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Baltimore, MD Tax Help: IRS & State Back Taxes, Levies, Audits (2026)
Tax help in Baltimore: who this guide is for
If you live or run a business in Baltimore and the IRS or Comptroller of Maryland has started writing to you, this page explains what actually happens next, where the local offices are and what they can and cannot do, and how cases from Baltimore City and Baltimore County get resolved without anyone taking a day off to sit in a federal building.
I am an Enrolled Agent, federally licensed to represent taxpayers before the IRS, and my firm handles back taxes, levies, audits and unfiled returns for clients across Baltimore and its suburbs, including Towson, Columbia, Glen Burnie, Dundalk, Ellicott City and Owings Mills. Everything here is general information, not individual advice; the last section explains how to get a free review of your own notices.
Your IRS office in Baltimore, and what it can actually do
The IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center serving Baltimore is the IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center, Baltimore, at 31 Hopkins Plaza, Baltimore, MD 21201. Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., by appointment only through the national IRS appointment line, 844-545-5640. Closed on federal holidays. Other offices in the area include Annapolis: 1750 Forest Drive, Suite 110A, Annapolis, MD 21401 (Anne Arundel County; daily midday closure listed), Landover: 8401 Corporate Dr., Landover, MD 20785, Rockville: 6010 Executive Blvd., Suite 100, Rockville, MD 20852, Frederick: 201 Thomas Johnson Dr., Frederick, MD 21702 and No IRS office is listed in Towson, Columbia, Glen Burnie, Dundalk, Ellicott City or Owings Mills; Baltimore and Howard County residents use the downtown Baltimore center..
It helps to know what a Taxpayer Assistance Center is for. It can verify your identity, take a payment, give you transcripts and answer account questions. It does not negotiate: nobody at the counter can settle a balance, release a levy on their own authority or decide an audit. Those decisions sit with collection, examination and appeals units that work by mail, phone and fax, which is why most representation happens without a visit to the office at all.
The Taxpayer Advocate Service is different. It is an independent office inside the IRS that steps in when normal channels have stalled or a levy is causing hardship. The local office for Baltimore: Taxpayer Advocate Service, Baltimore: 31 Hopkins Plaza, Room 1038, Baltimore, MD 21201 (fax 855-821-0238), in the same federal building as the IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center and the only TAS office in Maryland., 443-853-6000 (Baltimore office); 877-777-4778 (TAS national line). It is a genuine safety valve, but it is not a shortcut around filing the missing returns or answering the notice in front of you.
The Maryland side: Comptroller of Maryland
Administers Maryland income tax, withholding, sales and use tax and state collections, and collects the local income tax for all 23 counties and Baltimore City on the same state return, so one Comptroller notice, lien or payment plan covers both pieces. General help line 1-800-MDTAXES.
Comptroller of Maryland local office: Baltimore City Taxpayer Service branch, 7 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, MD 21202, Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Without an appointment the branch provides forms, answers general questions and accepts completed returns; everything else requires an appointment booked online. The Baltimore County branch is at 3104 Lord Baltimore Drive, Suite 100, Windsor Mill, MD 21244; the Anne Arundel branch is at 60 West Street, Suite 102, Annapolis, MD 21401..
Federal and state collection are separate tracks: an IRS installment agreement does nothing to stop a Maryland garnishment, and a state payment plan does not pause the IRS. Every Baltimore case we take is mapped across both agencies before anything is negotiated. Our Maryland state page covers the state side in detail.
Baltimore taxes people forget about
Beyond the IRS and Comptroller of Maryland, Baltimore has local obligations that show up as surprise bills, usually when a business or a rental has been running for a few years without them:
Baltimore City local income tax: Maryland collects each county's and Baltimore City's local income tax on state Form 502 as a convenience to the local governments, at the rate local officials set for where you live, and returns the money to them quarterly. A city resident pays it to the Comptroller, never to City Hall, and a Maryland balance due already includes it.
Nonresident local rate: nonresidents not subject to a Maryland local income tax pay a special nonresident rate on top of the state rate, and residents of certain Pennsylvania municipalities and other jurisdictions that tax Marylanders may have to file Maryland Form 515 instead.
Working in DC, Virginia, West Virginia or Pennsylvania: Maryland residents who commute there file a resident return with Maryland only; if the other jurisdiction withheld tax, the Comptroller says to file there for a refund. Residents who work in Delaware file in both states and claim a credit on Form 502CR.
Business personal property in Baltimore City: the State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) values business personal property, while the Baltimore City Department of Finance issues and collects the bill. Address changes go to SDAT at or 410-767-1170, billing status questions to SDAT at 410-767-8258, and the City's Collections Call Center is 410-396-3000.
