MW507, Employee’s Maryland Withholding Exemption Certificate, is the state withholding form for employees to tell their employers how much state income tax to withhold from their wages.
Though the purpose of MW507 is the same, the form is entirely different. It’s essentially Form W-4 but for Maryland state income tax. In a way, MW 507 is the previous version of Form W-4 adjusted for Maryland state income tax, with the exemptions still being apparent on the form.
If you filed Form W-4 prior to the changes in 2024, you’d have no problems with filling out the MW507.
MW507 PDF
Below, you can get the online PDF version of MW507 to let your employer know the necessary information to accurately withhold Maryland state income taxes. You can also get the instructions to file and some helpful information about MW507 under the form.
MW507 instructions to file
The first part of MW507 is made up of instructions and some general information about the form. Do not enter anything on this part and skip to the bottom of the document.
In order, you’ll enter the following.
- Full name
- Address
- Social Security Number
- County of residence
If you’re a nonresident working in Maryland, you can enter Maryland county or Baltimore City.
Once entering your personal information, move on to the next part of the form.
Use the second page of the form, the personal exemptions worksheet, to determine the number of exemptions you claim. This is crucial and works similarly to the allowances once claimed on the federal tax withholding form for employees.
You will use your adjusted gross income to calculate the number of exemptions to claim, and ultimately, to determine the rate of Maryland state income tax withholding. After figuring out the number of exemptions to claim, enter the number on Line 1.
If you want/need to withhold extra tax from your paycheck every pay period, enter it on Line 2. However, this must be in agreement with your employer. Although your employer probably won’t have any issues taking extra from your paycheck for state income taxes, it’s best to ask beforehand as the state requires it to be an agreement.
The rest of the form from lines 3 through 8 is for claiming exempt status from Maryland state income taxes. There are several reasons you can claim an exemption from Maryland tax withholdings, and it must be stated under the correct reason and written EXEMPT on the corresponding line.
You can claim exempt status for the following reasons on MW507.
- You don’t expect to owe Maryland income tax.
- You are domiciled in DC, Virginia, or West Virginia.
- You are domiciled in Pennsylvania and don’t maintain a residence in Maryland.
- You live in Pennysylvania jurisdiction within York or Adams.
- You live in a Pennysylvania jurisdiction that doesn’t tax on Maryland residents.
- You live in a different state and aren’t subject to Maryland income taxes.
After completing these parts, sign the document and enter today’s date. Then, give it to your employer to complete the rest of the parts: name, address, and EIN.
MW507 example
Here is what a completed MW507 looks for reference.