The Maine Homestead Exemption: Tax Relief for Maine Homeowners

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Other Maine tax relief programs:

Lower and middle income residents, the elderly, and renters may also qualify for the Maine Resident Tax and Rent Refund Program.

On the State of Maine website, you can also find partial tax exemption forms, including forms for certain veterans, their widows, widowers, and children; and blind taxpayers.

General Homestead Exemption

Residents who have owned a home in Maine for at least 12 months can qualify.  It doesn't matter if you sold one home and moved to another, as long as you can show "continuous ownership" over the 12 month period.

The application is quick and easy. Just answer a few questions about your residency and property and send this application to your town officials by April 1st. That's all you have to do. Apply once and you probably will not have to apply again unless you move. When your town mails your tax bill, $10,000 of your home's value will be exempt from property taxes. Please note that you may still have a tax bill after applying this exemption. The value of this benefit will depend upon the tax rate in your community. Property taxes are calculated base on the assessed value of your home. This means that the town will reduce your home's assessed value by $10,000 before applying the tax rate.

Example: Jane owns a home in Anytown, Maine. Anytown assesses a property tax (mill rate) of $10.00 for every $1000 of assessed value. This is equal to a 1% tax rate. The assessed value of Jane's house is $110,000.

If Jane does not claim the Homestead Exemption then the town will apply the 1% tax to the entire value of her home. Jane owes $1,100 in property taxes.

If Jane claims the Homestead Exemption, then the town will subtract $10,000 from Jane's assessed value before calculating the tax. Jane will owe $1000 in property tax instead of $1,100. Jane saves $100.00 a year by claiming the Homestead exemption.

Note: Active duty military personnel who are permanently stationed in Maine and own a residence here are now eligible for this exemption. You must present a letter from your military commander stating that you are stationed in Maine, in addition to completing the application. Members of the National Guard and Army Reserves are not eligible, unless they are Maine residents anyway.

You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view or print the form. Go here if you need help downloading this free software. 

We post an interactive version of the State's form that you can fill out online, then print.

Or you can go to the State of Maine website to get a blank form.

May 2012
PTLA #622