What is the Maryland cigarette tax per pack?

Maryland charges a state excise tax of $3.75 per pack of 20 cigarettes. This is well above many neighboring states such as Virginia, which is a key reason cross-border cigarette buying is a persistent enforcement issue in Maryland.

How much is Maryland's alcohol excise tax?

Maryland taxes alcohol per gallon at the wholesale level: about $0.09 per gallon of beer, $0.40 per gallon of wine, and $1.50 per gallon of distilled spirits. There is also a separate 9% alcoholic beverage sales tax at retail, which this tool can include.

Why is Maryland alcohol tax structured per gallon?

Excise taxes are volume-based so they apply at the wholesale or distribution stage regardless of price. A gallon is the standard federal and state unit. Beer is taxed lowest, wine higher, and spirits highest, reflecting alcohol content.

Does Maryland have a separate alcohol sales tax?

Yes. Alcoholic beverages sold at retail in Maryland are subject to a 9% sales tax, higher than the standard 6% sales tax on most goods. This is layered on top of the per-gallon excise that is built into the wholesale price.

Is the cigarette or alcohol tax included in the shelf price?

The per-pack and per-gallon excise taxes are paid by wholesalers and embedded in the shelf price, so you do not see them as a separate line. The 9% alcohol sales tax, by contrast, is usually added at the register on top of the listed price.

Maryland Cigarette & Alcohol Tax Calculator

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Maryland imposes some of the higher tobacco and alcohol excise taxes in the region. This calculator shows the excise tax built into a quantity of cigarettes or alcohol, plus the optional 9% retail alcohol sales tax.

How it works

For cigarettes, Maryland charges a flat per-pack excise:

cigaretteTax = packs × $3.75

For alcohol, the excise is volume-based, charged per gallon at different rates by beverage type:

beer    = gallons × $0.09
wine    = gallons × $0.40
spirits = gallons × $1.50

If you enable the retail alcohol sales tax, the tool adds Maryland’s 9% rate to the pre-tax retail price you enter:

salesTax = retailPrice × 9%

The per-gallon excise is paid by wholesalers and embedded in shelf prices, while the 9% sales tax is added at the register.

Example

A case of 24 twelve-ounce beers is 24 × 12 = 288 fluid ounces, or 2.25 gallons. At $0.09 per gallon the embedded beer excise is about $0.20. A 750 ml bottle of spirits is 0.198 gallons, carrying roughly $0.30 of state excise — but at retail the 9% alcohol sales tax on a $25 bottle adds $2.25.

Notes

The largest visible alcohol tax in Maryland is the 9% retail sales tax, not the modest per-gallon excise. For cigarettes the $3.75 per-pack tax dominates and drives notable cross-border price differences. Rates can change by legislation; confirm current figures with the Comptroller of Maryland.