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Read. Follow. Verify.Maryland Senate Bill 882 Creates State Income Tax Credit for Public School Educators with Student Loans
Last action · February 11, 2026: Hearing 3/04 at 1:00 p.m.Sponsor: Ben Kramer
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What This Bill Would Do
Maryland Senate Bill 882 establishes a state income tax credit for eligible full-time public primary and secondary school educators with outstanding student loan debt, beginning with s after December 31, 2025. The Maryland Higher Education Commission will award certificates on a first-come, first-served basis up to an annual program cap of $5,000,000.
Qualifying public school staff can reduce their state tax liability over a five-year period by applying tax credit certificates directly toward undergraduate or graduate student loan repayment.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Public school educators
Full-time educators with student loan debt may apply for state income tax credits to assist with loan repayment, subject to ongoing employment and career ladder verification.
Maryland Higher Education Commission
The Commission is responsible for receiving applications, awarding certificates on a first-come basis, managing allocations, conducting verifications, rescinding non-compliant certificates, and reporting annually to the General Assembly.
Key Facts
- Qualifies full-time employees in Maryland public primary or secondary schools who participate in the career ladder under Title 6, Subtitle 10 of the Education Article and have outstanding student loan debt.
- Allows eligible individuals to claim the approved tax credit in equal installments of one-fifth of the total amount for 5 consecutive taxable years.
- Caps the total amount of tax credit certificates that may be awarded annually at $5,000,000.
- Requires the Maryland Higher Education Commission to review applications and award certificates on a first-come, first-served basis determined by application submission time and date stamps.
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- Allocates at least 70% of available tax credit funds to applicants who graduated from a high school in Maryland and, in the previous year, graduated from an institution of higher education in the State.
- Allocates the remaining available amount to eligible individuals regardless of the location of their graduating high school or institution of higher education or their graduation year.
- Prohibits applicants from receiving a tax credit certificate under this section more than once.
- Requires recipients to submit annual verification for 4 years after the first claim confirming continued public school employment and career ladder participation, under penalty of certificate rescission.
- Prohibits individuals from claiming this tax credit in the same taxable year as the tax credit under Section 10-740 of the Tax-General Article.
- Requires recapture of the total credit amount claimed if the individual fails to use the approved credit for undergraduate or graduate student loan repayment within 3 years from the close of the claiming taxable year.
- Mandates that the Commission report annually on or before June 1 to the General Assembly regarding applicant counts, certificate totals, debt averages, and educator recruitment and retention impacts.
- Sets the effective date of the Act as July 1, 2026, applicable to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible to apply for the student loan tax credit?
How is the tax credit distributed over time?
What happens if an educator leaves public school employment during the 5-year period?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently filed. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Committee.
Procedural history
2 actions- Feb 11, 2026SenateHearing 3/04 at 1:00 p.m.
- Feb 6, 2026SenateIntroducedFirst Reading Budget and Taxation
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Targeted Financial Relief for Public Educators
The measure introduces a dedicated state tax credit mechanism tied explicitly to public school employment and career ladder status.
Connected Entities
Sources
mgaleg.maryland.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance65How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy25Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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