Property tax in Wicomico County, Maryland

By Brent Chudoba, editor Updated September 23, 2026

In Wicomico County, the property tax bill comes from the Wicomico County Finance Department. The Fiscal Year 2027 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 Wicomico County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.

The median property tax bill in Wicomico County, Maryland is $2,171 a year, which is about 0.85% of the county's median home value of $254,700. 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 Wicomico County, and how do you pay it?

The bill comes from the Wicomico County Finance Department. The value it is based on is set by a state agency, the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT), Wicomico 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 Wicomico County Finance Department in Salisbury sends the county bill and collects it. Since the tax year that began July 1, 2019, the City of Salisbury sends its own city property tax bill, so homes in Salisbury get two bills, and the city bill is paid to the city. Online card, debit card and e-check payments through the county's Citizen Self Service are available only July 1 through April 30, and the card processor charges a convenience fee.

When are property taxes due in Wicomico County?

For the Fiscal Year 2027 (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027) bill, Wicomico 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. An unpaid annual bill or first installment draws interest starting October 1, and an unpaid second installment starting January 1. A penalty of 0.5% a month is also added starting January 1. A bill not paid in full by April 30 goes into tax sale proceedings, and from May 1 the county accepts only full payment of everything owed, by cash, money order, bank check or card (no cards in the five days before the sale). The 2026 tax sale was held June 9, 2026.

Wicomico County property tax due dates, Fiscal Year 2027 (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027)
Payment	Due	Note
Annual bill, or first semi-annual installment	September 30, 2026 (passed)	Bills are mailed each July. Maryland law bills an owner-occupied home in two installments by default, and the owner may still pay the whole year by September 30; escrowed owners who want to pay annually must tell their lender in writing. The county takes 1% off county tax paid by August 31 on a full-year bill or a first installment. Wicomico County's own pages do not print the September 30 and December 31 dates, so check the dates on your bill.
Second semi-annual installment	December 31, 2026	Applies only to bills on the semi-annual schedule. Any service charge for paying in two installments is added to the second installment and does not apply if both installments are paid by September 30.

From Wicomico County's published schedule, checked September 23, 2026. The county had not posted a calendar labeled for this cycle when we checked, so these dates come from state law and the county's standing schedule; the date on your bill is the one that binds you.

Estimate the property tax on a home in Wicomico County

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Wicomico County's average effective rate of 0.85% (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: $2,165 / year

Property tax in Wicomico County at a glance

Wicomico County, Maryland property tax (Census ACS, reviewed September 23, 2026)
Measure	Value
Median annual property tax	$2,171
Median home value	$254,700
Effective tax rate	0.85%
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 Wicomico County compare in Maryland?

Among Maryland's 24 counties, Wicomico County has the 17th highest effective property-tax rate: 16 rank higher and 7 rank lower. That is on the lower side for Maryland. Nationally, it ranks 1464th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Maryland county ranked.

How much do homeowners in Wicomico County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across Wicomico County's 25,203 owner-occupied homes, 27.8% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 51% pay at least $2,000, and 4.3% pay under $800. Another 5.9% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Annual property tax paid by Wicomico County homeowners (Census ACS 2020-2024)
Annual bill	Homes	Share
Under $800	1,089	4.3%
$800 to $1,499	5,573	22.1%
$1,500 to $1,999	4,198	16.7%
$2,000 to $2,999	5,838	23.2%
$3,000 or more	7,013	27.8%
No property tax paid	1,492	5.9%

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $2,213 and owners without one pay $2,068. That is within 10% either way, so in Wicomico County paying off the house does not go with a noticeably different bill. Census table B25103.

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

The median property tax bill of $2,171 is about 2.3% of the median income of Wicomico County homeowner households, $94,196 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 62.3% of Wicomico 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 Wicomico County?

Yes. The median bill went from $1,830 in 2015-2019 to $2,171 in 2020-2024, a 18.6% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 45%, from $175,700 to $254,700. 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 Wicomico County

Wicomico County borders 4 counties, 1 of them across the state line.

Wicomico 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
Somerset County, MD	0.92%	$1,591	$173,200
Wicomico County, MD (this county)	0.85%	$2,171	$254,700
Worcester County, MD	0.73%	$2,738	$374,700
Sussex County, DE	0.32%	$1,222	$382,600

How is a home assessed in Wicomico County?

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

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

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

Property tax credit for disabled first responders and surviving spouses (Heroes Act credit): For a law enforcement officer, correctional officer, or paid or volunteer fire, rescue or emergency medical worker found permanently and totally disabled because of work for an entity in Wicomico County, or the surviving spouse of one who died in that work, the county credits 100% of the county real property tax on the home, up to $1,500 a year; the application goes to the County Executive's office, and if Fiscal Year 2027 taxes are already paid an approved applicant gets a refund. Apply by September 30.
Property tax credit for volunteer fire company members: An unpaid member of a Wicomico County volunteer fire company or its auxiliary (including EMTs) with at least three consecutive years of active service can receive a credit against county tax on the home of up to $2,000 for the tax year that began July 1, 2026, limited to one credit per home; the fire company submits the application, and credits are reduced proportionally if total claims exceed the county's $750,000 yearly limit.

How to appeal your Wicomico County property assessment

In Wicomico County you appeal to the Maryland SDAT, Supervisor of Assessments for Wicomico 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 Wicomico 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.