Maryland
Maryland VA IRRRL: Fort Meade, Andrews, Pax River and the Recordation Tax Break
Maryland is packed with military and intelligence families, and its recordation tax rules reward a same-borrower refinance. Home Loans Inc is not licensed in Maryland, so use this to grade the offers you get from local lenders.
Home Loans Inc is not licensed in Maryland and cannot take a Maryland application. We lend in South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa and Wyoming.
Money first
The recordation tax exemption you should not leave on the table
Maryland counties charge a recordation tax, roughly five to twelve dollars per thousand. That would sting on a refinance, except for one thing. When the same original mortgagor refinances, the tax is generally exempt up to the unpaid principal balance. Tax applies only to new money.
An IRRRL is about as same-borrower as a loan gets. You are refinancing your own VA loan, no cash out. So most of the balance should ride under the exemption. The part to ask about is anything that pushes the new loan above what you owe today, such as costs rolled into the balance. That slice may count as new money.
One more thing: a certification is typically required to claim the exemption. Ask your settlement agent to confirm it is in the file. Skipping a form should never cost you a tax you did not owe.
The installation map
Eight places Maryland veterans call work
Between Baltimore and DC
Fort Meade in Odenton, with NSA, USCYBERCOM headquarters and the Defense Information Systems Agency. Joint Base Andrews in Camp Springs, home of Air Force One and the 89th Airlift Wing.
The bay and the Potomac
Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Lexington Park for naval aviation testing, Naval Support Facility Indian Head for energetics and EOD, and the Naval Academy in Annapolis.
North and west
Aberdeen Proving Ground for Army research and testing, and Fort Detrick in Frederick for biological defense research.
Bethesda
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, the center of military medicine in the region.
Markets swing widely. The DC suburbs in Prince George's and Montgomery counties are very expensive. Anne Arundel County around Fort Meade is a strong military-adjacent market. Harford County near Aberdeen is moderate and growing. Southern Maryland near Pax River is military-driven, and Frederick is a growing DC exurb. Bigger balances mean the 0.5 percent funding fee is a bigger dollar number, unless you receive VA disability compensation and pay none of it.
No penalty box
Maryland bans prepayment penalties
Maryland bans prepayment penalties on first-lien residential loans. If you own your home here with a VA first mortgage, paying it off through a streamline should not cost you a penalty. Good. One less thing.
Closings run through title or settlement agents. The only attorney limit is on preparing the deed and mortgage documents. Maryland is wet-funding, so money generally moves at signing, with the federal right-to-cancel window holding things a few days on a primary residence. Foreclosure is quasi-judicial, if you were wondering.
On signatures, Maryland is simple. Dower and curtesy are gone, and there is no homestead-signing rule. A spouse who is not on title generally does not sign. Title vesting decides.
VA's side of the deal
What qualifies, and why I cannot take it
The IRRRL refinances an existing VA loan and nothing else. You need at least 210 days from your first payment due date and at least six monthly payments made, whichever is later. The new loan must deliver a net tangible benefit, and your monthly savings must pay back the costs within 36 months. VA usually waives the appraisal and income verification, though lenders can add overlays. You only certify that you lived there before, which matters for anyone who PCSed out of Maryland and kept the house.
Now the honest part. Home Loans Inc is not licensed in Maryland and cannot take a Maryland application. Read this, then make a Maryland-licensed lender show you the recordation exemption, the payback month, and every overlay they add. Get it from more than one lender. In a state with this many VA borrowers, nobody should have to take the first quote.
Maryland VA IRRRL questions
Does Maryland recordation tax apply to my whole VA streamline loan?
Generally no. When the same original mortgagor refinances, Maryland recordation tax is exempt up to the unpaid principal balance and applies only to new money. A certification is typically required to claim it. Ask whether any rolled-in costs push the new balance above your old one.
Could my current VA loan in Maryland carry a prepayment penalty?
Maryland bans prepayment penalties on first-lien residential loans, so paying off your existing first mortgage with an IRRRL should not trigger one. Still read your note, and ask the settlement agent to confirm the payoff figure has no surprises in it.
I work at Fort Meade and my husband is on the deed but not the loan. Who signs?
Maryland abolished dower and curtesy and has no homestead-signing rule, so title vesting controls who signs. Because your husband is on the deed, expect him to be part of the closing. A spouse who is not on title generally would not need to sign.
Is Home Loans Inc able to do Maryland IRRRLs?
No. Home Loans Inc is not licensed in Maryland and cannot take a Maryland application. This page is education so you can compare Maryland-licensed lenders with confidence, especially on the recordation tax exemption and the 36-month recoupment math.
Do I need an attorney to close a refinance in Maryland?
Usually not. Maryland refinances are handled by title or settlement agents, and only deed and mortgage preparation carries an attorney limit. Funding is wet, so money generally moves at signing, subject to the federal right-to-cancel window on a primary residence.