📰MAINE | Don't Miss Maine's Property Tax Credit — It Could Put Real Money Back in Your Pocket

22 hours ago
3 min read

By Martin Grohman, Contributing Writer

-Special to the Biddeford Buzz-

"In these times, a credit of up to $4,000 would be a lot of help, and I don’t want you to miss out on it."

April 7, 2026, Remember the senior property tax freeze? The one that let older homeowners lock in their tax bill so it couldn't go up? A lot of people loved that idea. It passed the Legislature with strong support in 2022, and towns across Maine — including Biddeford — were flooded with applications. Statewide, an estimated 100,000 applications came in for it.

Then it was gone. The Maine Legislature repealed the program on July 6, 2023. It existed for just one year.

But here's what too many people don’t know: when the Legislature pulled the plug on the freeze, it replaced it with an expanded Property Tax Fairness Credit. That is what we want to talk about today, because tax day is right around the corner, and a lot of Biddeford residents may be leaving money on the table.

What Is The Property Tax Fairness Credit?

It's a refundable credit you can claim on your Maine state income tax return. "Refundable" means that if the credit is more than the income tax you owe, the state will still send you money. In other words, even if you don’t owe state income taxes, you can still get a check.

The credit is worth up to $1,000 — or up to $2,000 if you are 65 or older. And if you or your spouse is a veteran rated 100% disabled, those amounts can double: up to $2,000, or up to $4,000 if you are 65 or older.

Who Qualifies? Do Renters Qualify?

Check on this for yourself, but generally speaking to be eligible: you must have been a Maine resident for at least part of the tax year; owned or rented a home in Maine during any part of the year and lived in it as your primary residence; and paid property tax or rent on that home. You also need to fall within certain income limits. But you might be surprised how many people qualify. Including renters!

For people 65 and older, you most likely qualify if your total income was less than $102,500. For younger filers, the income limits are lower and vary based on your filing status. There are some other restrictions as well.

The credit also has a test based on how much of your income goes toward housing costs. Your property taxes need to be more than 4% of your total income, or your rent needs to be more than 26.67% of your total income, to qualify. But in today’s high priced housing environment, unfortunately, most people meet that test.

And both homeowners and renters can apply — this isn't just for people who own their home.

The Part Many Seniors Don't Know:

Here's something important: many older Mainers don't file a state income tax return because they simply don't have to. If your only income is Social Security, for example, you may have never needed to file. I get it. It’s nice to have less paperwork.

But you need to file a Maine tax return to claim this credit. Filing a return when you don't have to may feel strange, but it could result in a check from the state. That's worth a little paperwork.

While you're at it, filing that Maine tax return may also make you eligible for other credits, like the Sales Tax Fairness Credit, which can be worth up to $280 depending on your income and household size.

How to Apply:

To claim the credit, file Form 1040ME and Schedule PTFC/STFC for the tax year during which the property tax or rent was paid. The 2025 form is available at maine.gov/revenue, or you can go directly to the form at maine.gov/revenue/sites/maine.gov.revenue/files/inline-files/25_1040me_sch_ptfc_fillable.pdf. Free tax filing help for those who qualify (generally, lower income people) is available at sites throughout the state including here in Saco and Biddeford from AARP and CASH Maine.

Tax day is Wednesday April 15, less than two weeks away. If you — or someone you know — owns or rents a home in Maine and pays a significant share of their income in housing and property tax costs (and that includes most of us), it is worth taking a look.

In these times, a credit of up to $4,000 would be a lot of help, and I don’t want you to miss out on it.

---Biddeford's trusted news source;

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