Maryland grants
& benefits: SDAT tax credits, OHEP and 2027 Medicaid rules.

If you bookmarked mymdthink.maryland.gov, it now forwards to benefits.maryland.gov, titled the Maryland Benefits Programs and Services Portal. From one account you can see what you may qualify for in five minutes or less, apply for several programs for your household at once, and track cases on a dashboard.

The portal covers food and cash help, energy and housing grants, child support, adult services and long-term nursing home care. Health coverage has its own site, Maryland Health Connection, where people compare private plans and complete Medicaid check-ins.

Maryland Health Connection also has a shortcut at tax time. Check the Easy Enrollment box on Form 502 or 502B and the Comptroller shares your household size and income with the exchange, which mails a letter on what you may qualify for. You then have 35 days from that letter to enroll.

Maryland expanded Medicaid on January 1, 2014, one of the 41 adopters KFF counts, including DC. The federal law known as H.R. 1 now adds new rules that the Maryland Department of Health says reach up to 320,000 members, so check your mail from Medicaid closely.

From October 1, 2026, asylees, refugees, people paroled for at least a year and certain abuse or trafficking victims no longer qualify. Green card holders who meet the five-year rule still do. Pregnant people of any immigration status stay covered through the Healthy Babies Program.

From January 1, 2027, some adults must show 80 hours in a month spent working, volunteering, in job training or in school, or earn at least $580 a month. Some will also have to renew coverage every six months. The health department names these groups as ones who may not need to meet the hours rule:

• Children under age 19
• Adults age 65 or older
• Pregnant individuals
• People living with disabilities
• Caregivers of young children
• People managing serious health conditions

Medicaid rules that hold in every state are in our Medicaid program guide.

The Homeowners' Tax Credit limits property tax to a share of household income, which cannot top $60,000, and ignores tax on any assessed value above $300,000. Net worth must be under $200,000, not counting the home or retirement accounts. Social Security counts as income here even though it is not taxed.

File by October 1, but filing and qualifying by April 15 puts the credit straight on your tax bill. Later approvals arrive as a revised bill, or as a refund from your county or city if you already paid. Applications can be filed online through Maryland OneStop.

The Renters' Tax Credit treats 15% of your yearly rent as property tax and pays back the part above a limit set by income, up to $1,000, by check from the State Treasury. It is open to renters 60 or older or 100% disabled, and to younger renters with a child under 18 at home and no housing subsidy or public housing.

For younger renters, combined 2025 household income had to be under $26,650 for three people or $32,150 for four. Renters must live in the unit at least six months a year, and a unit owned by a tax-exempt group does not count. Both credits are due October 1; SDAT's renters line is 410-767-5915.

Maryland's Office of Home Energy Programs (OHEP) pays separate grants for separate bills. MEAP helps with heating bills and pays the fuel supplier or utility directly. EUSP is the electric grant, paid once per program year, with budget billing optional.

OHEP takes applications all year, but the program year runs July 1 to June 30 and you must reapply each year. For fiscal year 2027, monthly gross income limits start at $2,660 for one person and reach $5,500 for a household of four.

Apply online at MarylandBenefits, by phone, by mail, through a drop box at a local office, or in person. Bring photo ID, proof of residency, Social Security cards for the household, the last 30 days of gross income, and your utility and heating bills. Call 1-800-332-6347 to request a paper form.

How federal LIHEAP money flows to state programs like OHEP is covered in our LIHEAP program guide.

A veteran whose VA rating is 100% service connected, permanent and total can be exempt from real property tax on the house and surrounding yard. Disabled active-duty members, some un-remarried surviving spouses and the spouse of a service member killed on duty may also qualify.

These veterans and spouses can apply at any time; the September 1 filing deadline does not bind them. The Department of Veterans and Military Families (DVMF) can speed up verification of the VA rating through its service program office in Baltimore.

On income tax, military retirees under 55 at year end can subtract up to $12,500 of military retirement pay, and those 55 or older up to $20,000. Social Security checks and Railroad Retirement payments are left out of Maryland income tax entirely.

Every SNAP applicant in Maryland must complete an interview. You can file online at MarylandBenefits, so the account you open for energy help works here too, or send the application by mail or fax.

Income tests, Independence Card questions and claims for stolen benefits are on a separate page, so we do not repeat them here.

Income limits, the application steps and EBT timing are in our Maryland food stamps guide.