- Assessor site
- https://www.maine.gov/revenue/taxes/property-tax ↗
- Search by
- route to the town assessor; UT parcels: Maine Revenue Services directly
- Reassessment cycle
- HYBRID: 482 municipal assessors at 'just value' with municipally-declared CERTIFIED RATIOS (accepted within 10% of the MRS ratio study; partial exemptions are ratio-adjusted) — and for the UNORGANIZED TERRITORY (roughly HALF of Maine's land), the STATE TAX ASSESSOR is the assessor of record: Maine Revenue Services values, bills, and hears appeals there directly. MRS's annual state valuation drives education funding and county apportionment.
- Reassessment trigger
- Ratio-standard drift forces municipal revaluations; assessors may correct prior undervaluations year-to-year without notice. No caps.
- Personal & intangible property
- Business personal property IS taxed, with the BETE exemption for eligible equipment — an application EVERY YEAR by May 1 (good-cause extension up to 3 months); file late and the year is LOST. State reimburses towns 50%+.
- CRE forecasting note
- Route by geography first: organized town = municipal assessor; UT parcel = MRS directly. Abatement: written request within 185 DAYS of commitment; 60-day steps (assessor -> Board of Assessment Review or county commissioners -> court) with deemed denial; nonresidential ≥$1M EQUALIZED routes to the STATE BOARD OF PROPERTY TAX REVIEW instead of Superior Court. TRAP: ignore an assessor's taxable-property list request and abatement rights are FORFEITED. Tree Growth/Farmland/Open Space carry withdrawal penalties — underwrite on land deals.
- Residential note
- Homestead exemption: $25,000 of just value (12-month Maine homestead ownership; occupy on April 1; one-time filing by APRIL 1, ratio-adjusted). Veteran $6,000 (62+, wartime, or 100% disabled; Apr 1 filing with discharge papers); renewable-energy equipment exemption (Apr 1). Abatement: 185 days from commitment, then the 60-day ladder.
STATE ASSESSED — The State Tax Assessor IS the assessor for the Unorganized Territory (~half of Maine's land): MRS values, bills, and hears appeals there directly.
APPEAL DEADLINE — 185-day abatement clock; 60-day ladder steps with deemed denial; failing to file a requested taxable-property list FORFEITS abatement; $1M+ nonresidential appeals route to the State Board, not Superior Court.
FILING REQUIRED RELIEF — Homestead/veteran filings by Apr 1; BETE equipment exemption requires an application EVERY YEAR (May 1; assessor may grant up to a 3-month good-cause extension) or the year is lost.
RATIO CAUTION — Certified ratios adjust every partial exemption and frame overvaluation claims (intra-municipal comparison only).
Note: Your town's assessor sets values here (Lewiston, Auburn.) The state link is the MRS Property Tax hub (certified ratios, state valuation, UT section, BETE). Abatement: 185 days from commitment to the assessor; 60-day steps up the ladder; nonresidential ≥$1M equalized goes to the State Board of Property Tax Review. Homestead $25k and BETE filings key to April 1.
Primary sources: MRS Property Tax hub + Bulletins 10 & 28; State Board of Property Tax Review rules; 36 M.R.S. §§341, 383, 701-A, 841-849, 1606 (as of 2026-07-04). Confirm current rules and figures with the assessing authority before any use.