Maryland FAMLI: what employers owe starting January 1, 2027
UpcomingChecked November 8, 2026Run by Maryland Department of Labor, Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) Division
Short answer
Maryland’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program starts payroll contributions on January 1, 2027, at 0.9% of wages up to the Social Security wage base, split evenly between employer and employee; employers with fewer than 15 employees remit only the employee half. Employers report and pay the Maryland Department of Labor every quarter, first by April 30, 2027, and benefits begin January 1, 2028. Every employer with an employee based in Maryland must register at paidleave.maryland.gov, where registration opened September 1, 2026.
Next date: November 15, 2026: Last day to file a Declaration of Intent (DOI) for employers that plan to use a private plan and want to hold 2027 contributions in escrow instead of paying the State Plan.
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- Premium, share of wages
- 0.9%
- Most you may deduct from employees
- 0.45%
- Employer pays at least
- 0.45%
- Wages subject to premium, per employee
- $192,300
Employers with fewer than 15 employees don’t pay the employer half; they remit only the 0.45% employee share.
Maryland FAMLI premium calculator
In 2027, Maryland FAMLI premiums are 0.9% of each employee’s wages up to $192,300 a year. With 15 or more employees, employers may deduct up to 0.45% from pay and must cover the rest (at least 0.45%).
- Total premium a year
- $225.00
- Most you may deduct from employees
- $225.00
- Employer pays at least
- $0.00
Standard rates applied: 15 or more employees.
Small-employer rule applied: 14 or fewer employees. Employers with fewer than 15 employees don’t pay the employer half; they remit only the 0.45% employee share. Not tested here: an employer that leaves the total employee headcount field blank on any quarterly report in a year can’t get the discount the following year.
Assumes the full employee share is deducted. Employer size is tested on the number you enter here; each program counts employees its own way, and the page explains how.
Maryland FAMLI deadlines
· Paid leave
Contributions begin on wages paid: 0.9% of wages up to the Social Security wage base
Employers must give employees written notice at least one pay period before deductions start.
· Paid leave
Deadline to give all current employees the 2027 notice about benefits and how to file a claim
The same notice goes to anyone hired on or after this date.
· Paid leave
Second-quarter 2027 Quarterly Wage and Hour Report and contribution payment due
July 31 falls on a Saturday; the state treats a payment received the next business day as on time.
· Paid leave
Private plan application deadline for employers whose Declaration of Intent was accepted
An employer that doesn’t apply owes its 2027 contributions, plus any interest or penalties, to the state fund.
· Paid leave
Third-quarter 2027 Quarterly Wage and Hour Report and contribution payment due
October 31 falls on a Sunday; the state treats a payment received the next business day as on time.
· Paid leave
Deadline for the Maryland Department of Labor to set the 2028 contribution rate
By law the total rate can’t exceed 1.2% of wages.
· Paid leave
First-quarter 2028 Quarterly Wage and Hour Report and contribution payment due
April 30 falls on a Sunday; the state treats a payment received the next business day as on time.
· Paid leave
Annual employee notice due
From July 1, 2028, employers give the benefits notice to every employee once a year.
Dates already passed (1)
- : Employer registration opens at paidleave.maryland.gov. Every employer with at least one Maryland-based employee must register, and the state urges employers to register as soon as possible.
What employers have to do
- Register at paidleave.maryland.gov. An authorized officer of the business, such as an owner, partner or corporate officer, must create the account and verify their identity through Login.gov. A payroll company, accountant or other Third-Party Agent (TPA) can’t register for you, but you can give one access afterward by signing a power of attorney. Each Employer Identification Number (EIN) gets one registration.
- Give every employee the written 2026 Required Employee Notice at least one pay period before deductions start in January 2027, and give it to each new hire. This applies even if you plan to cover the employee share yourself.
- From the first pay period of January 2027, withhold up to 0.45% of each employee’s wages. Employers with 15 or more employees add the 0.45% employer share.
