:

“End user” means any person who receives or accesses a digital code, digital product code, or taxable service described under subsection (m)(14) or (15) of this section for use.

“End user” does not include any person who receives a digital code, digital product, or taxable service described under subsection (m)(14) or (15) of this section for further commercial broadcast, rebroadcast, transmission, retransmission, licensing, relicensing, distribution, redistribution, or exhibition of the digital product.

“Home amenity rental intermediary” means a person, other than a home amenity rental provider, who facilitates the sale or use of a home amenity and charges a buyer the taxable price for the home amenity rental.

For purposes of this subsection, a person shall be considered to facilitate the sale or use of a home amenity if the person brokers, coordinates, or in any other way arranges for the sale or use of a home amenity by a buyer.

advertises the availability of home amenities; and

receives compensation for facilitating reservations or processing booking transactions on behalf of the owner, operator, or manager of a home amenity.

“Marketplace facilitator” means a person that:

“Marketplace facilitator” does not include:

this State or a political subdivision, unit, or instrumentality of this State;

another state or a political subdivision, unit, or instrumentality of that state; and

a unit or instrumentality of a political subdivision of this State or of another state.

“Primary use location” means the street address representative of where the buyer’s use of a digital code, digital product, or taxable service described under subsection (m)(14) or (15) of this section will primarily occur, as determined by:

“Primary use location” does not include the location of a person who is not any end user or who uses a digital code, digital product, or taxable service described under subsection (m)(14) or (15) of this section as the purchaser of a separate good or service from the buyer.

“Production activity” means:

“Production activity” does not include:

“Retail sale” means the sale of:

“Retail sale” includes:

“Retail sale” does not include:

“Sale” means a transaction for a consideration whereby:

“Sale” does not include a transaction whereby an employee performs a service for the employee’s employer.

advertises the availability of short–term rental units for rent; and

receives compensation for facilitating reservations or processing booking transactions on behalf of the owner, operator, or manager of a short–term rental unit.

“Short–term rental unit” means a residential dwelling unit or a portion of the unit used for short–term rentals.

“Short–term rental unit” includes a single–family house or dwelling, a multifamily house or dwelling, an apartment, a condominium, or a cooperative.

“Tangible personal property” means:

“Tangible personal property” includes:

“Taxable price” means the value, in money, of the consideration of any kind that is paid, delivered, payable, or deliverable by a buyer to a vendor in the consummation and complete performance of a sale without deduction for any expense or cost, including the cost of:

“Taxable price” includes, for tangible personal property, a digital code, or a digital product acquired by a sale for use in the State by the person who assembles, fabricates, or manufactures the property or digital product, only the price of the raw materials and component parts contained in the property or digital product.

“Taxable price” does not include:

“Taxable price” includes all sales and charges, including insurance, freight handling, equipment and supplies, delivery and pickup, cellular telephone, and other accessories, but not including sales of motor fuel subject to the motor fuel tax, made in connection with:

“Taxable price” includes:

“Taxable price” does not include:

fabrication, printing, or production of tangible personal property or a digital product by special order;

commercial cleaning or laundering of textiles for a buyer who is engaged in a business that requires the recurring service of commercial cleaning or laundering of the textiles;

cleaning of a commercial or industrial building;

cellular telephone or other mobile telecommunications service;

“900”, “976”, “915”, and other “900”–type telecommunications service;

custom calling service provided in connection with basic telephone service;

a telephone answering service;

pay per view television service;

credit reporting;

a security service, including:

a transportation service for transmission, distribution, or delivery of electricity or natural gas, if the sale or use of the electricity or natural gas is subject to the sales and use tax;

a prepaid telephone calling arrangement;

the privilege given to an individual under § 4–1102 of the Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis Article to consume wine that is not purchased from or provided by a restaurant, club, or hotel;

a data or information technology service described under NAICS Sector 518, 519, or 5415; or

a system software or application software publishing service described under NAICS Sector 5132.

“Telephone answering service” means a service provided to a customer that consists exclusively of the taking of messages, either by an automated system or by a live operator, and transmitting the messages to the customer.

“Telephone answering service” does not include the physical act of answering a telephone on behalf of a customer, if the act is incidental to and less than 5% of the service provider’s total gross receipts in a calendar year.

“Use” means an exercise of a right or power to use, consume, possess, or store that is acquired by a sale for use of:

“Use” includes an exercise of a right or power to use, consume, possess, or store that is acquired by a sale for use of tangible personal property, a digital code, or a digital product:

“Use” does not include:

“Vendor” means a person who:

“Vendor” includes, for an out–of–state vendor, a salesman, representative, peddler, or canvasser whom the Comptroller, for the efficient administration of this title, elects to treat as an agent jointly responsible with the dealer, distributor, employer, or supervisor:

a retail sale in the State; and

a use, in the State, of tangible personal property, a digital code, a digital product, or a taxable service.

