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Sheet ME · 2026 rules

Maine Property Tax Calculator

Section 683 combines a $10,000 base homestead exemption with an additional $15,000 for tax years beginning on or after April 1, 2020. The statute directs the assessor to adjust the exemption to the local ratio of assessed value to just value. The full $25,000 is therefore not always the dollar amount deducted on a local assessment.

Rules verified 18 primary sources Editorial policy

Estimate your 2026 Maine bill

Approved shared exemption, bill credits and charges (optional)

The same assessed-value amount must apply to Local ad valorem levies. Different approvals or bases require the prepared levy worksheet. Do not repeat relief already deducted.

Use the assessing authority’s value, recorded classification and current rates. Worked examples use hypothetical rates unless labeled statutory.

Maine · 2026 residential assessment worksheet Needs inputs
Maine estimated annual property tax —
  • Tax — Local ad valorem levies —
  • Credits subtracted —
  • Fixed charges added —
Per month (annual ÷ 12) —
What was applied Choose the actual approved homestead status.
Assessed value after ratio and cap —
Taxable value — Local ad valorem levies —
Effective rate on market value —

What this estimate leaves out

How Maine turns value into a tax bill

Maine statewide rules
StepMaine ruleSource
Value Use the valuation for the assessment year shown on your notice. Exemptions, rate units and levy classifications below must match that same notice. [1]
Assessment Approved assessment ratio you enter (Municipal ratio of assessed value to just value)36 MRS 683 adjusts the $25,000 exemption to the local assessed-to-just-value ratio. [1]
Annual limit No automatic parcel bill cap is inferred from a limit on a jurisdiction’s total levy.
Exemption Approved Maine homestead: $25,000 off assessor’s residential full value; all levies.Select only if approved for this assessment year; do not deduct an amount already included in the value you enter. [1]
Rate Local ad valorem levies: local rate — you enter it.Local ad valorem levies from the applicable taxing authority. The rate is not a Census ratio.

How Maine assesses, exempts, abates and relieves homestead tax

Maine fixes taxable status on April 1, and the taxable year runs from April 1 to April 1.3 There is no statewide revaluation calendar. Each town must keep its assessments at no less than 70% of just value and should not go above 110%.4 Towns revalue when they need to meet those standards.6 Maine Revenue Services says it is a myth that the State steps in and orders a revaluation when a town's ratio falls below 70%.5

The homestead exemption is $25,000 of just value: $10,000 base plus $15,000 for tax years beginning on or after April 1, 2020. You must be a permanent Maine resident who has owned a Maine homestead for the preceding 12 months.1 First-time applications are due to the assessor by April 1 of the tax year.18 The full $25,000 applies only where the town's certified ratio is 100%. At a 91% ratio the assessed reduction is $22,750.2

Veterans who served in a recognized war period and are 62 or older, or who receive federal total-disability compensation, get $6,000 of just value exempt. The exemption is $50,000 for specially adapted housing.10 A legally blind owner gets $4,000. These partial exemptions are also scaled by the town's certified ratio.11 For property tax years beginning April 1, 2027, the law replaces the homestead, veteran's and blind exemptions with one consolidated provision.12

The Property Tax Fairness Credit is a refundable credit on the Maine income tax return, not a reduction on the property bill. For 2025 it is up to $1,000, or $2,000 if you are 65 or older, when property tax on your home is more than 4% of your total income.13 For tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, the maximum for filers under 65 rises to $1,500; the 65-and-over maximum stays $2,000.12 The senior tax stabilization program applied only to the property tax year beginning April 1, 2023.14

The State Property Tax Deferral Program lets owners 65 or older, or unable to work because of a disability, defer homestead taxes. Income must be under $80,000. Liquid assets must be under $100,000, or $150,000 combined for multiple owners.15 The State pays the tax, and the deferred amount must be repaid later.15

To contest a value, file a written abatement request with the assessor within 185 days of the town's tax commitment.7 If it is denied, appeal within 60 days, either to the local board of assessment review where one exists or otherwise to the county commissioners.89 Either decision can go to Superior Court.86 Nonresidential property valued at $1,000,000 or more goes to the State Board of Property Tax Review instead.9

Each town votes its own due dates and the date interest starts, and may give an early-payment discount of up to 10%.16 The State Treasurer sets the maximum interest rate on delinquent taxes: 7.00% for taxable year 2026.17

Worked example

At an illustrative 100% municipal ratio, $300,000 assessed−$25,000 approved exemption=$275,000;15 mills=$4,125. At an 80% ratio both assessment and exemption scale by 80%; taxable=$220,000 and tax=$3,300 at the same mill rate.

Maine worked example
LineTaxable valueTax
Local ad valorem levies at 15 mills$275,000.00$4,125.00
Annual total$4,125.00

Left to your local bill

Census context, not a rate

American Community Survey 2020–2024: median owner-occupied value $296,600 (±$2,876), median real-estate taxes $3,036 (±$26). Dividing one by the other gives 1.02% for Maine. Tables B25077 and B25103; why it is only context.

