Property tax in Cecil County, Maryland

By Brent Chudoba, editor Updated September 23, 2026

In Cecil County, the property tax bill comes from the Cecil County Finance Office. The Tax year 2026 bill is paid in 2 installments, and the next one is due December 31, 2026. You can look up and pay the bill on the county's own payment page. Taken from Cecil County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.

The median property tax bill in Cecil County, Maryland is $3,068 a year, which is about 0.89% of the county's median home value of $343,400. That effective rate is lower than 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.

Who sends the property tax bill in Cecil County, and how do you pay it?

The bill comes from the Cecil County Finance Office. The value it is based on is set by a state agency, the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT), Cecil County assessment office, which is who to ask if the value looks wrong. For how to look up and pay the bill, go to the county's own payment information.

Maryland's SDAT, not the county, values every property and hears the first appeal; the Cecil County Finance Office sends the bill and collects it. For property inside a town, such as Elkton, the town's tax is on the same county bill. Escrowed owners should forward a copy of the bill to their lender. A half-year bill for new construction finished after the July billing is issued in January; lenders usually do not pay it, and unpaid ones regularly end up in the tax sale. Paying online by card or e-check carries a third-party convenience fee.

When are property taxes due in Cecil County?

For the Tax year 2026 (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027; bills mailed July 2026) bill, Cecil County splits the bill into 2 payments, the first due September 30, 2026 and the last December 31, 2026. The next one due is the second semi-annual installment, on December 31, 2026. Unpaid annual bills and first installments become delinquent on October 1 and carry interest of 1% a month until paid. A second installment paid after December 31 is also charged interest. On March 1 the county adds a 3% late fee to any balance still owed, and from May 1 payment must be made by cash, certified or cashier's check, money order or card. Tax liens on properties still delinquent are sold at the county's online tax sale, which closes on the first Monday in June.

Cecil County property tax due dates, Tax year 2026 (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027; bills mailed July 2026)
Payment	Due	Note
Annual bill, or first semi-annual installment	September 30, 2026 (passed)	Bills are mailed in July and can be paid in July, August or September without interest. Owner-occupied homes used as the owner's principal residence (and some commercial properties) get a semi-annual bill with two coupons; the owner may still pay the whole year by September 30 by sending both coupons.
Second semi-annual installment	December 31, 2026	Applies only to bills on the semi-annual schedule. The county adds no service charge to the second installment for the 2026 bills.

From Cecil County's published schedule, checked September 23, 2026. If a date falls on a weekend or holiday, the county's own rules on the next business day apply.

Estimate the property tax on a home in Cecil County

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Cecil County's average effective rate of 0.89% (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: $3,056 / year

Property tax in Cecil County at a glance

Cecil County, Maryland property tax (Census ACS, reviewed September 23, 2026)
Measure	Value
Median annual property tax	$3,068
Median home value	$343,400
Effective tax rate	0.89%
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 Cecil County compare in Maryland?

Among Maryland's 24 counties, Cecil County has the 13th highest effective property-tax rate: 12 rank higher and 11 rank lower. That is near the middle for Maryland. Nationally, it ranks 1368th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Maryland county ranked.

How much do homeowners in Cecil County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across Cecil County's 30,557 owner-occupied homes, 48.5% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 75.2% pay at least $2,000, and 2.8% pay under $800. Another 6% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Annual property tax paid by Cecil County homeowners (Census ACS 2020-2024)
Annual bill	Homes	Share
Under $800	853	2.8%
$800 to $1,499	2,122	6.9%
$1,500 to $1,999	2,743	9%
$2,000 to $2,999	8,170	26.7%
$3,000 or more	14,831	48.5%
No property tax paid	1,838	6%

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $3,143 and owners without one pay $2,900. That is within 10% either way, so in Cecil County paying off the house does not go with a noticeably different bill. Census table B25103.

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

The median property tax bill of $3,068 is about 2.8% of the median income of Cecil County homeowner households, $110,498 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 75.3% of Cecil 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 Cecil County?

Yes. The median bill went from $2,660 in 2015-2019 to $3,068 in 2020-2024, a 15.3% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 41.5%, from $242,700 to $343,400. 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 Cecil County

Cecil County borders 5 counties, 3 of them across the state line.

Cecil County and its neighbors, highest effective rate first (Census ACS 2020-2024)
County	Effective rate	Median bill	Median home value
Lancaster County, PA	1.32%	$3,975	$301,100
Chester County, PA	1.3%	$6,308	$485,600
Kent County, MD	0.91%	$3,025	$330,900
Harford County, MD	0.89%	$3,448	$386,400
Cecil County, MD (this county)	0.89%	$3,068	$343,400
New Castle County, DE	0.71%	$2,499	$352,200

How is a home assessed in Cecil County?

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

Is there a homestead exemption in Cecil 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 Cecil County. Maryland's exemptions and relief programs in full.

On top of the Maryland programs, Cecil County runs its own:

Senior Tax Credit: For an owner aged 65 or older who has lived in the home for at least the past 7 years, with household adjusted gross income of $150,000 or less and a home assessed at $800,000 or less: a credit of 20% of the county property tax on the first $400,000 of assessed value, up to $777.92 for the 2026 bills. Apply by September 1.
Veterans Tax Credit: For an owner aged 65 or older who is an active, retired, honorably discharged or disabled member of the uniformed services, the Reserves or the National Guard, or an unremarried surviving spouse aged 65 or older living in the home: the same credit of 20% of the county tax on the first $400,000 of assessed value, up to $777.92 for the 2026 bills, with the same $150,000 income and $800,000 assessment limits. Apply by September 1.
Sworn Officer Tax Credit: For a police or correctional officer who is a sworn officer as of July 1: a credit of up to $1,000 against county property tax on the principal residence, if the home was assessed at $500,000 or less when the officer first applied and household adjusted gross income is $150,000 or less. Apply by September 1.
Elderly and Disabled Tax Deferral: An owner aged 65 or older or permanently disabled, in a home where combined household income is $60,000 or less, may postpone the amount by which this year's county property tax exceeds last year's; the deferred tax carries no interest but is recorded as a lien and must be repaid when the home is sold, no longer the owner's residence, or goes to tax sale, and owners must reapply every year. Apply by September 1.

How to appeal your Cecil County property assessment

In Cecil County you appeal to the Maryland SDAT, Supervisor of Assessments for Cecil County (the Supervisor's level hearing). The deadline: Within 45 days of the date on the assessment notice. A buyer whose purchase transferred after January 1 and before July 1 may appeal within 60 days of the transfer. In a year with no new notice, an owner may file a petition for review by the first working day after January 1. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against the official appeal rules.

How Maryland's appeal process works, including the next level if the first one turns you down.

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 Cecil 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.