The Baltimore tax problems we see most
Every metro has its own pattern of tax trouble, because it has its own mix of work. In Baltimore the cases that reach us most often look like this:
Federal employees and cleared contractors along the Baltimore-Washington corridor: Unpaid federal tax or unfiled returns can surface in a security clearance review, so these cases need a documented resolution. Contractors paid on 1099 forms between assignments also miss estimates and build multi-year balances.
Hospital staff and travel nurses around Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland Medical Center: Travel assignments produce W-2s from several states plus stipends that lose tax-free status when the worker has no real tax home. The IRS and the Comptroller both question them, and the state piece includes local tax.
Rowhouse landlords and rehabbers in Baltimore City and Dundalk: Rent run through personal accounts, missed depreciation and flips reported as capital gains draw IRS correspondence audits. Sales trigger depreciation recapture nobody planned for, and Maryland assesses from the federal adjustment.
Maryland residents who work in Washington, DC or Northern Virginia: Employers sometimes withhold for the work state despite reciprocity, leaving nothing withheld for Maryland. The worker owes Maryland, including the local tax, while waiting on a refund from the other jurisdiction.
Restaurants, barbershops, contractors and other small businesses in the city and county: Sales and use tax, withholding and the SDAT annual report with personal property return run on separate calendars, and a missed filing can cost good standing. Late payroll deposits become the IRS trust fund recovery penalty against the owner personally.
Three things to know about Baltimore cases
Baltimore City is a separate jurisdiction from Baltimore County, and the Comptroller keeps separate branch offices for each: 7 St. Paul Street downtown for the city and 3104 Lord Baltimore Drive in Windsor Mill for the county.
The IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center and Maryland's only Taxpayer Advocate Service office share the same federal building at 31 Hopkins Plaza.
Baltimore City's local income tax never appears on a separate city bill; it rides on Maryland Form 502 and is assessed and enforced by the Comptroller together with the state tax.
How we work with Baltimore clients
The process is the same whether you are in Towson, Columbia and Glen Burnie or overseas. You sign IRS Form 2848, which lets us speak to the IRS for you and pulls the notices to our office instead of your mailbox; for state matters we file the state's own power-of-attorney form. We then pull your IRS account and wage transcripts and the state account history, so the first conversation is about real numbers rather than guesses.
From there the order is almost always the same: stop any active levy or garnishment, file whatever returns are missing (a return the IRS prepared for you is usually far higher than the real liability), and only then negotiate the balance through a payment plan, an offer in compromise, penalty relief or currently-not-collectible status, depending on what the financials support. Meetings are by phone or video, documents move through a secure upload link, and signatures are electronic. You never need to visit an office, and neither the IRS nor Comptroller of Maryland requires an in-person meeting for the vast majority of cases.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to go to the IRS office at Hopkins Plaza to deal with my back taxes?
No. The Baltimore Taxpayer Assistance Center is appointment-only through 844-545-5640 and handles services such as identity verification, payments and transcripts. Collection matters, installment agreements, penalty relief and audits are worked with IRS units by phone, fax and mail, which is how we handle them for you.
Can you handle the Comptroller of Maryland and the IRS at the same time?
Yes. Most Baltimore cases involve both, because a federal adjustment usually produces a Maryland assessment and the Maryland balance includes the city or county local tax. We represent you before the IRS as Enrolled Agents and work the Comptroller notice, payment plan or audit alongside it.
Why is my Maryland bill higher than the state rate suggests?
Maryland collects your county or Baltimore City local income tax on the same Form 502, so a Comptroller bill always includes both pieces plus interest and penalties. A wrong county code on the return is a common reason for a surprise balance.
I live in Baltimore but work in DC. Do I file in both places?
Under the reciprocity agreement, Maryland residents who commute to Washington, DC, Virginia, West Virginia or Pennsylvania file only a Maryland resident return. If your employer withheld for the other jurisdiction, the Comptroller's guidance is to claim a refund there and fix your withholding, and we review the returns to make sure Maryland was paid.
How do you work with Baltimore clients if you are not in Maryland?
Everything is done by phone, video and secure document upload, and we file IRS Form 2848 so we can speak to the IRS for you and receive copies of your IRS notices. Maryland has its own power of attorney form for Comptroller matters, so you never need to visit an office.
Related Reading
Talk to an Enrolled Agent
This article is general information, not individual tax advice. If you want to talk through your own IRS or Maryland notices, book a free 15-minute review or call or text us directly.
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