Sources

  1. legislature.maine.govMaine Revised Statutes Title 36 §683, read .
    “the just value of $10,000 of the homestead of a permanent resident of this State who has owned a homestead in this State for the preceding 12 months is exempt from taxation. … $15,000 of the just value of the homestead for property tax years beginning on or after April 1, 2020.”
  2. maine.govMaine Revenue Services Property Tax Bulletin No. 35, Resident Homestead Property Tax Exemption, read .
    “The full $25,000 Homestead Exemption applies only in municipalities where the certified ratio is 100%. … The municipal assessed value of the taxpayer’s homestead is reduced by $22,750 – or 91% of $25,000 – from $204,750 to $182,000.”
  3. legislature.maine.govMaine Revised Statutes Title 36 §502, read .
    “is subject to taxation on the first day of each April as provided; and the status of all taxpayers and of such taxable property must be fixed as of that date. … The taxable year is from April 1st to April 1st.”
  4. legislature.maine.govMaine Revised Statutes Title 36 §327, read .
    “a 70% minimum assessment ratio by 1979 and thereafter. Notwithstanding this subsection, a municipality should not have an assessment ratio at an amount greater than 110% of its just value”
  5. maine.govMaine Revenue Services, Property Tax Division revaluation brochure, read .
    “Myth: If a town’s assessment ratio falls below 70%, then the State will step in and order a revaluation. This is not true.”
  6. maine.govMaine Revenue Services Property Tax Bulletin No. 10, Property Tax Abatement and Appeals, read .
    “Municipalities are required to maintain certain minimum assessment standards by law. Occasionally, municipalities must perform a revaluation to better meet these standards. … If the county commissioners fully or partially deny the taxpayer’s abatement, the taxpayer may appeal to Superior Court.”
  7. legislature.maine.govMaine Revised Statutes Title 36 §841, read .
    “The assessors, either upon written application filed within 185 days from commitment stating the grounds for an abatement or on their own initiative within one year from commitment, may make such reasonable abatement as they consider proper”
  8. legislature.maine.govMaine Revised Statutes Title 36 §843, read .
    “the applicant may apply in writing to the board of assessment review within 60 days after notice of the decision from which the appeal is being taken … either party may appeal from the decision of the board of assessment review directly to the Superior Court”
  9. legislature.maine.govMaine Revised Statutes Title 36 §844, read .
    “the applicant may apply to the county commissioners within 60 days after notice of the decisions from which the appeal is being taken or within 60 days after the application is deemed to have been denied.”
  10. legislature.maine.govMaine Revised Statutes Title 36 §653, read .
    “The estates up to the just value of $6,000, having a taxable situs in the place of residence, of veterans who served in the Armed Forces of the United States: … The estates up to the just value of $50,000, having a taxable situs in the place of residence, for specially adapted housing units”
  11. maine.govMaine Revenue Services, Property Tax Relief, read .
    “Blind Exemption - An individual who is determined to be legally blind is eligible to receive an exemption of $4,000 of just value of their home. … Partial exemptions must be adjusted by the municipality's certified assessment ratio.”
  12. maine.govMaine Revenue Services, 2026 Property Tax Legislative Changes, read .
    “For tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, the law increases the maximum property tax fairness credit to $1,500 for individuals under 65 years of age. The maximum PTFC for individuals 65 years of age and over remains at $2,000. … The law sunsets the existing homestead, veteran’s, and blind person’s exemptions and consolidates the exemptions into one statutory provision for property tax years beginning on or after April 1, 2027.”
  13. maine.govMaine Revenue Services, 2025 Schedule PTFC/STFC instructions, read .
    “You may qualify for the refundable Property Tax Fairness Credit up to $1,000 ($2,000 if you are 65 years of age or older)* … You paid property tax on your home (principal residence) in Maine during the tax year that is greater than 4% of your total income”
  14. legislature.maine.govMaine Revised Statutes Title 36 §6281, read .
    “This chapter applies only to the property tax year beginning April 1, 2023.”
  15. maine.govMaine Revenue Services Property Tax Bulletin No. 34, State Property Tax Deferral Program, read .
    “A taxpayer’s income during the previous calendar year must be less than $80,000. … A taxpayer’s liquid assets must be less than $100,000. For applications that include multiple owners, the combined liquid assets of all owners must be less than $150,000.”
  16. legislature.maine.govMaine Revised Statutes Title 36 §505, read .
    “The date or dates when property taxes shall become due and payable. … That all taxpayers who pay their taxes prior to specified times shall be entitled to abatement thereon, which abatement shall not exceed 10%, and shall be specified in the vote.”
  17. maine.govOffice of the Maine State Treasurer, Delinquent Tax Rates, read .
    “The maximum rate of interest that can be charged per Title 36, M.R.S.A. Section 505.4 is as follows: Taxable Year Maximum Rate 2026 7.00%”
  18. legislature.maine.govMaine Revised Statutes Title 36 §684, read .
    “The application must be filed on or before April 1st of the year on which the taxes are based.”

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