Property tax in Caroline County, Maryland

By Brent Chudoba, editor Updated September 23, 2026

The median property tax bill in Caroline County, Maryland is $2,619 a year, which is about 0.9% of the county's median home value of $290,100. That effective rate is about the same as the typical Maryland county (0.9%) and higher than the national median (0.81%). These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024); your own bill depends on your home's assessed value and any exemptions.

Estimate the property tax on a home in Caroline County

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Caroline County's average effective rate of 0.9% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.

Home market value

Estimated property tax: $2,611 / year

Property tax in Caroline County at a glance

Caroline County, Maryland property tax (Census ACS, reviewed September 23, 2026)
Measure	Value
Median annual property tax	$2,619
Median home value	$290,100
Effective tax rate	0.9%
Typical Maryland county rate	0.9%
National median county rate	0.81%

Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

How does Caroline County compare in Maryland?

Among Maryland's 24 counties, Caroline County has the 12th highest effective property-tax rate: 11 rank higher and 12 rank lower. That is near the middle for Maryland. Nationally, it ranks 1352nd of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Maryland county ranked.

How much do homeowners in Caroline County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across Caroline County's 8,978 owner-occupied homes, 35.6% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 68% pay at least $2,000, and 4.1% pay under $800. Another 4.2% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Annual property tax paid by Caroline County homeowners (Census ACS 2020-2024)
Annual bill	Homes	Share
Under $800	366	4.1%
$800 to $1,499	890	9.9%
$1,500 to $1,999	1,246	13.9%
$2,000 to $2,999	2,905	32.4%
$3,000 or more	3,193	35.6%
No property tax paid	378	4.2%

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $2,660 and owners without one pay $2,554. That is within 10% either way, so in Caroline County paying off the house does not go with a noticeably different bill. Census table B25103.

How does the Caroline County property tax bill compare with local incomes?

The median property tax bill of $2,619 is about 3.1% of the median income of Caroline County homeowner households, $84,180 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 71.9% of Caroline County's occupied homes are lived in by their owners; renters pay property tax too, just folded into rent.

Have property taxes gone up in Caroline County?

Yes. The median bill went from $2,206 in 2015-2019 to $2,619 in 2020-2024, a 18.7% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 43.3%, from $202,500 to $290,100. Bills rose more slowly than values, which is what assessment caps and falling millage rates do: the county is taxing a smaller share of each home's worth.

Two Census ACS 5-year periods with no survey years in common, in each period's own dollars. A change counts only if it exceeds the combined 90% margin of error.

Property tax in counties next to Caroline County

Caroline County borders 5 counties, 2 of them across the state line.

Caroline County and its neighbors, highest effective rate first (Census ACS 2020-2024)
County	Effective rate	Median bill	Median home value
Dorchester County, MD	0.94%	$2,456	$262,400
Caroline County, MD (this county)	0.9%	$2,619	$290,100
Queen Anne's County, MD	0.78%	$3,623	$462,700
Talbot County, MD	0.65%	$2,647	$409,700
Kent County, DE	0.43%	$1,363	$316,600
Sussex County, DE	0.32%	$1,222	$382,600

How is a home assessed in Caroline County?

Maryland assesses homes at 100% of market value in every county, Caroline County included. How Maryland assesses and reappraises homes.

Is there a homestead exemption in Caroline County?

Not as an exemption. Maryland's Homestead Tax Credit caps how much your taxable assessment can rise each year: 10% for the state portion, and a cap each county and municipality sets between 0% and 10% for its own. That is the Maryland rule, and it applies in Caroline County. Maryland's exemptions and relief programs in full.

When are property taxes due in Caroline County?

Tax is due July 1 and can be paid without interest through September 30. Owner-occupied homes are billed semiannually by default, with the first half due September 30 and the second December 31; you may instead pay the full year by September 30 and avoid the service charge of up to 1.65% on the second installment.

Maryland splits the bill into 2 installments. That is the Maryland rule. Caroline County issues and collects the bill, so the dates printed on your statement are the ones that bind you.

How to appeal your Caroline County property assessment

You contest the assessed value with the Supervisor of Assessments (informal), then the local Property Tax Assessment Appeal Board, then the Maryland Tax Court. The filing deadline is typically 45 days from the date on your assessment notice. That is the Maryland rule; Caroline County sets the exact dates and forms. The Maryland appeal process step by step.

Maryland rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the Maryland page.

Work out your own numbers

Sources

Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Caroline County, Maryland: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020-2024), tables B25103, B25077, B25102, B25119 and B25003; the five-year comparison uses the 2015-2019 estimates. Neighboring counties: Census county adjacency file.