An Act to Return Funds to Maine Property Tax Payers requires the Maine Office of the State Treasurer (OST) to provide tax relief payments of no less than $100 to qualifying homesteads, when the Property Tax Relief Fund reaches a threshold of funding to support the payments. In 2019, this threshold will be met based on available funds divided by the number of homesteads net of expenses to administer the program. To read the law in its entirety, please click here.
State Treasurer Henry Beck has determined the fund to be at a level sufficient to trigger a payment for FY 2020. Property owners should contact their town office for assistance.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q. Is this a new program?
A. Yes, this is a program that began in 2019 and is administered by the State Treasurer. This program was established by P.L. 2019 Chapter 448, as proposed in LD 1713 “An Act To Return Funds to Maine Property Tax Payers.” It is separate from previous and existing efforts to provide property tax relief such as revenue sharing, certain property tax exemptions and certain property tax credits.
Q. How is this program funded?
A. This program is funded by the Property Tax Relief Fund for Maine Residents. The Property Tax Relief Fund for Maine Residents consists of excess general fund revenues.
Q. Does a qualified taxpayer with a property valued at $20,000 receive a payment?
A. Yes, all qualified homestead exemption property taxpayers will receive the same payment.
Q. I work for a town or city. How should I send my list of homestead property owners to the Treasurer?
A. Our office has sent a request to each Municipal Tax Assessor with an attached template that will need to be completed and returned. If you do not have Excel, we will work directly with you to find a solution. TRIO Users will be provided an extract to use and pull the exact data we need. If you have not received the template, you can download that here. Please make sure the list is accurate.
Q. The money for this relief used to come to the municipality as an offset to taxes, is this not the case anymore?
A.This is a different program from the homestead exemption. The homestead exemption is simply the qualifier for the relief payment.
Q. If a check was sent with information that is incorrect, who should be contacted?
A. If you are a recipient of a payment, please contact your Tax Assessor who will make a formal request to the Office of the State Treasurer to correct the recipient’s information. We will only reissue checks by request of the Tax Assessor who submitted the original name. Other examples of errors that can be potentially be corrected include:
Name spelled incorrectly
Mailing address incorrect
Spouse or co-owner is deceased.
The Office of State Treasurer has discretion to approve or not approve the reissue of payments consistent with the intent of the law. The Office of the State Treasurer may require certain documentation before reissuing payment. We wish to be of assistance ask for the patience of taxpayers.
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An Act to Return Funds to Maine Property Tax Payers requires the Maine Office of the State Treasurer (OST) to provide tax relief payments of no less than $100 to qualifying homesteads, when the Property Tax Relief Fund reaches a threshold of funding to support the payments. In 2019, this threshold will be met based on available funds divided by the number of homesteads net of expenses to administer the program. To read the law in its entirety, please click here.
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