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Page 1 - 132LR1447(03)
STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE
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H.P. 860 - L.D. 1325
An Act to Create Clarity in the Laws Regarding Property Tax Abatement
Appeals
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §844, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2001, c. 396, §18, is further
amended to read:
1. Municipalities without board of assessment review. Except when the
municipality or primary assessing area has adopted a board of assessment review, if the
assessors or the municipal officers refuse to make the abatement asked for, the applicant
may apply to the county commissioners within 60 days after notice of the decisions from
which the appeal is being taken or within 60 days after the application is deemed to have
been denied. The applicant may not apply to the county commissioners to appeal a decision
of the assessors or the municipal officers with respect to nonresidential property or
properties having an equalized municipal valuation of $1,000,000 or greater, either
separately or in the aggregate. The applicant must make such an appeal to the State Board
of Property Tax Review pursuant to subsection 2. If the commissioners think that the
applicant is over-assessed, the applicant is granted such reasonable abatement as the
commissioners think proper. If the applicant has paid the tax, the applicant is reimbursed
out of the municipal treasury, with costs in either case. If the applicant fails, the
commissioners shall allow costs to the municipality, taxed as in a civil action in the
Superior Court, and issue their warrant of distress against the applicant for collection of the
amount due the municipality. The commissioners may require the assessors or municipal
clerk to produce the valuation by which the assessment was made or a copy of it. Either
party may appeal from the decision of the county commissioners to the Superior Court, in
accordance with the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 80B. If the county
commissioners fail to give written notice of their decision within 60 days of the date the
application is filed, unless the applicant agrees in writing to further delay, the application
is deemed denied and the applicant may appeal to the Superior Court as if there had been a
written denial.
Sec. 2. 36 MRSA §844, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2011, c. 548, §13, is further
amended to read:
APPROVED
JUNE 17, 2025
BY GOVERNOR
CHAPTER
342
PUBLIC LAW
Page 2 - 132LR1447(03)
2. Nonresidential property of $1,000,000 or greater. Notwithstanding subsection
1, the The applicant may appeal the decision of the assessors or the municipal officers on
a request for abatement with respect to nonresidential property or properties having an
equalized municipal valuation of $1,000,000 or greater, either separately or in the
aggregate, to the State Board of Property Tax Review within 60 days after notice of the
decision from which the appeal is taken or after the application is deemed to be denied. If
the State Board of Property Tax Review determines that the applicant is over-assessed, it
shall grant such reasonable abatement as it determines proper. For the purposes of this
subsection, "nonresidential property" means property that is used primarily for commercial,
industrial or business purposes, excluding unimproved land that is not associated with a
commercial, industrial or business use.
Sec. 3. Application. This Act applies to property tax abatement appeals filed on or
after January 1, 2026.