Assistance Programs

Below is a collection of the programs offered to assist taxpayers in achieving tax compliance.

The Comptroller of Maryland's Voluntary Disclosure Agreement ("VDA") Programs

A tax collector may waive interest and penalty for reasonable cause. Each account will be reviewed to verify that all criteria have been met. For example, no abatement will be considered if you are not current with your tax filings.

In cases where the taxpayer is unable to pay the tax in full and all other efforts to resolve the liability have been unsuccessful, the account may be referred to the Comptroller's Case Review Board for resolution.

The Offer in Compromise Program allows you to settle your tax debt for less than the full amount you owe. It may be a legitimate option if you can't pay your full tax liability or doing so creates a financial hardship. The Offer in Compromise program can be used for all taxes administered by the Comptroller including the Admissions and Amusement Tax, Income Tax, Sales and Use Tax and Withholding Tax.

Eligibility Requirements

In order to apply for this program you must meet all of the following eligibility requirements:

  • You have incurred a delinquent tax liability that has resulted in an assessment.
  • You have declined to pursue or exhausted all avenues of administrative appeal. You cannot make an offer in compromise if there is any issue currently under appeal.
  • Two years must have passed since you became liable for the tax.
  • You must have filed all returns required to be filed with the Comptroller's Office or have been assessed by the Comptroller's office for not filing a required tax return.
  • You must not be currently involved in an open bankruptcy proceeding.
  • For taxes owed by a business or the officers of the business, the business must be closed.
  • You are unlikely to be able to make payment in full any time in the foreseeable future due to your financial situation. You either are without resources or unable to apply present and/or future resources to paying the outstanding tax liability.

Offer in Compromise Program FAQs

To apply, please see Offer in Compromise Forms and Instructions below.

For more information about the Offer in Compromise Program, e-mail us at cdoic@marylandtaxes.gov or call 410-767-1555 or 1-888-674-0020.

Please verify that you satisfy all of the eligibility requirements above before completing the required forms.

When you complete Form MD 656, you should address all of the reasons you believe you cannot, or should not, pay the full amount due. You should offer an amount you are able to pay. A mere unwillingness to pay will not excuse you. We will consider the following circumstances when deciding whether or not to accept your offer in compromise:

  • Doubt as to liability:If you believe you don't owe the amount due, you must include with Form MD 656 a detailed explanation of the reason(s) you believe you do not owe the tax.
  • Insufficient resources:If you don't have enough assets or income to pay the full amount, you must include with Form MD 656 a complete financial statement, Form MD 433-A.
  • Economic or other hardship:If you have enough assets to pay the full amount, but believe that because of your exceptional circumstances requiring full payment would cause an economic hardship or would be unfair and inequitable, you must include with Form MD 656 a complete financial statement, Form MD 433-A.

Forms: Offer in Compromise

Collection Information Statement


Please submit forms MD 656 and MD 433-A electronically to cdoic@marylandtaxes.gov or by mail to:

Offer in Compromise Program
Comptroller of Maryland
301 West Preston Street, Room 203
Baltimore, Maryland 21201

For more information about the Offer in Compromise Program, email us at cdoic@marylandtaxes.gov or call 410-767-1555 from Central Maryland or 1-888-674-0020 from elsewhere.

The forms contained in these pages are in the ADOBE .PDF format (Portable Document Format). You must have version 3.0 or higher of the ADOBE Acrobat Reader program to view and print these forms. ADOBE Acrobat Reader is available for free online. These forms also have been formatted with a fill-in feature that allows you to type information into them on your computer and then print out a paper copy. If you are having problems viewing ADOBE.PDF files, please view our special instructions.

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PDF for Windows

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Occasionally, .PDF files such as tax forms, worksheets, and instructions may not open automatically in your Internet browser. If you encounter this problem, you must first download and save the file to your computer before viewing it. Upon saving the file to your hard drive, you may view the file by opening it with the Adobe Acrobat Reader software.

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  3. Click TAB key, while still holding down the COMMAND key, until the selector lands on "Finder" 
  4. Release the COMMAND and TAB keys.
  5. Click on the "Go" menu at the top of the screen.
  6. Select "Go to folder" 
  7. Copy and paste the folder path into the pop-up window: "/Library/Internet Plug-ins".  A new folder window will open, showing a list of all the browser plug-ins installed.  You should see one, or more files with, AdobePDFViewer. Sort alphabetically if you need to.
  8. Drag the old Adobe plug-ins into the Trash
  9. Quit and restart Safari
  10. Try opening a PDF in Safari again and yes, it should work, using Safari's own "native" PDF reader.

Using the newest Adobe PDF Viewer Plug-in in Safari:

Tax Forms Containing 2-D Barcodes

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