Maine Paycheck Calculator & Income Tax Rates (2026)

Maine applies 3 rates to taxable income — that is, income after the state standard deduction or exemption. Only the slice of income inside each band is taxed at that band's rate.

Maine's effective state rate climbs with income as more of your salary lands in higher bands. The last column shows the state rate on your next dollar at each level.

Maine's joint brackets widen the bands for couples, so the same household income is taxed more lightly. On $100,000 a joint return keeps $80,643 versus $73,635 for a single filer.

Maine uses three graduated brackets — 5.8%, 6.75%, and 7.15% — and the top rate arrives quickly, at a level of taxable income that a single mid-career professional clears easily. Bracket thresholds are indexed each year, and the joint brackets are exactly double the single brackets, so there is no marriage penalty built into the rate schedule. The 7.15% top rate has been in place since 2016, when Maine cut it from 7.95%, which itself replaced 8.5% in 2013. It applies to wages, self-employment income, interest, dividends, and capital gains. Maine's tax is built on the federal return — it starts from federal AGI and uses the federal standard deduction and its own indexed personal exemption — but phases both out for higher earners, which pushes the effective marginal rate above 7.15% in the phase-out range. There are no local income taxes, so the state rate is the whole story for wage earners.

Maine's standard deduction tracks the federal amount, and each taxpayer and spouse gets an indexed personal exemption just over $5,000. Both phase out above roughly $100,000 of income for singles and twice that for couples. Itemized deductions are capped and exclude state income taxes. Credits include $300 per dependent child, an EITC at 25% of the federal credit (50% for childless workers), a student loan repayment credit up to $2,500 a year, and a sales tax fairness credit.

No Maine city, town, or county levies an income tax; municipalities are funded almost entirely by property taxes, which is why those run high. The state rate is the only income tax Mainers pay. One cross-border wrinkle: Maine residents who commute to New Hampshire get no credit for taxes paid there, because New Hampshire has none — they owe Maine the full graduated rate on wages earned in Portsmouth or Nashua.

Maine's general sales tax is 5.5% with no local add-ons, so 5.5% is the rate everywhere from Kittery to Fort Kent. Grocery staples and prescription drugs are exempt. The state makes up ground with higher rates on specific categories: 8% on prepared food and restaurant meals, 9% on lodging and short-term rentals, and 10% on short-term auto rentals. A separate 6% service provider tax applies to telecom, cable, and a few other services.

Property taxes are high — effective rates around 1.2% of market value, higher still in southern Maine. The homestead exemption removes $25,000 of assessed value after twelve months of Maine homeownership. The refundable Property Tax Fairness Credit returns up to $1,000 (more for seniors) to households whose property tax or rent exceeds a share of income. A senior property tax freeze enacted in 2022 proved so costly it was repealed after one year.

Social Security is not taxed. Military retirement pay and survivor benefits are fully exempt. For other retirement income — employer pensions, 401(k) and 403(b) distributions, traditional IRA withdrawals, MainePERS benefits — Maine offers a per-person pension deduction that has grown from $10,000 in 2021 to $35,000 in 2024 and is now pegged to the maximum annual Social Security benefit, just under $50,000 for 2026. The catch is that the deduction is reduced dollar for dollar by Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits received, so a retiree collecting $30,000 in Social Security can shelter only about $20,000 of pension income. Anything above the deduction is taxed at the regular graduated rates.

High earners fare worst: 7.15% kicks in at a middle-class income and the deduction phase-outs push effective marginal rates higher still, making Maine among New England's heavier-tax states for a $200,000 salary — a stark contrast with income-tax-free New Hampshire next door. Dual-income couples at least avoid a marriage penalty. Military retirees pay nothing on their pensions, and other retirees with modest Social Security get most of a pension sheltered. Remote workers for Massachusetts employers pay Maine, with a credit for Massachusetts tax on days worked there. Self-employed Mainers pay the same graduated rates with no local tax.

The median household income in Maine is $56,000, which is $44,737 a year ($3,728 a month) after all taxes. That is close to the national median. After adjusting for cost of living, the purchasing power of that take-home is equivalent to $45,650 in an average-cost area.

Maine ranks #47 of 50 for raw take-home pay and #33 for cost-adjusted purchasing power at $100,000. The 14-place gap between the two reflects a below-average cost of living that boosts real purchasing power. The best state (Alaska) leaves $79,125; the worst (Oregon) leaves $70,932. Maine is $5,490 behind the leader.

Maine Tax Questions, Answered

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Specific Salaries in Maine