- File the Quarterly Wage and Hour Report (wages and hours for each Maryland-based employee) and pay contributions online by the last day of the month after each quarter: April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31. The first is due April 30, 2027. Fill in the total employee headcount on every report if you want the small employer discount.
- By July 1, 2027, give all employees the 2027 notice about benefits and how to file a claim. After that, give it to new hires, to everyone once a year from July 1, 2028, and to any employee who asks for or needs qualifying leave.
Handling Maryland FAMLI in payroll
The free route: register directly with the state
When the program is open to you, you can register and report on your own through Maryland Department of Labor, Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) Division. Once it starts, your payroll will have to figure the premium on each paycheck and withhold any employee share.
Payroll systems with a help document covering Maryland FAMLI
| System | What the documentation says | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Gusto | Maryland tax article says FAMLI deductions do not start until January 1, 2027, that there is nothing to set up in Gusto yet, and that Gusto will add how deductions and filings work before they begin. Read their help doc, Nov 8, 2026 | See plans for Gusto |
| Patriot Software | Help article explains setting up Maryland FAMLI in Patriot payroll and says Patriot calculates contributions from the settings saved in the software. Read their help doc, Nov 7, 2026 | See plans for Patriot Software |
| QuickBooks Payroll | Help article covers Maryland FAMLI (contributions start January 1, 2027) with QuickBooks Desktop Payroll steps; it says QuickBooks Online Payroll steps are coming before that date. Read their help doc, Nov 7, 2026 | See plans for QuickBooks Payroll |
Listed alphabetically. We may earn a commission from these links; it never decides who’s listed.
How Maryland FAMLI works
The 2027 rate is 0.9% of each employee’s wages up to the Social Security wage base ($192,300 in 2027). Employers with 15 or more employees pay 0.45% and may withhold up to 0.45% from pay, or cover some or all of the employee share. Contributions are taken in the pay period the wages are paid; if a paycheck is too small to cover the full amount, the employer has up to six pay periods to collect it. The rate is set each year by November 1 for the next calendar year, starting in 2027, and can’t exceed 1.2%.
On an employee earning $50,000 a year in 2027, the 0.9% contribution is $450: $225 from the employer and up to $225 withheld from the employee. An employer with fewer than 15 employees pays nothing toward the employer half and remits only the employee’s $225, which it may withhold or choose to pay itself.
Starting January 1, 2028, employees based in Maryland who worked at least 680 hours in the four calendar quarters before their claim can get up to 12 weeks of paid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period, or up to 24 weeks if they have both their own serious health condition and a new child in the same year. Covered reasons are a new child, the worker’s own serious health condition, a family member’s serious health condition and a family member’s military deployment. Benefits replace up to 90% of wages, with a maximum of $1,000 a week through December 31, 2028; after that the maximum is adjusted for inflation each year.
Questions employers ask
Who has to follow Maryland FAMLI?
Every employer with at least one employee whose job is based in Maryland. There is no small-business exemption. An owner who is the business’s only employee, including the owner of an S corporation, isn’t treated as an employer and doesn’t register. Federal employees aren’t covered, and self-employed people will be able to opt in later.
Is there a small-employer rule?
Employers with fewer than 15 employees, counting workers in every state under the same Employer Identification Number (EIN), get the small employer discount: they don’t pay the employer half (0.45% in 2027) and remit only the employee half, which they may withhold from pay or cover themselves. They still register, file every quarterly report and give the required notices. In 2027 size is checked each quarter from that quarter’s report; from 2028 it is the average of the previous four quarters. The total employee headcount field on the quarterly report is optional, but an employer that leaves it blank on any report in a year can’t get the discount the following year.
What happens if an employer doesn’t comply?
If an employer doesn’t pay contributions, the Maryland Secretary of Labor can assess the amount due plus interest, add a penalty of up to twice the contributions withheld, and order an audit (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 8.3-903). Willfully refusing to pay, or deducting the employer’s share from employees’ wages, is prohibited (§ 8.3-901(c)), and a willful false statement about an employee’s claim can bring a civil penalty of up to $1,000 each time (§ 8.3-901(b)). After a complaint and investigation, an order can require lost wages and damages and add a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for each employee the employer has failed to cover as the law requires (§ 8.3-905).
