- 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 (Alfred (seat), Biddeford, Saco, Sanford, Kittery, York, Kennebunk, Old Orchard Beach.) 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.