APPROVED CHAPTER
JUNE 12, 2025 271
BY GOVERNOR PUBLIC LAW
STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE
_____
H.P. 32 - L.D. 68
An Act to Amend the State Tax Laws
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
PART A
Sec. A-1. 33 MRSA §203, first ¶, as amended by PL 2019, c. 607, Pt. A, §3, is
further amended to read:
Deeds and all other written instruments before recording in the registries of deeds,
except those issued by a court of competent jurisdiction and duly attested by the proper
officer thereof, and excepting plans and notices of foreclosure of mortgages and certain
financing statements as provided in Title 11, section 9‑1501, subsection (1), paragraph (a),
and excepting notices of liens for internal revenue taxes and certificates discharging such
liens and excepting notices of liens for the collection of taxes assessed pursuant to Title 36,
Part 1 and Parts 3 to 8 and Title 26, chapter 13, and releases discharging such liens, and
excepting notices of liens for the collection of taxes assessed pursuant to Title 36, Part 2
and Part 9 when filed by the State Tax Assessor, and releases discharging such liens, must
be acknowledged by the grantors, or by the persons executing any such written instruments,
or by one of them, or by their attorney executing the same, or by the lessor in a lease or one
of the lessors or lessor's attorney executing the same, before a notary public in the State, or
before an attorney-at-law duly admitted and eligible to practice in the courts of the State,
if within the State; or before any clerk of a court of record having a seal, notary public or
commissioner appointed by the Governor of this State for the purpose, or a commissioner
authorized in the state where the acknowledgment is taken, within the United States; or
before a minister, vice-consul or consul of the United States or notary public in any foreign
country.
Sec. A-2. 36 MRSA §693, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2017, c. 170, Pt. B, §8, is
further amended to read:
1. Reporting. On or before April May 1st of each year, a taxpayer claiming an
exemption under this subchapter shall file a report with the assessor of the taxing
jurisdiction in which the property would otherwise be subject to taxation on April 1st of
that year. The report must identify the property for which exemption is claimed that would
otherwise be subject to taxation on April 1st of that year and must be made on a form
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prescribed by the State Tax Assessor or substitute form approved by the State Tax Assessor.
The State Tax Assessor shall furnish copies of access to the form to each municipality in
the State and the form must be made available to taxpayers prior to April 1st annually. The
assessor of the taxing jurisdiction may require the taxpayer to sign the form and make oath
to its truth. If the report is not filed by April 1st, the filing deadline is automatically
extended to May 1st without the need for the taxpayer to request or the assessor to grant
that extension. Upon written request, before the commitment of taxes, the assessor may
grant further extensions, for good cause, an extension of time not to exceed 3 months to
file the report. If a taxpayer fails to file the report in a timely manner, including any
extensions extension of time, the taxpayer may not obtain an exemption for that property
under this subchapter for that tax year. The assessor of the taxing jurisdiction may require
in writing that a taxpayer answer in writing all reasonable inquiries as to the property for
which exemption is requested. A taxpayer has 30 days from receipt of such an inquiry to
respond. Upon written request, a taxpayer is entitled to a 30-day extension to respond to
the inquiry and the assessor may at any time grant additional extensions to respond to the
inquiry upon written request. The answer to any such inquiry is not binding on the assessor.
All notices and requests provided pursuant to this subsection must be made by personal
delivery or certified mail and must conspicuously state the consequences of the taxpayer's
failure to respond to the notice or request in a timely manner.
If an exemption has already been accepted and the State Tax Assessor subsequently
determines that the property is not entitled to exemption, a supplemental assessment must
be made within 3 years of the original assessment date with respect to the property in
compliance with section 713, without regard to the limitations contained in that section
regarding the justification necessary for a supplemental assessment.
PART B
Sec. B-1. 36 MRSA §1760, sub-§25, as amended by PL 2015, c. 300, Pt. A, §18,
is further amended to read:
25. Watercraft purchased by nonresidents. Sales to or use by a person that is not a
resident of this State of watercraft or materials used in watercraft as specified in this
subsection. This subsection does not apply to the lease or rental of a watercraft to a person
that is not a resident of this State.
A. The following are exempt when the sale is made in this State to a person that is not
a resident of this State and the watercraft is sailed or transported outside the State within
30 days of delivery by the seller:
(1) A watercraft;
(2) Sales, under contract for the construction of a watercraft, of materials to be
incorporated in that watercraft; and
(3) Sales of materials to be incorporated in the watercraft for the repair, alteration,
refitting, reconstruction, overhaul or restoration of that watercraft.
B. The purchase of a watercraft outside this State is exempt if the watercraft is
registered outside the State by the purchaser and used outside the State by the purchaser
and the watercraft is present in the State not more than 30 days, not including any time
spent in this State for temporary storage, during the 12 months following its purchase.
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 For purposes of this paragraph, "used outside the State" does not include storage but
means actual use of the watercraft for a purpose consistent with its design.
C. If, for a purpose other than temporary storage, a watercraft is present in this State
for more than 30 days during the 12-month period following its date of purchase, the
exemption applies only to 60% of the sale price of the watercraft or materials for the
construction, repair, alteration, refitting, reconstruction, overhaul or restoration of the
watercraft, as specified in paragraph A.