Can employers use a private plan instead?
Allowed. Any employer can buy a commercial plan from an insurer. Self-insured plans are for employers with 50 or more employees, or smaller employers that already had their own qualifying plan in place by July 31, 2026. A private plan must give benefits at least equal to the State Plan’s; it can charge the employer more but can’t take more from employees than the State Plan would. To skip State Plan contributions in 2027, an employer must file a Declaration of Intent (DOI) between September 1 and November 15, 2026, with a proof-of-consultation form signed by a licensed insurance agent, keep 2027 contributions in a separate escrow account, and apply for the plan by October 1, 2027; applications open in summer 2027. Private-plan employers still file quarterly reports, also send claims data, and must stay on a plan for at least a year.
Everything employers in Maryland must do ·Paid leave in every state
Sources
- Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. §§ 8.3-101 to 8.3-1001; COMAR 09.42
- Paid family and medical leave is coming to Maryland (benefits start January 1, 2028; up to $1,000 a week), Maryland Department of Labor, FAMLI Division (read Nov 7, 2026)
- For employers (registration duty, reporting from April 2027, notices, small employers, sole owners), Maryland Department of Labor, FAMLI Division (read Nov 7, 2026)
- Make contributions (0.9% rate for 2027, 50/50 split, small employer discount, quarterly schedule, first payment April 30, 2027), Maryland Department of Labor, FAMLI Division (read Nov 7, 2026)
- Submit quarterly reports (due dates; payment on the next business day is timely when the due date falls on a weekend or holiday), Maryland Department of Labor, FAMLI Division (read Nov 7, 2026)
- Understand employer registration (authorized officer, Login.gov, one registration per EIN, Third-Party Agents), Maryland Department of Labor, FAMLI Division (read Nov 7, 2026)
- Understand your plan (private plans, Declaration of Intent window September 1 to November 15, 2026, application deadline October 1, 2027), Maryland Department of Labor, FAMLI Division (read Nov 7, 2026)
- FAMLI Policy Guidance E-26-005: Required Employee Notice Template, Schedule, and Instructions (issued November 4, 2026), Maryland Department of Labor, FAMLI Division (read Nov 7, 2026)
- FAMLI Policy Guidance E-26-002: Small Employers (issued September 18, 2026), Maryland Department of Labor, FAMLI Division (read Nov 8, 2026)
- FAMLI Frequently Asked Questions (680-hour eligibility, 90% wage replacement, 12 and 24 weeks), Maryland Department of Labor, FAMLI Division (read Nov 7, 2026)
- Governor Moore Announces Employer Registration for Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Is Live (September 1, 2026), Maryland Department of Labor (read Nov 7, 2026)
- Chapter 363, 2025 Laws of Maryland (House Bill 102): contributions moved from July 1, 2025 to January 1, 2027; benefits moved from July 1, 2026 to a date set by the Secretary, no later than January 3, 2028, Maryland General Assembly (read Nov 7, 2026)
- Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 8.3-701 (claims begin on a date set by the Secretary, no later than January 3, 2028), Maryland General Assembly (read Nov 7, 2026)
- Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 8.3-903 (failure to pay contributions); see also §§ 8.3-901 and 8.3-905, Maryland General Assembly (read Nov 7, 2026)
- Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 8.3-905 (complaints, orders, civil penalty up to $1,000 per employee), Maryland General Assembly (read Nov 7, 2026)
- 2026 Regular Session legislation list (no 2026 bill amends Title 8.3), Maryland General Assembly (read Nov 7, 2026)
- Cost-of-Living Increase and Other Determinations for 2027 (contribution and benefit base: $192,300 for 2027), FR Doc. 2026-21796, Social Security Administration (Federal Register) (read Nov 7, 2026)