How to appeal your property tax assessment in Maine
In Maine, if the value on your notice is too high, you can ask to have it lowered. You don't need a lawyer.
Checked against official sources: Oct 21, 2026
Can I still appeal?
Open now in most places Check the deadline on your notice.
Most Maine towns committed their 2026 taxes in summer or early fall 2026, so the 185-day abatement window is open now for most homeowners. It closes 185 days after your town's commitment date, which for most towns falls between mid-December 2026 and spring 2027 (Auburn: 185 days after its July 13 commitment is January 14, 2027, although the city lists January 16; Caribou: February 1, 2027). A town that committed early in the summer may have a deadline as soon as December, so check your town's commitment date with the assessor now. The next window opens when 2027 taxes are committed.
Maine homeowners pay a median of $3,036 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.02%, the 19th highest of the 51 states we cover.
File a written abatement request with your local assessor within 185 days after the tax 'commitment' date (the day the town hands the tax list to the tax collector, usually near when bills go out). Commitment dates differ by town, so the deadline does too; ask your assessor for the exact date. Example: Caribou (Aroostook County) committed its 2026 taxes on July 29, 2026; 185 days later fell on Saturday, January 30, 2027, so Caribou set its deadline at Monday, February 1, 2027. Auburn (Androscoggin County) committed on July 13, 2026; 185 days later is Thursday, January 14, 2027. The city's tax page lists January 16, 2027, so to be safe file by January 14. The assessor has 60 days to decide; no written decision in 60 days counts as a denial. You then have 60 days to appeal.
Maine law does not require a separate yearly notice of value. Your tax bill, mailed around the time taxes are committed (often in summer or early fall), shows your assessed value. After a town-wide revaluation, towns often mail new values first and offer informal reviews, but this varies by town.
How much could you save?
Enter the market value on your assessment notice and what you think the home would really sell for. We estimate the yearly saving if the board agrees with you.
Some states cap how fast the taxable value of a home can rise (California, Florida, Michigan and Texas homesteads, for example). If your taxable value is already held below market value by a cap, a lower market value may not lower this year's bill.
How to appeal in Maine, step by step
Understand your assessment
Your city, town or plantation assessor (or board of assessors) values your home. Some towns share a regional assessing office, and the state values property in the unorganized territory. Abatement requests go to the same local assessor. Appeals go to your town's Board of Assessment Review, or, if your town has none, to the county commissioners or a county Board of Assessment Review. Homes are assessed at 'market value (“just value”)' (market value) as of April 1 each year. A town may assess everything at a set percentage of market value, called its certified ratio (for example, Auburn's 2026 ratio is 73%). State standards require each town's overall ratio to be at least 70% of market value, and it should not be above 110%. There is no fixed statewide revaluation schedule. Each town decides when to do a full revaluation, usually when its values drift too far from market value or become uneven. State standards limit how far a town's ratio and uniformity can slip before it must fix its values.
Check the record and talk to the assessor
Before filing, ask the assessor's office for your property record card and check it for mistakes such as wrong square footage, acreage or year built. The assessor's office can also give you recent sales data. Many errors are fixed this way. Talking to the assessor does not stop the 185-day clock.
Gather your evidence
What works in Maine:
- Recent sales of similar homes in your town
- A recent appraisal by a licensed appraiser, or your own recent arm's-length purchase price
- Errors on your property record card
- Assessed values of similar nearby homes
- Photos and repair estimates showing damage or condition problems as of April 1
More detail
- Recent sales of similar homes in your town (ask the assessor for the sales data)
- A recent appraisal by a licensed appraiser, or your own recent arm's-length purchase price
- Errors on your property record card (size, acreage, year built, features you don't have)
- Assessed values of similar nearby homes, adjusted for your town's certified ratio, to show unequal treatment
- Photos and repair estimates showing damage or condition problems as of April 1
File your appeal
First level: Abatement request to the local assessor. Fill out your town's abatement application or the state's 'Application for Abatement of Municipal Property Taxes' and give it to your town or city assessor. Use one application per parcel. You must state the tax year, the reduction you want and the specific reasons, and attach proof such as comparable sales or record card errors. The assessor (or board of assessors) must send a written decision; if none arrives within 60 days, your request is deemed denied unless you agreed in writing to more time. Keep paying your tax bill on time: interest still runs on unpaid tax even while an abatement is pending. Cost: No fee.
Prove your case at the hearing
Bring copies of your evidence for each board member. Keep to the value of your home, not the size of the bill.
