I received a tax credit for $4500 in MD for Fire, Rescue, Emergency Medical Services Volunteer Work - it only made a difference of ~$340 to the better for me ... why?

[JohnW15 · Accepted solution]

When you claimed the $4,500 amount for this volunteer work on your Maryland return, it reduced the amount of your Maryland adjusted gross income – that’s the amount that your Maryland taxes are based on.  It’s not a dollar-for-dollar reduction in taxes, it just lowers the amount of Maryland taxes you pay based on the Maryland Tax Table or Computation Worksheet Schedules.