Kalshi taxes in Maryland
If you trade Kalshi from Maryland, your gains face tax on two fronts: the federal government, and Maryland itself. This page covers how Maryland treats prediction-market profit, the rate to expect, and how to estimate the combined bill.
It is educational, not tax advice. The federal classification of event contracts is genuinely unsettled, and your Maryland rate depends on your specific income, so treat the numbers here as estimates and confirm with a professional.
Do you owe Maryland tax on your Kalshi gains?
Yes, on two levels. Your Kalshi trading profit is taxable federally no matter where you live, and Maryland also taxes that income at the state level. So a winning year on Kalshi means both a federal bill and a Maryland bill on the same gains.
Maryland applies a top marginal rate of about 5.75% to individual income, and prediction-market gains are generally swept in as ordinary income. There is no separate, lower state rate for trading profit the way the federal side has for long-term capital gains.
How Maryland treats prediction-market gains
Most states, Maryland included, tax the full gain as ordinary income and do not recognize the federal Section 1256 60/40 split. That means the contested federal classification question does not change your Maryland number: the state taxes your net gain either way.
Maryland uses graduated brackets, and the 5.75% figure is the top marginal rate, used here as a conservative estimate. Your effective state rate depends on your total income, deductions, and filing status.
Estimating your Maryland bill
As a rough illustration, on a $5,000 net Kalshi profit, a 5.75% Maryland rate is about $288 in state tax, before anything you owe the IRS. Your real number depends on your bracket and your federal treatment.
The cleanest way to see the combined federal-plus-Maryland picture is to plug your own profit and federal rate into the state tax calculator below, which estimates both at once.
The federal side still applies
Federally, your event-contract gains can be treated as ordinary income, under Section 1256's 60/40 split, or as gambling, and the three lead to very different bills. That question is unsettled and applies no matter which state you trade from. Our Kalshi taxes guide walks through all three, and the cents-vs-dollars guide covers the most common reconciliation mistake.