Homestead, veteran, blind persons, tree growth, farmland, open space and renewable energy exemptions: who qualifies and how to apply.
An exemption lowers the value of a property that is subject to tax, which lowers the tax bill. Some exemptions are partial (they subtract a set dollar amount from the property's value) and some are full (the property pays no tax at all).
A few things are true of almost every exemption:
The exemptions most homeowners ask about are the Homestead, Veteran, Blind, and Renewable Energy exemptions. Those come first below, followed by hardship relief and the State tax deferral program for people who cannot pay a bill, the current use land programs and the business and institutional exemptions.
Maine's four current use programs (Tree Growth, Farmland, Open Space and Working Waterfront) are covered below as well. They are not exemptions: enrolled land is still fully taxable, it is just valued for how it is being used today rather than for what it could be sold or developed for. For land under development pressure, that difference can be worth more than any exemption.
At a glance. Worth: $25,000 off value; Deadline: April 1; Decided by: Your assessor
What it is. The Homestead Exemption reduces the taxable value of your permanent home by $25,000. It is the most common exemption and is available to any qualifying Maine resident regardless of age or income.
Who qualifies. You qualify if all of the following are true:
Property held in a revocable living trust for your benefit still qualifies, as long as you occupy it as your permanent residence.
How much you save. Up to $25,000 is subtracted from the just (market) value of your home before your tax is calculated, adjusted by the town's certified ratio if it assesses below 100%.
Deadline. Must be in place on or before April 1.
Official resources
Statute: 36 M.R.S. §§ 681–689
At a glance. Worth: $6,000 off value; Deadline: April 1; Decided by: Your assessor
What it is. A veteran who served during a federally recognized war period can receive a $6,000 exemption from the value of their home.
Who qualifies. You qualify as a veteran if you served on active duty in the U.S. armed forces during a recognized war period, were discharged or separated under other than dishonorable conditions, and are a Maine resident. In addition, you must meet one of these:
The exemption applies only to property in the town where the veteran lives, and a veteran may claim only one such exemption. If both spouses are qualifying veterans, each is entitled to an exemption on property they jointly own.
Qualifying family members. The exemption can also extend to an unremarried widow or widower, a minor child (under 18), or a qualifying parent of a deceased veteran. Applications and proof of eligibility are confidential and cannot be made public.
How much you save. $6,000 off the just value of your home (adjusted by the certified ratio). Veterans who served during a war period before World War II qualify for $7,000, though virtually no living veterans fall in that category today.
Federally recognized war periods
Deadline. Must be in place on or before April 1. A qualifying widow, widower, or minor child may still receive an abatement within one year of commitment if the veteran died in the 12 months before that April 1.
Related benefit. Since 2022, Maine also offers an expanded veteran benefit through the Property Tax Fairness Credit, which is based on property tax paid but claimed through the state income tax return rather than through the assessor.
Official resources
Statute: 36 M.R.S. § 653
At a glance. Worth: $50,000 off value; Deadline: April 1; Decided by: Your assessor
What it is. A veteran who received a federal grant for a specially adapted housing unit (for example, a paraplegic veteran) is eligible for a much larger exemption of $50,000 from the just value of that home.
Who qualifies. A veteran who is paraplegic or otherwise received a U.S. government grant toward specially adapted housing. The exemption also applies to the property of an unremarried widow or widower, minor child, or parent of such a veteran, including property held in a revocable living trust for their benefit. A surviving spouse who would have qualified can claim it by giving the assessor written notice and proof of entitlement.
How much you save. $50,000 off the just value of the specially adapted housing unit (adjusted by the certified ratio).
Deadline. Must be in place on or before April 1.
Official resources
Statute: 36 M.R.S. § 653(1)(D-1)
At a glance. Worth: $4,000 off value; Deadline: April 1; Decided by: Your assessor
What it is. A person who is legally blind can receive a $4,000 exemption from the value of their home.
Who qualifies. You must be a Maine resident who is legally blind as determined by a licensed Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Osteopathy, or Doctor of Optometry. Property cannot be transferred to a blind person simply to obtain the exemption. If the person owns property in more than one town, the exemption is prorated in proportion to the taxable value in each.
How much you save. $4,000 off the just value of your residential real estate (adjusted by the certified ratio).
Deadline. Must be in place on or before April 1.
Statute: 36 M.R.S. § 654
At a glance. Worth: Equipment value exempt; Deadline: April 1; Decided by: Your assessor
What it is. This program exempts qualifying renewable energy equipment, such as solar panels, from property tax. It has applied since April 1, 2020.
Who qualifies. Owners of eligible renewable energy equipment used to generate power (solar, and other qualifying renewable systems). The exemption covers the added value of the equipment itself.
