County Commissioners vote takes effect in July for homeowners’ property tax bills
Worcester County elected officials unanimously voted this week to lower the county’s homestead property tax credit from 3% to zero, effective July 1.
The County Commissioners voted for the change at Tuesday’s meeting, though the decision was tentatively made earlier this year when the commissioners were drawing up their fiscal year 2026 budget.
Ted Elder, President of the County Commissioners, predicted Ocean City businesses owners who also own property will see “overwhelming savings” on their tax bill.
“I think it’s a boon for their businesses,” said Elder (District 4, Western). “It’s something we did as County Commissioners to support and help our businesses in Ocean City, and I think we need to use that going forward to help keep our lines of communication and back-and-forth with Ocean City, keep it open and keep it healthy.”
Designed to protect homeowners from the tax burden that comes from increased property assessments, the Homestead Property Tax Credit program puts a ceiling on how high your property tax bill can go in Maryland.
A zeroed-out homestead tax credit means eligible homeowners would effectively lock in their property tax rate until they sell their home.
And, because Maryland’s state income tax is going up for higher earners, wealthy Marylanders could move to Worcester County full-time and take advantage of a lower tax rate.
When it takes effect, the tax rate decrease represents an estimated revenue hit of about $900,000 for the county.