Subject to paragraph (2) of this subsection, in addition to the tax imposed under subsection (a) of this section, a hotel surcharge is imposed in Dorchester County on the sale of a right to occupy a room or lodgings as a transient guest in an establishment that offers at least 380 rooms.

The hotel surcharge imposed under paragraph (1) of this subsection may not be imposed if the Maryland Economic Development Corporation certifies to the Comptroller that the bonds issued by the Maryland Economic Development Corporation secured by the Dorchester County Economic Development Fund established under § 10–130 of the Economic Development Article have been paid in full.

A county, municipal corporation, special taxing district, or other political subdivision of the State may not impose any retail sales or use tax except:

Paragraph (1) of this subsection may not be construed as conferring authority to impose a sales and use tax.

for a taxable price of less than $1:

for a taxable price of $1 or more:

In this subsection:

The sales and use tax rate for a short–term vehicle rental for a taxable price of $2 or more is:

except as provided in item (2) of this subsection, 8% of the taxable price; and

In this subsection, “modular building” includes single–family or multifamily houses, apartment units, or commercial buildings, and permanent additions to single–family or multifamily houses, apartment units, or commercial buildings, comprised of one or more sections that are:

The sales and use tax rate for the sale of a modular building is the rate imposed under subsection (a) of this section applied to 60% of the taxable price.

9% of the charge for the alcoholic beverage; and

6% of a charge that is made in connection with the sale of an alcoholic beverage and is stated as a separate item of the consideration and made known to the buyer at the time of sale for:

If a retail sale of dyed diesel fuel is made by a marina, the sales and use tax rate is 6%, applied to 94.5% of the gross receipts from the dyed diesel fuel sales.

Except as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection, the sales and use tax rate is 20% of the taxable price for electronic smoking devices.

The sales and use tax for vaping liquid sold in a container that contains 5 milliliters or less of vaping liquid is 60% of the taxable price.

The sales and use tax for tobacco pipes is 12% of the taxable price.

for fiscal years 2024 through 2025, 9%; and

for fiscal year 2026 and each fiscal year thereafter, 12%.

The sales and use tax for a sale of a taxable service described under § 11–101(m)(14) and (15) of this subtitle is 3% of the taxable price.

If a different rate from the rate specified under paragraph (1) of this subsection could be applied to a sale or use of tangible personal property, a digital code, a digital product, or a taxable service, the higher rate shall apply to the sale.

Except as provided in subsections (b), (c), and (d) of this section, a vendor who timely files a sales and use tax return is allowed, for the expense of collecting and paying the tax, a credit equal to 0.9% of the gross amount of sales and use tax that the vendor is to pay to the Comptroller.

The credit allowed under this section does not apply to any sales and use tax that a vendor is required to pay to the Comptroller for any purchase or use that the vendor makes that is subject to the tax.

Subject to paragraph (2) of this subsection, the credit allowed under this section is 1.2% of the first $6,000 of the gross amount of sales and use tax that the vendor is to pay with each return.

For a vendor who files or is eligible to file a consolidated return under § 11–502 of this title, the credit allowed under paragraph (1) of this subsection is 1.2% of the first $6,000 of the gross amount of sales and use tax that the vendor is or would be required to pay with the consolidated return.

The credit allowed under subsection (a) of this section may not exceed $500 for each return.

For a vendor who files or is eligible to file a consolidated return under § 11–502 of this title, the total maximum credit that the vendor is allowed under this section for all returns filed for any period is $500.

On or before January 31 each year, a vendor who claims a credit under this subsection shall submit to the Secretary a report that includes, for the previous calendar year:

The Comptroller shall adopt regulations to implement this subsection.

Subject to the provisions of this subsection, the State of Maryland hereby adopts the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement as adopted by the member states of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Project on November 12, 2002.

The adoption of the Agreement by the State of Maryland as provided in this section is contingent on the enactment of legislation by the U.S. Congress consenting to the Agreement and authorizing states that are parties to the Agreement to require remote sellers to collect and remit the sales and use taxes of those states.

Within 90 days after the enactment of legislation by the U.S. Congress consenting to the Agreement and authorizing states that are parties to the Agreement to require remote sellers to collect and remit the sales and use taxes of those states, the Comptroller shall prepare and submit to the Governor and, subject to § 2-1257 of the State Government Article, the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee and the House Committee on Ways and Means proposed regulations and draft legislation that:

no provision of the Agreement in whole or in part invalidates or amends any provision of the law of this State;

adoption of the Agreement does not amend or modify any other provision of this title or other law of this State; and

implementation of any condition of the Agreement in this State, whether adopted before, at, or after adoption of the Agreement by this State, must be by the action of this State.

No law of this State, or the application thereof, may be declared invalid as to any person or circumstance on the ground that the provision or application is inconsistent with the Agreement.