In Maryland the yearly filing has a long name: Form 1, the Annual Report and Business Personal Property Return. It is two duties in one. The report part keeps the company on the register, and the property return part lists business property for assessment. Both go to the State Department of Assessments and Taxation, SDAT, through Maryland Business Express.
This page walks through the date, the steps and the cost of missing it. The Maryland office guide has the search, fees and phone numbers for SDAT.
Who files Form 1
Companies on SDAT's register file Form 1 each year to stay in good standing. That covers Maryland LLCs and corporations. A company formed in another state that is registered in Maryland also has a right to do business here that can be forfeited, so it needs to keep its filings current too.
The April 15 deadline, worked through
The due date is April 15 every year. The only twist is the weekend rule. When April 15 falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the deadline moves to the Monday after.
So a year in which the 15th lands on a Saturday gives you until Monday the 17th. In a year when it lands on a Wednesday, the Wednesday is the last day. Put the date in your calendar in January, since the personal property part asks for figures you may need time to gather.
| When it is due | April 15 each year (next Monday if it falls on a weekend). Filed on Form 1 through Maryland Business Express. (dat.maryland.gov, checked ) |
|---|---|
| If you file late | Failure to file leads to forfeiture of the Maryland charter or right to do business. Late personal property returns carry a penalty of 1/10 of 1 percent of the county assessment plus interest. (dat.maryland.gov, checked ) |
| Where to file | businessexpress.maryland.gov (businessexpress.maryland.gov, checked ) |
Filing on Maryland Business Express, step by step
- Open Maryland Business Express.
- Find your company by its SDAT Department ID, which is the quickest match, or by name.
- Start Form 1 for the current year.
- Complete the annual report section, then the business personal property section.
- Review, submit and keep the confirmation SDAT gives you.
SDAT has its own Form 1 instructions each year. Read them before you start, as they set out which property must be listed.
Fee
SDAT changed how Form 1 is charged, and we could not confirm the current amounts on its own pages. Rather than guess, we leave the fee out. Check the Form 1 instructions or the fee page on Maryland Business Express before you file.
Late penalties and Maryland status
Two different things go wrong when Form 1 is late. On the property side, a late return carries a penalty of one tenth of one percent of the county assessment, plus interest. On the register side, the company drops to Not in Good Standing. If it stays that way, the charter of a Maryland company, or the right to do business of an out-of-state one, is forfeited.
Every status word Maryland uses is explained in our Maryland office guide.
Forfeited is the status to avoid. It means the company has lost its standing to operate, not just that a filing is overdue.
Checking that it was received
After you file, search your company in the Business Entity Search by name, Department ID or EIN. A company with every document and fee received shows Good Standing. If you need a document to prove it, order a Certificate of Good Standing from SDAT once the record is current. For the wider picture, see our annual report deadlines by state.
Sources
- dat.maryland.gov/SDAT%20Forms/PPR_Forms/2025_Form1_Instructions.pdf: report due date, late penalty. Checked .
- businessexpress.maryland.gov/: online filing. Checked .