# Maine LD 288: An Act to Make Technical Changes to Maine's Tax Laws Maine LD 288, An Act to Make Technical Changes to Maine's Tax Laws, is a 132nd Maine Legislature (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by Kristen Cloutier (Democratic); status signed, last action 2025-05-23 (Signed by Governor, ACTPUB Chapter 113); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-17). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD288-132 - As of: 2026-10-17 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Maine LD 288 - State: Maine - Session: 132nd Maine Legislature (2025-2026) - Title: An Act to Make Technical Changes to Maine's Tax Laws - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-01-30 - Last action: 2025-05-23, Signed by Governor, ACTPUB Chapter 113 - Sponsor: Kristen Cloutier (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 0 - Subjects: REVENUE SERVICES BUREAU, REVENUE SERVICES BUREAU - PROCEDURES - Touches household money: yes - Economic provisions PRIA read: 25 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Families get $300 per dependent credit: benefit, high. For tax years 2018 through 2025, you get a $300 Maine income tax credit for each qualifying child or dependent. Beginning in 2026, you get $300 for each dependent you could claim under the federal personal exemption rules (amount greater than $0). The credit is reduced for higher incomes under the… - Property tax relief for veterans and survivors: benefit, high. The value of real property owned by a veteran, an unremarried surviving spouse, or a veteran’s minor child is exempt from property tax. If a veteran died within the year before April 1 and the survivor or minor child missed the normal filing deadline, assessors may abate taxes on a written applicat… - Avoid 4th estimated-tax penalty by filing: benefit, low. If you file your return and pay your full tax by the last day of the first month of the next tax year, you do not owe a penalty for underpaying the 4th estimated payment. This applies to individuals, trusts, and estates that were required to pay estimates. - Excise-paid cars avoid property tax: benefit, low. When you pay the vehicle excise tax for the year, that vehicle is exempt from local personal property tax for that year. - Higher standards and penalties for assessors: benefit, low. Towns that hire a full‑time assessor must use someone certified by the Maine tax bureau. If an assessor refuses required tax work or knowingly fails duties, the assessor can be fined up to $100. - Stronger enforcement for unpaid local taxes: cost, high. After a reasonable demand, the collector can seize goods, hold them 4 to 7 days, and then auction them with 48 hours’ posted notice. Three months after commitment, the collector can issue a warrant to arrest a taxpayer or distrain property, and may act sooner if delay risks losing the tax. If 12 da… - Stricter rules for shipyard investments: cost, medium. To count as a qualified shipyard investment, spending must total at least $100 million and be incurred on or after January 1, 2018. It must be capitalized for federal tax. Most salaries do not count, except design, engineering, and construction staff. Spending already used for other specific Maine… - Extra costs if you skip returns: cost, low. If you refuse to file a required return for taxable personal property, the State Tax Assessor can gather the facts and add the cost to your tax bill. You must pay those added costs with the tax. - Stricter rules and pay for tax collectors: cost, low. Tax collectors must deposit collections with the treasurer monthly and give an account at least every two months. Each neglect costs the collector a $100 forfeiture to the municipality. When pay is a percent of collections, it is calculated only on cash taxes actually collected. The town must set a… - Gas installations taxed as business property: cost, low. Liquefied petroleum, industrial, and medical gas installations, with their tanks, are taxed as business personal property where they are used. Owners owe local personal property tax on this equipment. - Timber and grass land taxes: mixed, high. If state taxes on timber or grass acreage are not paid by March 30 after assessment, your share is forfeited to the State. You can redeem within one year by paying your proportional share of all sums due plus $1. You may also pay only your share and get a discharge certificate. Forfeited acreage is… - Rules to redeem tax-sold property: mixed, medium. After a tax sale, the treasurer holds the deed for two years. You can redeem by paying the tax, charges, and 8% yearly interest plus costs, including $0.67. If you were a minor, mentally ill, imprisoned, or outside the U.S., you get 10 years after that ends (or after death for heirs) to sue. After… - Boat excise credit and lien: mixed, medium. If you transfer a boat in the same tax year, you get an excise tax credit up to what you already paid. If you do not pay the boat excise tax, the collector can record a lien on all your county property for five years, extendable. The lien has judgment‑lien priority and may sit behind earlier mortga… - More notice and protections in tax sales: mixed, medium. Before a tax sale, the collector must give the owner or any occupant at least 10 days’ notice, and mail notice to nonresident owners. If you pay before the sale, the advertisement and notice charge is capped at $1 plus any printer fee. Buyers must notify each recorded mortgage holder within 60 days… - Business tax exemptions and reimbursements updated: mixed, medium. To get the interstate commerce exemption, you must place qualifying property in use within 30 days after purchase or lease start (local assessor can extend up to 60 days) and use it at least 80% of days over the next two years. Casual or one‑off resales no longer qualify for the resale‑certificate… - Annual check of special land status: mixed, low. If your land has a special classification, the assessor checks each year to see if it still qualifies. The assessor may recertify, remove, or allow a provisional classification. - Camper trailers taxed where located: mixed, low. Camper trailers are taxed where they sit. Your tax bill follows the camper’s location, not your home address. - Homeowner rules: homestead, forms, and deferral: mixed, low. A homestead is your owner‑occupied main home and up to 10 contiguous acres. A home in a revocable trust or part of a multi‑unit building can qualify, with value prorated for your portion. Towns must make state exemption forms available and give notice; first‑time applicants must file by April 1. Wh… - Notice and jail rules for tax debts: mixed, low. Before a tax warrant is served, the officer must give or leave a 10‑day written notice showing the tax due. If you are jailed for unpaid taxes, the jailer holds you until you pay the tax, charges, and $0.33 for the warrant copy. Towns must record a tax collector’s bond, and a collector is usually n… - Who pays tax for estates and wards: mixed, low. A minor’s personal property is taxed to the guardian where the guardian lives. For other guardianships, the property is taxed to the guardian where the ward lives. A town may stop taxing undivided real estate to a personal representative who certifies the estate has no funds and provides heir names… - Cargo trailers taxed where based: mixed, low. Cargo trailers are taxed in the town where they are mainly based on April 1. “Mainly based” means where the trailer usually returns for repairs, supplies, or use. This can change which town sends the tax bill to your business. - Unorganized Territory funds and records: mixed, low. The law creates the Unorganized Territory Education and Services Fund for taxes the State Tax Assessor collects. Counties and agencies must keep written service contracts on file and share them with the unorganized territory fiscal administrator. State officials must share land‑value and timber‑sal… - Towns must report excise collections: mixed, low. Town collectors must deposit excise receipts monthly and give year‑end reports to town officers and county commissioners showing totals by year. This tightens local accounting for excise taxes. - Insurance tax return instructions updated: mixed, low. Insurance companies must file the required insurance tax return as the State Tax Assessor prescribes. The law removes a prior reference to filing a separate return. This is a filing instruction change and does not change the tax in the text provided. - Some old Maine tax laws repealed: mixed, low. The law repeals several tax code provisions: an entire chapter and specific sections and paragraphs in Title 36. The real‑world impact depends on what those repealed provisions previously did. Agencies and taxpayers who relied on them must now follow the remaining law. ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Kristen Cloutier (Democratic), House ## Actions (7) - 2025-05-23: Signed by Governor, ACTPUB Chapter 113 - 2025-05-22: PASSED TO BE ENACTED, in concurrence. (Senate) - 2025-05-22: PASSED TO BE ENACTED. Sent for concurrence. ORDERED SENT FORTHWITH. (House) - 2025-05-20: Reports ReadOn motion by Senator GROHOSKI of Hancock the Majority Ought to Pass as Amended Report ACCEPTED. Bill READ ONCE Committee Amendment "A" (H-147) READ and ADOPTED Under suspension of the Rules, READ A SECOND TIME and PASSED TO BE ENGROSSED AS AMENDED by Committee Amendment "A" (H-147) in concurrence (Senate) - 2025-05-14: Reports READ.On motion of Representative CLOUTIER of Lewiston, the Majority Ought to Pass as Amended Report was ACCEPTED.The Bill was READ ONCE.Committee Amendment "A" (H-147) was READ and ADOPTED.Under suspension of the rules, the Bill was given its SECOND READING without REFERENCE to the Committee on Bills in the Second Reading.The Bill was PASSED TO BE ENGROSSED as Amended by Committee Amendment "A" (H-147). Sent for concurrence. ORDERED SENT FORTHWITH. (House) - 2025-03-21: Carried over, in the same posture, to the next special or regular session of the 132nd Legislature, pursuant to Joint Order SP 519. (House) - 2025-01-30: Received by the Clerk of the House on January 30, 2025.The Bill was REFERRED to the Committee on TAXATION pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint Rule 401. (House) ## Bill text - Amendment C-A (H-147), adopted by House & Senate: [PDF](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP0188&item=2&snum=132) - Enacted: [PDF](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP0188&item=4&snum=132) - Introduced: [PDF](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP0188&item=1&snum=132) ## Related bills - LD 1522: An Act to Establish the Maine Eviction Prevention Program (failed) - LD 1665: An Act to Provide Property Tax Relief to Maine Families (failed) - LD 1872: An Act to Reinvest in the Pension Funds of the Maine Public Employees Retirement System (failed) - LD 2067: An Act to Include Community Mental Health Workers Under the 1998 Special Plan for Retirement (failed) - LD 1611: An Act to Decrease the Retirement Contributions Required for Teachers and State Employees (failed) - LD 1294: An Act to Expand the Dependent Exemption Tax Credit (failed) ## Sources - [Amendment C-A (H-147), adopted by House & Senate (PDF)](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP0188&item=2&snum=132) - [Enacted (PDF)](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP0188&item=4&snum=132) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP0188&item=1&snum=132) ## Related - [LD 1522: An Act to Establish the Maine Eviction Prevention Program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1522-132) - [LD 1665: An Act to Provide Property Tax Relief to Maine Families](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1665-132) - [LD 1872: An Act to Reinvest in the Pension Funds of the Maine Public Employees Retiremen…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1872-132) - [LD 2067: An Act to Include Community Mental Health Workers Under the 1998 Special Plan f…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD2067-132) - [LD 1611: An Act to Decrease the Retirement Contributions Required for Teachers and State…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1611-132) - [LD 1294: An Act to Expand the Dependent Exemption Tax Credit](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1294-132) - [Maine bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/maine/bills) - [Maine state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/maine) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD288-132 (as of 2026-10-17).