Zuryna Livermore: Hey friends.
Welcome back to Baltimore
County Unfiltered.
I'm your host and favorite marketing
project manager, girly Zuryna.
And you guys know on Baltimore County,
unfiltered, we keep it real about
what's happening in our very own
backyard and how it affects our money,
our business, and our everyday life.
Today's episode is important if you
run a service-based business here in
Maryland, especially if that business
is in the digital marketing, tech
or creative services space, you're
gonna wanna hear this information.
So get your notebooks
out, get your phone ready.
Here's the headline.
As of July 1st, 2025, Maryland
has started taxing certain digital
and tech-based services at 3%.
Yes, the law changed quietly,
but the impact could be major.
So let's talk about what's happening.
Who this law impact who's getting taxed?
I did my due diligence, you guys, and
that means I went to the WBAL website,
Baltimore Banner, Fox 45, Google.
I went to the comptroller
website and I wanted to know
the who, what, when, where, and why.
And then I wanted to break it
down to what this means for you
and what we should be doing next.
So first things first.
Who's getting taxed?
If your business offers things like
web hosting, cloud storage, SEO,
and webpage designs, or software as
service subscriptions, or anything
that looks like data processing or
software publishing, then you're
now legally required to collect and
remit 3% sales tax on those services.
The state of Maryland is using
N-A-I-C-S codes, 5 18 5 19 5 4 1 5
and 5 1 3 2 to define what's taxable.
I know you don't need to memorize those
codes, but what you do need to do is
look into whether or not your services
fall under things like application
hosting, cloud computing, computer
system design, or information services
like search engines, digital archives,
or even subscription based tools.
I know your head spinning.
Take a deep breath with me.
No, for
realte.
Okay, so what if your
business isn't tech focused?
What does this mean for you?
Here's the tricky part.
This new tax code is not about what your
business is classified as, it's more
about the actual services you're selling.
So even if you're a marketing agency,
freelancer or virtual assistant,
but you offer something like webpage
design, cloud-based campaign tools
or performance-based services.
You still might be on the
hook for this sales tax.
Now, you might be asking, are
there any exemptions for this?
And there are a few.
One being if you're a nonprofit with
a Maryland issue exemption card, or if
you're certain tech companies in special
innovation zones like the University
of Maryland Discovery District, also
resellers who can prove that they're
not using the services themselves,
but most of us regular service
providers, yep, we gotta pay that 3%.
Now I'm all about action items.
I never wanna give you problems,
but not give you a solution
so what should you do now?
First things first.
Review your offerings, your services,
and check to see if they fall
under these new taxable services.
Number two, update your client invoices.
I love making a templated style, change.
So if you already have invoices
that are ready to go, make sure you
just add that 3% sales tax if it
applies to the services you offer.
Next.
You wanna make sure you keep good
records, especially for those tax
exempt clients, because, I'd rather
have the information and not need
it than to need it and not have it.
So that's always my rule of thumb.
The last thing, probably the most
important thing, because you guys
know, I love making sure you have the
right people, processes, and tools.
This is a human tool.
But talk to your accountant or
your bookkeeper as soon as possible
so you can make sure that you're
compliant and that you set yourself
up for success in the future.
So, moral of the story.
What does this mean?
What is my take?
What is my forrest through
the tree view of this?
I personally think this is Maryland's way
of catching up with the digital economy.
And if you're not collecting the tax,
then you might be eating it out of
your own profits and let's not do that.
Honestly, I'll be keeping an eye on how
all of this pans out, and if you want a
cheat sheet of what services are taxable
or you need help breaking it down for your
business, I'll be sure to include all of
the resources that I found in the episode.
Show notes, and I'll include
them on my Instagram.
So be sure to follow me at
Operations Unfiltered or at Lady
Z says, for all the details.
Thank you so much for tuning
into this quick episode of
Baltimore County Unfiltered.
As a reminder, I do have full length
episodes of Operations Unfiltered, the
podcast that takes you behind the scenes
of influencer and talent management.
That is also available on Apple, Spotify,
YouTube, wherever you get your podcast.
I'd love to have you join my crew.
With that said, have a great rest
of your week and I'll see you for
next Baltimore County Unfiltered.