Maryland’s Comptroller Announces Taxpayer Services Phone Access to End at Close of Business March 23, 2020

Taxpayer Services Phone Access to End at Close of Business Today
Taxpayers can email questions; Longer response times expected

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (March 23, 2020) – In order to protect employees’ health while serving the needs of Maryland taxpayers, Comptroller Peter Franchot today announced that Taxpayer Services call center agents will no longer be staffing the 1-800-MD-TAXES phone lines following the close of business at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, March 23, 2020. Taxpayers must email their tax questions to taxhelp@marylandtaxes.gov. Response times may be affected as limited staff will be focused on processing tax returns and issuing refunds.

“For many Marylanders who are financially struggling to survive this crisis, their tax refunds will be a huge relief, so we want our very limited on-site workforce remaining to prioritize getting that money to them as quickly as possible,” said Comptroller Franchot. “By extending the filing and payment deadline for individual and corporate income taxes to July 15, as well as postponing most business tax payments until June 1, we’ve given taxpayers extra breathing room and allowed our staff to continue answering taxpayer questions without having to report to state offices.”

Essential employees will concentrate on processing income tax returns and issuing refunds as quickly as possible. All mission critical staff who are reporting to their offices must take all necessary public health precautions, including wellness screenings upon entry, proper sanitation at all times and spatial distancing between workers.