Deadline. Must be in place by April 1 of the first year the exemption applies.
Official resources
Statute: 36 M.R.S. § 656(1)(K)
An exemption lowers the value a tax is figured on. The two programs below work differently. A hardship abatement reduces or cancels a tax that has already been assessed, for a person who genuinely cannot pay it. The State deferral program does not lower the tax at all: the State pays it now, and the homeowner or their estate repays it later.
At a glance. Worth: Part or all of the tax; Deadline: 3 years from commitment; Decided by: Select board; Answer: In writing, 30 days; Apply: At your town office
What it is. Maine law lets a town's municipal officers (the select board or council) reduce or cancel the property tax on the home of someone who, because of hardship or poverty, cannot pay it. It is not an exemption and there is no fixed dollar amount. The board decides each case on its own facts and grants whatever abatement it considers reasonable, which can be part of the tax or all of it.
What it covers. Only the tax on your primary residence: the home, the structures needed to support it, and enough land to meet the town's minimum lot size. Tax on other land or buildings you own does not qualify.
Who decides. The municipal officers, not the assessor. (For the unorganized territory, the State Tax Assessor.) They can act on a written application or on their own knowledge of a resident's situation.
When you can apply. Within 3 years of the date the tax was committed, and the municipal officers can extend that period. Unlike an exemption, there is no April 1 deadline.
What the town must do. State law puts specific duties on the town:
It is confidential. Your application, everything you submit with it, and the decision are confidential, and any hearing on it is held in executive session. Unlike other abatements, a hardship abatement is not listed in the town's public abatement record.
How to apply. Ask your town office for its hardship or poverty abatement application. Towns usually ask about household income, assets and expenses, and many have written guidelines for how they weigh them. This application is filed with the town directly and is not available online.
Related help. The state's Property Tax Fairness Credit returns part of the property tax (or rent) paid by lower-income Maine residents through the state income tax return, and is worth checking whether or not you apply for an abatement.
Official resources
Statute: 36 M.R.S. § 841(2)
At a glance. Who: 65 or older, or disabled; Income: Under $80,000; Deadline: January 1 to April 1; Decided by: Maine Revenue Services; Repay: When you leave the program
What it is. The State pays the property tax on your home each year, and you pay the State back later, usually when the home is sold or after the owner dies. It does not lower the tax. It lets an older or disabled homeowner who is short on cash stay in the home without falling behind. The State can also pay up to two years of overdue taxes when you join.
Who qualifies. On April 1 of the year you apply:
What it covers. The tax on your home and up to 10 contiguous acres around it. You still pay the tax on any other land or buildings.
What it costs. The State places a lien on the home. The deferred taxes build up as a balance with the State, with interest at the State's rate for overdue taxes minus one percentage point, plus costs such as lien filing fees. You can pay some or all of it down at any time without leaving the program. Every year by December 15 the State sends you a statement of what you owe.
When it must be repaid. Within 12 months of withdrawing, or of the owner dying, selling or transferring the home, or no longer living there (a stay away for health reasons does not count). Heirs who move into the home within a year can ask the State for more time, up to six years in total. A surviving spouse who is 65 or older, or will be within six months, can apply to keep the deferral going.
How to apply. File the application with your town's assessor between January 1 and April 1. The assessor checks it and sends it to Maine Revenue Services within 30 days, and MRS decides. The application is confidential, and the town may not keep a copy once it has been sent on. Once approved, you do not reapply each year. A denial can be appealed to the State Board of Property Tax Review.
Town programs. Maine law also lets a town run its own senior tax deferral program (36 M.R.S. §§ 6235 and 6271). A home cannot be in both a town program and the State program. Ask your town office whether it offers one.
Official resources
Statute: 36 M.R.S. §§ 6250–6266
These are not exemptions. Land enrolled in one of Maine's four current use programs stays fully taxable. It is simply valued for what it is being used for today rather than for its market or development value. Buildings, and the land under and around them, are valued normally either way.
Two things are true of all four programs: the land must still qualify every year, and withdrawing land, or changing its use, triggers a penalty. They are worth applying for, but they are a commitment rather than a discount, so read the program's bulletin before you file.
At a glance. Minimum: 10 acres of forest; Deadline: April 1; Decided by: Your assessor; To leave: Penalty
What it is. Tree Growth values qualifying commercial forest land at its current use as woodland in exchange for managing it under a forest management and harvest plan. Classified woodland is valued per acre by forest type (softwood, mixed wood, hardwood) at rates the State Tax Assessor sets each year, far below market land rates.
Who qualifies. The parcel must contain at least 10 acres of forest land used primarily for growing trees for commercial use. A licensed professional forester must supply the forest management and harvest plan, and the plan has to be kept current. A land classification map is required with the application.
