MD 30-Day Gas Tax Holiday to End Saturday Night
Comptroller Peter Franchot today reminds Marylanders that the 30-day state gas tax holiday ends at 11:59 p.m., on Saturday, April 16. At midnight on Sunday, April 17, all retail motor fuel purchases, whether gas or diesel, will be subject to state taxation. Motorists are encouraged to fill up in advance of Saturday evening to avoid a rush on gas stations before the holiday ends.
As gas prices soared past $4 a gallon in early March due in part to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Comptroller Franchot called for a 90-day gas tax holiday to provide relief for motorists. The Maryland General Assembly passed legislation to suspend the state tax on gas and diesel fuel for 30 days, which Governor Larry Hogan signed into law on March 18. Legislators declined to extend the 30-day holiday before they adjourned this week.
“A 90-day state gas tax holiday would have provided more substantial savings to hardworking Marylanders trying to make ends meet with everyday costs rising due to inflation,” said Comptroller Franchot, whose agency regulates motor fuel. “It’s great that we were the first state to enact a gas tax holiday, but it’s distressing that we’re also the first state to let it expire when we have such a huge surplus that could have easily absorbed a longer holiday.”
Maryland has reported $7.5 billion in unanticipated revenues in the last 18 months, thanks largely to a wave of federal pandemic aid and higher-than-expected sales and income tax revenues. During the one-month holiday, an estimated $100 million was put back into Marylanders’ wallets.
Comptroller Franchot implemented the gas tax holiday March 18, immediately after it was signed into law. During the 30-day period, sales of regular gas and diesel products did not include the 36.1-cent-per-gallon state motor fuel tax or the 36.85-cent-per-gallon diesel fuel tax. The Comptroller’s Office worked with industry leaders and the state’s roughly 2,300 gas stations to encourage them to lower their prices so that motorists would realize the savings in full. Most station owners changed their prices immediately or as soon as they were made aware of the law taking effect.
As the 30-day holiday comes to an end, the law requires any person or entity holding untaxed motor fuel for sale who is not authorized to maintain untaxed fuel products to take inventory when the tax-free period expires.
By May 16, 2022, those holders must submit Form 779 (April 2022) Maryland Motor Fuel Tax Inventory Tax Adjustment and pay the tax owed on untaxed fuel that was not sold during the tax-free period. This form, as well as a separate form for motor fuel businesses with multiple locations, can also be found on the Comptroller’s website under the Gas Tax tab.
Anyone holding tax paid inventory for sale at the beginning of the tax-free period who qualified for a refund advance is reminded that the deadline for submitting the application for the refund advance is May 2. More information about the refund advance, including frequently asked questions, also can be found at Comptroller’s website under the Gas Tax tab.
