Maryland Saves Program Effective For Tax Year 2024
November 8, 2023
In 2016, the Maryland legislature passed Senate Bill 1007 establishing the Maryland Small Business Retirement Savings Program (Maryland Saves Program). Under the terms of the program, substantially all businesses registered in the State of Maryland as of January 1, 2021 or earlier are impacted in one of the following ways:
Scenario 1 – The business has at least one employee who receives an annual W-2 (or is a sole proprietorship) and does not currently offer any type of retirement plan.
Under the law, businesses in this scenario are required to either implement a retirement plan OR enroll in the Maryland Saves Program. Under current law there is no penalty for noncompliance, however, the State of Maryland will waive the 2024 $300 annual report and personal property return filing fee for all businesses that enroll in the Maryland Saves program. If your business fits in this scenario, please reach out to your MSWS team member for further information and guidance.
Scenario 2 – The business has at least one employee who receives an annual W-2 (or is a sole proprietorship) and currently offers a retirement plan to its employees.
Businesses in this scenario are required to certify their compliance with the Maryland law by virtue of the already existing retirement plan. The certification must be done annually and should be done via the Maryland Saves Program website using the following link: https://www.marylandsaves.org/claim-exemption/
By certifying your compliance with the Maryland law your business will be eligible to receive a waiver of the 2024 $300 annual report and personal property return filing fee. Therefore, we recommend that all businesses under Scenario 2 complete the certification online. The certification must be completed by December 1, 2023 in order to receive the $300 fee waiver.
Scenario 3 – The business has at least one employee who receives an annual W-2 (or is a sole proprietorship) and is already enrolled in and participating in the Maryland Saves Program.
Businesses in this scenario do not need to take any further action and will automatically receive the waiver of the $300 2024 annual report and personal property return filing fee.
Scenario 4 – The business does not have employees who receive an annual W-2, and is not a sole proprietorship.
New for this year, businesses in this scenario are not eligible for the waiver of the $300 2024 annual report and personal property return filing fee. Businesses in this scenario do not need to take any further action.
If you have questions or need assistance in determining which scenario applies to your business, please reach out to your MSWS team
member for further information and guidance.