More detail
The assessment is presumed correct, and the burden is on you. You must show the assessment is 'manifestly wrong' by proving one of three things: your home was substantially overvalued and that caused an injustice; your home was unjustly discriminated against compared with similar property; or the assessment was fraudulent, dishonest or illegal. Simply saying the value is too high is not enough. By law an assessment is a sufficient defense if it is accurate within reasonable limits, unless you prove a deviation of 10% or more from the town's assessment ratio.
If you lose: Local Board of Assessment Review, or county commissioners / county Board of Assessment Review
60 days after you receive the assessor's written decision, or 60 days after the request is deemed denied (60 days with no decision). Further appeal to Superior Court: 30 days after you receive the board's or commissioners' decision. Appeal in writing. If your town has adopted a Board of Assessment Review, file with that board. If it has not, file with the county commissioners, or with the county Board of Assessment Review in counties that have one (for example, Cumberland County). The assessor's decision letter must name the right board. The board holds a hearing and must give written notice of its decision within 60 days, or the appeal is deemed denied. You can then appeal to Superior Court under Rule 80B. The State Board of Property Tax Review does not hear homeowner appeals; it handles only nonresidential property valued at $1 million or more and current-use land (tree growth, farmland, open space, working waterfront).
After you win
The assessor or board lowers your value for that tax year and certifies the abatement to the tax collector. If you already paid, the town must refund the overpayment with interest at a rate the town sets. The win covers only that year; there is no multi-year freeze, and the assessor can set a new value next April 1.
Official forms
Application for Abatement of Municipal Property Taxes (Maine Revenue Services, Rev 03/22; many towns use their own version)
Homestead Property Tax Exemption Application
State Property Tax Deferral Program Application
Rules that are different in Maine
- The deadline runs from the tax commitment date, not from the tax bill due date, and it differs by town. Ask your assessor for the commitment date.
- Compare your value to market value times your town's certified ratio. A home assessed above market value is not overvalued if the whole town is assessed at that same percentage.
- List every reason in your abatement application and fill in every part. The Board of Assessment Review looks at the case fresh and can hear new evidence, but towns warn that an incomplete application can hurt your right to appeal, and leaving out a ground invites a fight over whether it can be raised later.
- If the assessor sent you a request for information (a 'true and perfect list' or written questions) and you ignored it, you can lose your right to an abatement or appeal unless you supply the information and a good excuse with your application.
- Filing for an abatement does not delay your tax bill. Interest runs on unpaid tax even if you later win.
- For property valued at $500,000 or more, the appeal is suspended unless you have paid at least the undisputed tax or last year's tax, whichever is greater.
- Homeowners do not go to the State Board of Property Tax Review; it hears only nonresidential property of $1 million or more and current-use land.
- Separate from valuation appeals, the select board or council can abate taxes on your home for hardship or poverty within 3 years of commitment.
Is your home assessed higher than similar homes?
Yes. Unjust discrimination, meaning your home is valued at a higher share of its market value than similar property in town, is one of the three recognized grounds for an abatement under Maine's constitution. You must prove it, usually by comparing assessments of similar homes after adjusting for the town's ratio. Run the numbers with our unequal assessment calculator.
Most wins start with a mistake in the assessor's record of your home. Check it line by line.
Record card checklistExemptions that lower your bill without an appeal
An exemption is separate from an appeal: you apply once and it cuts your taxable value every year. Check you have every one you qualify for.
Homestead exemption
If you have owned a home in Maine for the 12 months before April 1 and it is your permanent residence, up to $25,000 of its just value is exempt (adjusted by your town's certified ratio). Apply once to your local assessor by April 1.
State Property Tax Deferral Program
Homeowners 65 or older, or unable to work because of disability, with a homestead exemption and income and liquid assets under state limits (for applications after January 1, 2024: income under $80,000 and liquid assets under $100,000 for a sole owner), can have the state pay their property tax. The deferred tax plus interest is repaid later, usually when the home is sold or the owner dies. Apply to your assessor between January 1 and April 1.
Property Tax Fairness Credit
A refundable credit on your Maine income tax return for part of the property tax or rent you pay on your primary residence, if your income and tax paid meet the limits. Claim it with Form 1040ME and Schedule PTFC/STFC.
Do you need a lawyer or a tax consultant?
You can file and appear on your own. The state abatement form allows a preparer other than the taxpayer to sign. Attorneys can represent you; the State Board of Property Tax Review notes that people without a lawyer are held to the same standards. Rules on paid non-lawyer agents at local boards were not confirmed.
