Maine lawmakers on the Taxation Committee have unanimously rejected three proposals to increase the state’s homestead exemption, a program designed to help lower the property tax bill on Mainers’ primary residences.

While one of the now-defeated proposals would have increased the value of this exemption for all homeowners, the other two represented more targeted reforms aimed at increasing aid to seniors and low income residents.

By lowering the tax-assessed value of Mainers’ homes, the homestead exemption helps to reduce the total property tax bill for which homeowners are responsible.

Currently, the homestead exemption allows Mainers to take $25,000 off the total tax-assessed value of their homes.

LD 658, sponsored by House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor), would have immediately doubled the homestead exemption to $50,000, effective for the tax year beginning on April 1, 2025.

Sponsored by Sen. Rick Bennett (R-Oxford), LD 7 would have raised the homestead exemption to $75,000 for Mainers aged 65 and older who have resided in their home for at least the past ten years.

Sen. Cameron Reny’s (D-Lincoln) bill, LD 570, would have also increased the homestead exemption to $75,000 beginning in 2026, but only for those making less than a certain amount of money each year.

To qualify for this increased exemption, individuals would have needed to earn less than $100,000. Heads of household could have earned up to $150,000, and married couples would have been able to earn up to $200,000.

All three of these bills were unanimously rejected by the Legislature’s Taxation Committee on April 2, 2025.

These, however, are not the only bills on the table this session concerning the homestead exemption.

LD 140 — a Democrat-led, bipartisan bill — would nearly quadruple the value of the homestead exemption by 2033.

This bill was sponsored by Sen. Joe Baldacci (D-Penobscot) and cosponsored by Sen. Donna Bailey (D-York), Sen. Scott Cyrway (R-Kennebec), Rep. Amy J. Roeder (D-Bangor).

Under the proposed legislation, the measure would increase the exemption by $10,000 annually beginning in 2026 until it reaches a total of $95,000 in 2033.

By the point it reaches that maximum, the homestead exemption would continue to increase annually in accordance with the cost of living.

On April 1, the Taxation Committee seemingly voted unanimously in support of an amended version of this bill, although they have not yet officially reported out their recommendations.

The amended text of LD 140 has not yet been made readily available online, but it is likely to be posted after the Committee reports to the Legislature.