Maine Property Tax

Homestead Exemption

This program provides a measure of property tax relief for certain individuals that have owned homestead property in Maine for at least twelve months and make the property they occupy on April first their permanent residence. Property owners would receive an exemption of $13,000. Homestead Application

Each year, prior to February 1st, Maine Revenue Services must certify to the Secretary of State the full equalized value of all real and personal property which is subject to taxation under the laws of Maine . The State Valuation process, which takes about 18 months to complete, begins with the compilation of a sales ratio study which measures the assessed value of residential and certain commercial properties relative to their actual selling price.

Ratio studies are primarily formulated from information reported on the "declaration of value" that must accompany most deeds that convey fee ownership of real estate and must be filed with the registry of deeds when the required Real Estate Transfer Tax is paid.

The State Valuation lags actual market values and municipal assessments by nearly two years by the time it is final and certified. Accordingly, for the 2005 State Valuation, work on the sales ratio analysis commenced in the fall of 2003 and utilized actual sales data from July 2002 to June 2003. In other words, the 2005 SV represents the full equalized value of all taxable property as of April 1, 2003; the uniform assessment date for property with 2003 tax status in Maine.

A property owner who believes the property tax is greater than it should be should first determine whether, in the owner's opinion, the valuation of that property is equitable in relation to similar property within the town. A property owner can do this by asking the assessor(s) for permission to examine the valuation book, and by comparing the valuation of the owner's property with that of similar properties with which the owner may be familiar. The valuation book is a public record and is available for public inspection at reasonable times and under reasonable safeguards. Discussion with the assessor(s) may also be helpful. If the property owner finds from such examination or discussion that the valuation bears the same relation to the just value of the owner's property as the average valuation of other properties bear to their just value, the owner has no sound basis for requesting abatement. Since variations are apt to be found in the valuation of properties in most towns, it is necessary to consider the average treatment of other properties; the fact that some properties may be found to be valued on a higher or lower basis is not significant if the range of deviation is not excessive.

If, after reviewing the valuation of property in this light, the property owner feels entitled to relief, the owner should follow the procedure outlined below.

Abatement is the process by which valuation that is found to be excessive, in error or illegal may be corrected.

Method of Seeking Abatement . The statutes provide that a property owner who believes his local property valuation is excessive must seek relief through a written request to the local assessors, made within 185 days after the date the tax was committed to the tax collector (which is usually shortly before the tax bill is mailed) stating the abatement requested, and the reasons for requesting the abatement.

If the taxpayer is dissatisfied with the decision of the local assessors, the taxpayer may appeal within 60 days to the county commissioners; further appeal may be to the Superior Court within 30 days. (In those municipalities which have adopted a local board of assessment review, appeals which elsewhere could be made to the county commissioners must be made to the local board of assessment review.) Except that appeal pursuant to assessment under Current Use Law is to the State Board of Property Tax Review.

A taxpayer does not lose the right to request abatement because of failure to file a list of the taxpayer's taxable property with the assessors unless taxpayer was specifically requested by mail by the assessors to furnish a list, and failed to do so.

The State Tax Assessor nor the Maine Revenue Services is authorized to abate taxes assessed in municipalities. Please note also that requests for abatement should not be made to the local tax collector. Tax collectors have no authority to make abatements. Requests for abatement must always be addressed, in the first instance, to the local assessing authority, and then to the appropriate appeals body.