Maryland FAMLI first quarterly report and payment: due Apr 30, 2027, for wages paid Jan 1 to Mar 31, 2027

Short answer, as of October 8, 2026: Your first FAMLI quarterly wage and hour report and your first payment are both due Apr 30, 2027. They cover "wages paid January 1 – March 31, 2027" (FAMLI Division, reports page). The rate is 0.9% of wages up to the Social Security wage base: 0.45% employer and 0.45% employee. An employer with fewer than 15 employees remits 50%, the employee half only. You file and pay online in your FAMLI account.

The 2027 due dates

The next-business-day rule covers the payment only. The regulation says the report is "due on or before the quarterly contribution payment due date". File the report on or before Jul 31, 2027 and Oct 31, 2027. Add the dates to your to-do list.

Before the first report

1. Register in the FAMLI account. Registration opened to all employers on September 1, 2026.
2. Give the written notice one pay period before deductions begin. See Employee notices.
3. Start withholding on wages paid on or after January 1, 2027 (Contributions FAQ, April 2026, Q15). The Governor's release of Sep 1, 2026 calls this "the first pay period in January 2027". A January 2027 paycheck for December 2026 work is covered.
4. Keep payroll records for each employee. The State calls the report a Quarterly Wage and Hour Report.
5. Count all employees under your EIN, inside and outside Maryland. Contractors do not count.

How to file and pay

The State lists three ways to file. All three are inside the FAMLI account.

1. Sign in to the FAMLI account.
2. Submit the wage and hour report for the quarter.
3. Fill in the "Total employee headcount": every employee paid in the quarter, in Maryland and elsewhere (the same number on every row for your EIN). It is how the State collects the out-of-state count.
4. Read the amount due. The system "calculates and displays the contribution amount due" after you submit the report.
5. Pay on or before the due date. The reports page says: "Contributions must be paid on or before the quarterly due date to avoid penalties and interest."

You can file an amended report within 1 year of the first due date (COMAR 09.42.02.08F). To check the amount before you file, use the FAMLI tax calculator.

The small-employer test in 2027

In 2027 the Division tests employer size each quarter from the quarterly report. "If you have fewer than 15 employees for the quarter, you will qualify for the lower rate that quarter." From 2028 the Division uses the average of the quarters of the previous calendar year. The State's QWHR file guide (updated July 29, 2026) says that if the "Total employee headcount" field "is not filled out, the EIN will not be eligible for the small employer status"; under COMAR 09.42.02.08D an employer that leaves the out-of-state employee count off its report "will be deemed to not be a small employer" (COMAR 09.42.02.08). Details are in the under-15 guide.

The wage cap

Contributions stop at the Social Security wage base. The 2026 base is $184,500 (Social Security Administration notice, Federal Register, Nov 3, 2025). Maryland's 2027 contributions use the 2027 base. As of September 18, 2026, the Social Security Administration had not announced the 2027 base. This site does not print a projection.

Missed deductions

COMAR 09.42.02.07 says an employer that does not deduct "is considered to have elected to pay the employee's portion". The employer "may not recoup the employee share attributable to a past pay cycle on future pay cycles". One exception exists. Within the next 6 pay cycles you can recoup the share if there were "insufficient paycheck funds due to other required federal, state and local withholdings that take precedence". A forgotten deduction is not in the exception.

If you filed a Declaration of Intent

An employer with an accepted Declaration of Intent collects from January 2027 but does not remit to the State. It holds the employer share and the employee share in escrow.

If you file or pay late

The rules are on the penalties and interest page.

This is a private website, not a government site. General information, not legal, tax or insurance advice. Official site: paidleave.maryland.gov.