MD CDCC: verify the separate-filer phase-out start ($30,000 modeled vs $20,500 in older § 10-716 text)

[hua7450]

Summary

Verification item from #8826. The model's Maryland CDCC phase-out start for SEPARATE filers (gov/states/md/tax/income/credits/cdcc/phase_out/start.yaml) is $30,000 (2019-01-01), identical to head-of-household — but older Md. Tax-Gen. § 10-716 text reportedly sets the separate-filer threshold at $20,500. The $30,000 figure was sourced to Form 502CR; the discrepancy needs a primary-source resolution before any change.

Note: mgaleg.maryland.gov and the Comptroller PDFs block automated fetch, so this needs a manual pull.

Sources to check manually

• Md. Tax-Gen. § 10-716: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gtg&section=10-716
• Form 502CR instructions (current year): https://www.marylandtaxes.gov/forms/current_forms/502CR.pdf

Resolution

If the statute says $20,500 for separate filers (and 502CR agrees), backdate/correct the SEPARATE entry in phase_out/start.yaml; if 502CR's $30,000 reflects a later amendment, add the citation and close.

Not blocked by #8855/#8878 — no shared files.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[MaxGhenis]

Adjudicated against current law: the model is correct; the $20,500 figure reflects superseded pre-2019 law. Recommend no change.

Current Md. Tax-Gen § 10-716(a)(4) defines 'taxpayer' as an individual filing a return or a married couple filing jointly, and subsection (d) has exactly two phase-out categories: individual returns ($30,000 start, 1% per $2,000) and joint returns ($50,000 start, 1% per $3,000). An MFS filer is an 'individual filing an income tax return' under (a)(4), so the $30,000/$2,000 schedule the model encodes for SEPARATE is right — confirmed by the 2025 Form 502CR, which groups MFS with single (phase-out from $30,001, $112,100 cap).

The $20,500 MFS threshold was real only through TY2018: pre-2019 law halved the individual thresholds for separate filers. HB 810 (2019) restructured the credit and folded MFS into the general individual category. The model's values begin 2019-01-01, after the restructuring.

Sources: § 10-716, 2025 Form 502CR, HB 810 (2019) fiscal note.