502CR: Maryland Personal Income Tax Credits for Individuals (2025)
Maryland · Comptroller of Maryland · Used for tax years 2025
Maryland Form 502CR is used to calculate and claim income tax credits for individuals and is attached to your tax return. It includes credits for income taxes paid to other states and localities, child and dependent care expenses, long-term care insurance, and other listed expens
Who files this form
Use 2025 Form 502CR to claim the personal income tax credits listed on the form. Attach it to your Maryland income tax return. Eligibility depends on the credit you claim.
- Individuals may use the form for qualifying credits, including child and dependent care expenses, qualifying teacher tuition, long-term care insurance, senior taxpayers, and certain donations.
- Resident fiduciaries may use Form 502CR only for credits for income taxes paid to other states or localities and for preservation and conservation easements.
- Maryland residents who paid income tax to another state may qualify for the other-state tax credit. Nonresidents are not eligible for that credit.
- Pass-through entity (PTE) members must use Form 500CR, rather than Form 502CR, for the preservation and conservation easements, Community Investment, Endow Maryland, and Maryland historically Black colleges and universities endowment credits.
When it's due
- 2025 Student Loan Debt Relief Tax Credit: Submit the certification application to the Maryland Higher Education Commission by September 15. The text states this deadline applies each year.
The supplied text does not give a general filing due date for the 2025 Form 502CR.
What you'll need
Have your Maryland return and the names and Social Security numbers shown on that return available. Additional documents depend on the credit:
- Taxes paid to another state or locality: Attach a completed, signed copy of the return filed there. A W-2 alone is not enough.
- Child and dependent care expenses: Use the federal credit amount from federal Form 2441 and your federal adjusted gross income from Form 502.
- Quality Teacher Incentive: Have the tuition paid, institution names, employer information, and tuition reimbursement amounts available.
- Long-term care insurance: Have each qualifying insured person's name, Social Security number, age, relationship to you, and premiums paid available.
- Credits requiring certification: Attach the required approval or certification for Community Investment, Endow Maryland, health care preceptors, Independent Living, Maryland historically Black colleges and universities endowments, Student Loan Debt Relief, and Maryland Historic Revitalization.
- IRC Section 1341 Repayment Credit: Attach documentation supporting the credit.
How to file
- Enter your name and Social Security number as shown on your Maryland return. If printing by hand, use blue or black ink.
- Complete the applicable credit parts and summaries. The form says you must complete and submit pages 1 through 4 to receive the listed credits.
- Transfer the summary amounts to the return lines identified on Form 502CR.
- Attach Form 502CR and required supporting documents to your annual return, Form 502, 504, 505, or 515.
Electronic filing: The instructions require electronic filing of Form 500CR to claim business income tax credits other than Community Investment and Endow Maryland. Your income tax return must also be filed electronically to claim the refundable business credits listed in Part CC, line 3.
Independent Living credit: File an amended return for the year the qualified expenses were incurred and attach the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development certification.
The supplied text does not provide a mailing address for filing Form 502CR.
Common mistakes
- Using W-2 withholding to calculate the other-state credit. Use the taxable income and income tax calculated on the return filed with the other state instead.
- Leaving out the state code. Part A requires the two-letter state code for the credit to be allowed.
- Including income not taxable in Maryland. Part A asks only for income taxable in both Maryland and the other state.
- Claiming a part-year resident credit on excluded nonresident income. Do not claim credit for tax paid on nonresident income included on Form 502, line 12.
- Claiming long-term care credit again. This is a one-time credit. A “yes” answer to any of Part E's four eligibility questions means that insured person does not qualify.
- Claiming the same credit on two forms. Do not claim Community Investment, Endow Maryland, or the Maryland historically Black colleges and universities endowment credit on both Form 500CR and Form 502CR.
- Missing the Endow Maryland income adjustment. The donation amount on Part I, line 2 requires an addition to income.
Questions people ask
What if I paid income tax to more than one state?
Complete a separate Form 502CR for each state. Add the amounts from Part A, line 17 of each form and enter the total on Part AA, line 1 of one summary Form 502CR. Do the same with Part A, line 18, entering that total on Part BB, line 1.
Are all Form 502CR credits refundable?
No. Parts AA and BB summarize nonrefundable credits. Amounts exceeding the applicable state or local tax are not refunded. Part CC reports refundable credits.
Can I carry unused credits forward?
The instructions allow carryforwards for preservation and conservation easements, Community Investment, Endow Maryland, and Maryland historically Black colleges and universities endowment credits. The carryforward rules differ by credit. Other nonrefundable credits cannot be carried forward.
How much is the long-term care insurance credit?
For an eligible insured person, the credit is the lesser of premiums paid or the age-based limit. For tax year 2025, the limit is $480 if the insured person is age 40 or younger on December 31, 2025, or $500 if older than 40 on that date. This is a one-time credit.