Free property tax appeal letter
Fill in your details and download a written appeal statement as a PDF. Most boards also require their own appeal form: file the form and attach this letter and your evidence to it.
RobinClaim is a free information site, not a law firm or appraiser. The letter is a template, not legal advice.
Maine property tax appeal FAQ
What is the deadline to appeal property taxes in Maine?
File a written abatement request with your local assessor within 185 days after the tax 'commitment' date (the day the town hands the tax list to the tax collector, usually near when bills go out). Commitment dates differ by town, so the deadline does too; ask your assessor for the exact date. Example: Caribou (Aroostook County) committed its 2026 taxes on July 29, 2026; 185 days later fell on Saturday, January 30, 2027, so Caribou set its deadline at Monday, February 1, 2027. Auburn (Androscoggin County) committed on July 13, 2026; 185 days later is Thursday, January 14, 2027. The city's tax page lists January 16, 2027, so to be safe file by January 14. The assessor has 60 days to decide; no written decision in 60 days counts as a denial. You then have 60 days to appeal.
Where do I file a property tax appeal in Maine?
First level of appeal in Maine: Abatement request to the local assessor. Fill out your town's abatement application or the state's 'Application for Abatement of Municipal Property Taxes' and give it to your town or city assessor. Use one application per parcel. You must state the tax year, the reduction you want and the specific reasons, and attach proof such as comparable sales or record card errors. The assessor (or board of assessors) must send a written decision; if none arrives within 60 days, your request is deemed denied unless you agreed in writing to more time. Keep paying your tax bill on time: interest still runs on unpaid tax even while an abatement is pending.
How much does it cost to appeal in Maine?
No fee.
Can I talk to the assessor before filing?
Before filing, ask the assessor's office for your property record card and check it for mistakes such as wrong square footage, acreage or year built. The assessor's office can also give you recent sales data. Many errors are fixed this way. Talking to the assessor does not stop the 185-day clock.
What if the board turns me down?
Next level: Local Board of Assessment Review, or county commissioners / county Board of Assessment Review. 60 days after you receive the assessor's written decision, or 60 days after the request is deemed denied (60 days with no decision). Further appeal to Superior Court: 30 days after you receive the board's or commissioners' decision. Appeal in writing. If your town has adopted a Board of Assessment Review, file with that board. If it has not, file with the county commissioners, or with the county Board of Assessment Review in counties that have one (for example, Cumberland County). The assessor's decision letter must name the right board. The board holds a hearing and must give written notice of its decision within 60 days, or the appeal is deemed denied. You can then appeal to Superior Court under Rule 80B. The State Board of Property Tax Review does not hear homeowner appeals; it handles only nonresidential property valued at $1 million or more and current-use land (tree growth, farmland, open space, working waterfront).
What happens if I win?
The assessor or board lowers your value for that tax year and certifies the abatement to the tax collector. If you already paid, the town must refund the overpayment with interest at a rate the town sets. The win covers only that year; there is no multi-year freeze, and the assessor can set a new value next April 1.
Sources
Checked Oct 21, 2026 against official Maine sources. Local deadlines and fees can differ; confirm with your assessor or board.
- Maine Revenue Services - Property Tax Bulletin No. 10, Abatement and Appeals Procedures (Sept. 25, 2025)
- Maine Revenue Services - Application for Abatement of Municipal Property Taxes
- 36 M.R.S. § 841 - Abatement procedures (185 days from commitment)
- 36 M.R.S. § 843 - Appeals to local Board of Assessment Review
- 36 M.R.S. § 844 - Appeals to county commissioners / county Board of Assessment Review
- 36 M.R.S. § 848-A - Assessment ratio evidence (10% deviation)
- Maine State Board of Property Tax Review - FAQ (no jurisdiction over residential property)
- Maine Supreme Judicial Court - Roque Island Gardner Homestead Corp. v. Town of Jonesport, 2017 ME 152 (burden of proof, unjust discrimination)
- Maine Revenue Services - Property Tax Exemptions (homestead, veteran, blind)
- City of Caribou - 2026 Abatement Application (commitment July 29, 2026; deadline Feb. 1, 2027)
- City of Auburn - Annual Tax Information FY2027 (commitment 7/13/2026; abatement deadline 1/16/2027)
- Cumberland County Regional Assessing - Tax Abatements and Appeals (county Board of Assessment Review)
- Tax rate and median tax: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2020–2024 5-year estimates, tables B25103 (median real estate taxes paid, owner-occupied homes) and B25077 (median value, owner-occupied homes). The rate is the median tax divided by the median home value.