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Tips & tools
A tax tip a day plus an array of tax tools, terms and training will help you through filing and beyond. |
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Maine
Maine's tax system has four income brackets, with tax rate ranging from 2 percent to 8.5 percent. More on Maine taxes can be found in the tabbed pages below.
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Income |
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Sales |
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Property |
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Estate |
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Other |
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| Personal income tax |
 | Maine collects income taxes from its residents utilizing four tax brackets.
For single taxpayers, they are:
-- 2 percent on the first $4,750 of taxable income.
-- 4.5 percent on taxable income between $4,751 and $9,450.
-- 7 percent on taxable income between $9,451 and $18,950.
-- 8.5 percent on taxable income
of $18,951 and above.
For married taxpayers filing joint returns, they are:
-- 2 percent on the first $9,500 of taxable income.
-- 4.5 percent on taxable income between $9,501 and $18,950.
-- 7 percent on taxable income between $18,951 and $37,950.
-- 8.5 percent on taxable income
of $37,951 and above.
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Residents
of Maine must file Form
1040-ME (long form)
or 1040S-ME (short form)
by April 15, or the
next business day if
that date falls on a
weekend or holiday. |
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Click here for downloadable Maine tax forms. |
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| Sales tax |
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Maine's general sales tax rate is
5 percent. |
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The state also levies charges of
7 percent on lodging and prepared food and 10 percent on short-term
auto rentals. |
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The state offers specific exemptions for a number of different kinds of organizations and institutions, such as hospitals, schools, churches and libraries. You can find a list of organizations for which there may be a Maine Sales Tax exemption at this Web page. |
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| Personal and real property taxes |
| All real and tangible personal
property located in the state of Maine is taxable unless specifically
exempted by statute. |
| While property taxes in Maine are
assessed at the local level, municipal assessors are governed
by state statutes that are administered by the Property
Tax Division of Maine Revenue Services. |
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Division consists of two sections:
Municipal Services and Unorganized Territory. |
| The administration
of property taxes is handled
by the local assessor in incorporated
cities and towns. Property
tax bills are issued by the
municipality where the property
is located on either an annual,
semiannual or quarterly basis.
Due dates vary based upon
the issue date of the bill.
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| Eligible Maine residents who have owned homestead property in Maine for at least a year and make the property they occupy on April 1 their permanent residence can receive an exemption of $13,000. Information on other property tax exemptions can be found at this
Web page. |
| Inheritance and estate taxes |
| Maine imposes a tax
on estates valued at $1 million or more for all decedents with
property taxable to Maine. |
| The Maine estate tax is applied
even if there is no federal estate tax. |
| For those estates that are below
the taxable threshold and that have real or tangible personal
property in Maine, obtain a lien release for that property by
filing Form 706EZ-ME. |
| Other Maine tax facts |
| Commercial sellers of blueberries,
a Maine staple, must keep records of their transactions and
pay the state 1.5 cents per pound ($1.50 per 100 pounds) of
the fruit sold each season. The blueberry tax, along with a
report of all the sales and purchases of the commodity, the
dates, names of those involved, and the number of pounds of
blueberries purchased, must be filed with Maine Revenue Services
on or before Nov. 1 each year. |
| Maine taxpayers can at check the status of their state refunds online. |
| Maine does not levy an intangible
personal property tax. |
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| More information is available from
Maine Revenue Services' Web
site or by calling (207) 624-7875 for recorded tax information. |
| To download
tax forms on this site, you will need to install a free copy
of Adobe Acrobat Reader. Click here for instructions. |
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