What it costs to leave. Withdrawing land from Tree Growth, or changing its use, triggers a substantial penalty. Enroll expecting to stay enrolled.
Deadline. April 1.
Official resources
Statute: 36 M.R.S. §§ 571–584-A
At a glance. Minimum: 5 contiguous acres; Deadline: April 1; Decided by: Your assessor; To leave: Penalty
What it is. Farmland classification values qualifying working farmland at its current use as farmland, in exchange for keeping the land in agricultural use.
Who qualifies. The tract must contain at least 5 contiguous acres. Not all of it has to be actively farmed. A 5-acre lot with crops on one acre and the rest in other use still meets the size test, as long as the tract as a whole reaches 5 acres. Gross farming income from the land must be at least $2,000 in 1 of the last 2 years, or 3 of the last 5 years (income from trees harvested for forest products does not count). An owner with no previous farming income can still apply under provisional classification.
What it costs to leave. Removing land from the program, or changing its use, triggers a penalty; the application asks the owner to attest they understand that.
Deadline. April 1.
Official resources
Statute: 36 M.R.S. §§ 1101–1121
At a glance. Minimum: No minimum acreage; Deadline: April 1; Decided by: Your assessor; To leave: Penalty
What it is. Open Space reduces the assessed value of land that provides a public benefit: conserving scenic resources, enhancing public recreation, promoting game management, or preserving wildlife or wildlife habitat.
Who qualifies. There is no minimum acreage. How much the value comes down depends on which open space categories the land qualifies for and whether the restrictions on it are permanent, so two open space parcels can be reduced by very different amounts. A map of the parcel (sketched or drafted) showing the whole parcel, the land proposed for classification, and any land use restrictions being requested must accompany the application. File a separate application for each parcel, and for each municipality a parcel sits in.
What it costs to leave. As with Farmland, withdrawal or a change in use triggers a penalty.
Deadline. April 1 of the year in which classification is requested.
Official resources
Statute: 36 M.R.S. §§ 1101–1121
At a glance. Worth: 20% off value or more; Deadline: April 1; Decided by: Your assessor; To leave: Penalty
What it is. The newest of Maine's current use programs. Waterfront land that supports commercial fishing is assessed for that use rather than at its highest and best use, because development value is exactly what tends to price fishing off the shore.
Who qualifies. Two tests, both required. Location: the parcel must fully or partially abut water to the head of tide, or be land in the intertidal zone. Use: the land must provide access to or support for commercial fishing activities. There is no acreage minimum.
How much the value comes down depends on how heavily the land is used, and the reductions stack:
Staying enrolled. The assessor re-checks qualifying parcels every year and re-certifies them without a new application. But when classified land is sold or transferred, the new owner has one year to file a new application with a sworn statement that the land still qualifies.
What it costs to leave. Withdrawal triggers a penalty on the withdrawn portion. An owner must tell the assessor in writing about any disqualifying change of use before the end of that tax year; failing to do so adds a further penalty of 25% of the withdrawal penalty, which the assessor may waive for cause.
Deadline. April 1, filed with the assessor of the municipality where the parcel sits (or with the MRS Property Tax Division for the unorganized territory), signed by everyone with an ownership interest. There is no online application for this program yet. Forms are available from your municipal office or the MRS website.
Official resources
Statute: 36 M.R.S. §§ 1131–1140-B
At a glance. Worth: Equipment fully exempt; Filed with: Your assessor
What it is. BETE exempts eligible business personal property (equipment) placed in service after April 1, 2007 from property tax entirely. It is the successor to the older reimbursement approach and removes qualifying equipment from the tax rolls rather than taxing it and refunding the owner.
Who qualifies. Businesses that own qualifying depreciable equipment used in a business. Some property is specifically excluded, for example certain retail property, equipment already exempt under another program, and property used by certain excluded business types. Equipment near a retail sales facility qualifies only if it is not used primarily in retail sales activity, evaluated piece by piece.
Related program – BETR. Equipment too old to qualify for BETE may still be eligible for the Business Equipment Tax Reimbursement (BETR) program, covered in the next section. A business cannot use both programs on the same property.
Official resources
Statute: 36 M.R.S. §§ 691–700-B
At a glance. Worth: Tax refunded by the state; Filed with: Maine Revenue Services; Window: August 1 to December 31
What it is. BETR is not an exemption. The equipment stays on the tax roll, the town assesses and taxes it like any other business property, the owner pays the bill, and then the State reimburses the owner for the tax paid. It is the older of Maine's two business equipment programs; BETE took over going forward, but BETR still covers the equipment BETE cannot reach.