Sec. B-2. 36 MRSA §1760, sub-§113, ¶B, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 681, Pt. D,
§2, is amended to read:
B. "Sales sourced to tribal land" means sales sourced pursuant to section 1819 to a
location on tribal land. In addition, sales of motor vehicles other than those that are
being leased for a period of less than one year to a tribal member are sales sourced to
tribal land if the vehicle is intended to be driven or transported to tribal land
immediately upon receipt of the vehicle.
Sec. B-3. 36 MRSA §1760, sub-§114, ¶B, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 681, Pt. D,
§3, is amended to read:
B. "Sales sourced to tribal land" means sales sourced pursuant to section 1819 to a
location on tribal land. In addition, sales of motor vehicles other than those that are
being leased for a period of less than one year to a tribal entity are sales sourced to
tribal land if the vehicle is intended to be driven or transported to tribal land
immediately upon receipt of the vehicle.
Sec. B-4. 36 MRSA §1764, as amended by PL 2015, c. 300, Pt. A, §24, is further
amended to read:
§1764. Tax against certain casual sales and rentals
The tax imposed by this Part must be levied upon all casual rentals of living quarters
in a hotel, rooming house, tourist camp or trailer camp and upon all casual sales, including
rentals pursuant to section 1752, subsection 13, involving the sale of trailers, truck campers,
motor vehicles, special mobile equipment, watercraft or aircraft unless the property is sold
for resale at retail sale or to a corporation, partnership, trust, limited liability company or
limited liability partnership when the seller is the owner of 50% or more of the common
stock of the corporation or of the ownership interests in the partnership, trust, limited
liability company or limited liability partnership. This section does not apply to the rental
of living quarters rented for a total rentals of fewer than 15 days in the calendar year, except
that a person who owns and offers for rental more than one living quarters, trailer, truck
camper, motor vehicle, special mobile equipment, watercraft or aircraft, each listed type of
property considered separately, in the State during the calendar year is liable for collecting
sales tax with respect to the rental of each unit of the type of property regardless of the
number of days for which it is rented. For purposes of this section, "special mobile
equipment" does not include farm tractors and lumber harvesting vehicles or loaders.
Sec. B-5. Application. This Part applies to sales made on or after January 1, 2026.
PART C
Sec. C-1. 5 MRSA §13080-Q, sub-§2, ¶C, as amended by PL 1997, c. 504, §1, is
further amended to read:
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 C. State income withholding taxes derived from employment at a business within the
base area are not eligible for use in the calculation of a payment to the fund if the
business is eligible during the current year to receive a payment under any other
program authorized by Title 36, Part 9 that is based on the amount of employer
withholding taxes and the business has made or makes an election to receive that
payment. State income withholding taxes derived from employment at a business
within the base area attributable to any qualified employee whose wages are included
in computing the benefit base eligible for reimbursement to a Maine Employment Tax
Increment Financing Program qualified business pursuant to Title 36, chapter 917 are
not eligible for use in the calculation of a payment to the fund.
Sec. C-2. 36 MRSA §5122, sub-§2, ¶M-2, as amended by PL 2023, c. 523, Pt. B,
§1, is further amended by amending subparagraph (2), division (a) to read:
(a) "Employee retirement plan" means a state, federal or military retirement
plan or any other retirement benefit plan established and maintained by an
employer for the benefit of its employees under the Code, Section 401(a),
Section 403 or Section 457(b), except that distributions made pursuant to a
Section 457(b) plan are not eligible for the deduction provided by this
paragraph if they are made prior to age 55 and are not part of a series of
substantially equal periodic payments made for the life of the primary recipient
or the joint lives of the primary recipient and that recipient's designated
beneficiary.
Sec. C-3. 36 MRSA §5195, sub-§20, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 380, §2, is amended
to read:
20. Reviewed year. "Reviewed year" means the taxable year of a partnership that is
subject to a partnership-level audit, or that files an administrative adjustment request, from
which federal adjustments arise.
Sec. C-4. 36 MRSA §5196, sub-§3, ¶B, as amended by PL 2021, c. 181, Pt. A,
§8, is further amended by amending subparagraph (10) to read:
(10) If the result in subparagraph (9) is a positive amount, compute interest and
penalties pursuant to sections 186 and 187‑B, respectively, and add these amounts
to are determined on the amount computed in subparagraph (9) as adjusted by any
applicable credit pursuant to paragraph C. For purposes of this subparagraph,
notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, interest and penalty amounts
with respect to the tax due under this subsection accrue beginning on the 15th day
of the 3rd month following the end of the taxable year of a partnership that was
subject to the partnership-level audit or administrative adjustment request; and
Sec. C-5. 36 MRSA §6753, sub-§4, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 461, §26, is
amended to read:
A. Pursuant to Title 30‑A, section 5250‑J, subsection 4‑A, "base level of employment"
may be adjusted to mean 25% of the average number of employees of that business
over the 3 months immediately preceding the catastrophic occurrence for a qualified
Pine Tree Development Zone business as defined in Title 30-A, section 5250-I,
subsection 17.
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Statutes affected:
Bill Text ACTPUB , Chapter 271: 33.203, 36.693, 36.1760, 36.1764, 5.13080, 36.5122, 36.5195, 36.5196, 36.6753