A bipartisan group of Maine lawmakers have introduced a bill aiming to increase the value of the state’s Property Tax Fairness Credit beginning in the 2025 tax year.
When filing their annual tax returns, Maine homeowners may claim the Property Tax Fairness Credit, subject to qualification based on a number of criteria, including income and filing status.
Based on the amount paid in property taxes during a given year, homeowners are eligible to receive a maximum of $1,000. Mainers 65 and older, however, are able to get a refund of up to $2,000 as of the 2024 tax year.
The value of the Property Tax Fairness Credit is calculated by determining the degree to which the statutory “base benefit” exceeds four percent of a homeowner’s annual income.
The “base benefit” refers to a homeowner’s property tax bill in a given year up to a certain amount.
LD 1665, sponsored by Sen. Anne Carney (D-Cumberland), seeks to raise the value of the base benefit in order to allow more Maine homeowners to claim a larger Property Tax Fairness credit on their tax returns.
Since 2018, state law has had the base benefit at $2,050 for individuals, $2,650 for heads of household or joint filers, $3,250 for heads of household or joint filers eligible for the child tax credit, and $4,000 for those over the age of 65.
The bill introduced by Sen. Carney and cosponsored by a bipartisan group of lawmakers would provide a small boost to all of these tiers, as well as adjust who qualifies for the tiers themselves.
Under this proposal, individuals would have a base benefit of $2,450, $3,200 for joint filers, $3,250 for heads of household or joint filers with one qualifying child or dependent, $4,250 for heads of household or joint filers with more than one qualifying child or dependent, and $4,250 for those 65 and older.
LD 1665 also increases the maximum value of the Property Tax Fairness Credit for heads of households and joint filers with qualifying children or dependents to $2,000.
Additionally, the bill would require the Department of Administrative and Financial Services (DAFS) Bureau of Revenue Services (BRS) to convene a working group to study the Property Tax Fairness Credit and make recommendations on how to make it easier to understand, as well as to submit an application for it.
The working group would consist of advocates for “low-income and elderly individuals and municipal governments.”
Cosponsoring this legislation are Rep. Adam R. Lee (D-Auburn), Sen. Rick Bennett (R-Oxford), Sen. Bruce Bickford (R-Androscoggin), Sen. Henry Ingwersen (D-York), Sen. Tim Nangle (D-Cumberland), Sen. Cameron Reny (D-Lincoln), Sen. Mike Tipping (D-Penobscot), Rep. Michelle Nicole Boyer (D-Cape Elizabeth), and Rep. Dylan R. Pugh (D-Portland).
LD 1665 has been referred to the Taxation Committee for further consideration, but a public hearing has not yet been scheduled.
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