Who qualifies. Tangible personal property that is used or held exclusively for a business purpose, is depreciable under the Internal Revenue Code, and was first placed in service in Maine on or after April 2, 1995 and before April 1, 2007. The equipment itself can be any age. What matters is when it first went into service in Maine.
Retail equipment is the exception to that cutoff. Property at a retail sales facility with less than 100,000 square feet of interior customer selling space can qualify even if it was placed in service after April 1, 2007. Above that size, it generally cannot, unless the business's Maine operation draws less than half its annual revenue from sales subject to Maine sales tax.
How much comes back. The full tax for the first dozen years a property is claimed, then a declining schedule:
Where to file: not with your town. BETR is a state reimbursement, so the claim goes to Maine Revenue Services, not the assessor. Claims are filed between August 1 and December 31 of the year following the calendar year in which the tax was paid (MRS may extend that by up to 60 days for good cause), and MRS reimburses within 90 days of a complete, timely application. Reimbursement can be limited if the applicant owes $10,000 or more in personal property tax, or where the property sits in a TIF district.
Official resources
Statute: 36 M.R.S. §§ 6651–6665
The following owners are generally fully exempt from property tax when the property is owned and used for the organization's own exempt purposes. These are less commonly the subject of a homeowner inquiry, but are included for completeness. Property leased to or used by a non-exempt party may lose the exemption.
Real estate and personal property owned and occupied, or used solely for their own purposes, by benevolent and charitable institutions is exempt. Maine courts treat "benevolent" and "charitable" as the same thing. An exemption cannot be denied simply because of where the organization gets its money, though it can be evaluated based on who ultimately benefits from the organization's services. (36 M.R.S. § 652(1)(A))
Houses of religious worship are exempt, including vestries, the pews and furniture within them, and the land they sit on plus enough for convenient access. Property used by a religious society as a parsonage is exempt up to a value of $20,000 (not adjusted by the certified ratio); any rented portion of a parsonage is taxable. (36 M.R.S. § 652(1)(G))
Real estate and personal property owned and occupied or used solely for their own purposes by incorporated literary and scientific institutions is exempt. (36 M.R.S. § 652(1)(B))
Property owned and used by posts of recognized veterans' organizations (American Legion, VFW, AMVETS, Disabled American Veterans, and others), fraternal organizations, chambers of commerce, and boards of trade is exempt when used for the organization's purposes. (36 M.R.S. § 652(1)(E), (F), (H))
Property owned by the United States (courthouses, post offices, V.A. hospitals, national parks, and similar), by the State of Maine, and generally by municipalities is exempt, subject to the specific limits in the statutes. Not all federally owned property is exempt; some federal institutions are taxable by law. (1 M.R.S. § 16; 36 M.R.S. § 651)
Property owned or leased by a school administrative unit, including leased buildings and portable classrooms, is treated as property of the unit in all respects and is exempt from property tax. (20-A M.R.S. § 4001(3)(C))
Property of sewer, water, sanitary, and similar quasi-municipal districts is exempt. The Legislature has determined that these districts perform essential governmental functions, so their systems and facilities are treated as public property used for a public purpose. A municipality or district cannot be taxed on a water or sewer system or similar revenue-producing municipal facility. (30-A M.R.S. § 3511; 30-A M.R.S. Chapter 213)
Sewage disposal and treatment facilities are exempt in two ways: when they are owned by a municipal or quasi-municipal district as public property, and when they are certified by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection as water pollution control facilities. Certification status is fixed as of April 1, so DEP certification after that date does not create an exemption for that tax year. (36 M.R.S. § 656(1)(E); 30-A M.R.S. Chapter 213)
The aqueducts, pipes, and conduits of a private corporation supplying a municipality with water are exempt when the municipality takes water without charge for fire protection. Other property owned by a water corporation is taxable. (36 M.R.S. § 656(1)(A))
Real and personal property owned or leased by, and used solely for the purposes of, a nonprofit charitable hospital organization (exempt under IRC § 501) is exempt. This includes property leased to the hospital where it is used for the exempt hospital purpose, as well as licensed health maintenance organizations and blood banks. (36 M.R.S. § 652(1)(K) and (J))
A nonprofit assisted living or residential care facility operated by a benevolent and charitable institution is exempt when the property is owned and used for the organization's charitable purposes. Note that federally subsidized residential rental housing that would otherwise qualify as charitable may be limited to an exemption of 50% of just value. (36 M.R.S. § 652(1)(A) and (C)(6))
Maine law lists a number of narrower exemptions, including animal waste storage facilities, water corporations, privately owned airport landing areas, pollution control facilities, and various categories of exempt personal property (farm machinery, livestock, agricultural produce, business inventory, and more). See 36 M.R.S. §§ 651–656 for the full list.