Maine’s cigarette tax jumped from $2.00 to $3.50 per pack of 20 on January 5, 2026, a 75% increase enacted under Public Law 2025, chapter 388. Retailers and distributors who held stamped cigarettes on that date owe a floor stock tax of $1.50 per pack of 20, due by April 1, 2026. The hike also raised taxes on smokeless tobacco, cigars, pipe tobacco, and vaping products on the same day.
The New Per-Pack Rate
The statutory rate is now 175 mills per cigarette, up from 100 mills. In pack terms:
- Pack of 20: $3.50 (was $2.00)
- Pack of 25: $4.375 (was $2.50)
That $1.50-per-pack bump on standard packs is the largest single increase in Maine’s cigarette tax in more than twenty years.1Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 36 Section 4365-G – Application of Cigarette Tax Rate Increase Effective January 5, 2026 The tax is still paid through stamps affixed to each package before cigarettes reach consumers, and new stamps reflect the higher rate.2Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 36 Section 4365 – Rate of Tax
Floor Stock Tax on Inventory You Held on January 5
If you were a retailer or distributor with stamped cigarettes in stock on the morning of January 5, 2026, those packs were stamped at the old rate. You owe the difference, which comes out to 75 mills per cigarette, or $1.50 per pack of 20.3Maine Revenue Services. General Information Bulletin 115
New stamps showing payment at the higher rate must be affixed to every package of cigarettes on hand. The one exception: cigarettes already loaded in vending machines don’t need new stamps, though the tax is still owed on them.1Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 36 Section 4365-G – Application of Cigarette Tax Rate Increase Effective January 5, 2026
For vending machines, the law presumes every machine was filled to capacity on January 5. Tax is calculated on that assumed full inventory. If a distributor had already placed packs stamped at the new 175-mill rate into machines before the changeover, those packs generate a credit against the floor stock obligation.1Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 36 Section 4365-G – Application of Cigarette Tax Rate Increase Effective January 5, 2026
Payment is due by April 1, 2026, on forms prescribed by the State Tax Assessor. Maine Revenue Services has confirmed the floor stock inventory tax can be reported and paid through the Maine Tax Portal.3Maine Revenue Services. General Information Bulletin 115
Other Tobacco Products Also Went Up
The same legislation raised taxes on every other category of taxable tobacco product on January 5, 2026.
Smokeless Tobacco
Chewing tobacco and snuff went from $2.02 to $3.54 per ounce for packages containing one ounce or more. Packages under one ounce are taxed at a flat $3.54 per package, up from $2.02.4Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 36 Section 4403 – Tax on Tobacco Products That’s roughly a 75% increase.
Cigars, Pipe Tobacco, and E-Cigarettes
Large cigars, pipe tobacco, electronic smoking devices, and e-liquids (with or without nicotine) are now taxed at 75% of the cost price, up from 43%.4Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 36 Section 4403 – Tax on Tobacco Products In percentage terms, vaping products take the biggest hit, with the wholesale tax burden nearly doubling.
The floor stock requirement in Public Law 2025, chapter 388 applies to cigarettes. The statute and the Maine Revenue Services bulletin do not describe a parallel inventory tax on other tobacco products.
What Happens If You Miss the Deadline
Maine’s general tax penalty rules apply to the cigarette and tobacco taxes. Fail to pay by the due date and the penalty is 1% of the unpaid amount for each month or partial month the balance is outstanding, capped at 25% of the unpaid tax. If the State Tax Assessor issues an assessment and payment still isn’t made, the 1%-per-month penalty applies retroactively from the original due date. After all appeals are exhausted, a demand notice gives you 10 days to pay before a flat 25% penalty attaches to the full balance. Interest accrues separately on top of these penalties.5Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 36 Section 187-B – Penalties
There’s a second layer of exposure. Any cigarettes or tobacco products in Maine without proper tax payment are contraband and can be seized by law enforcement or agents of the State Tax Assessor. The exceptions are narrow: licensed distributors holding untaxed product in the normal course of business, product in transit to a licensed distributor, and small personal quantities (up to 125 cigars or one pound of other tobacco).6Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 36 Section 4404-C – Seizure and Forfeiture of Contraband Tobacco Products A retailer sitting on unstamped packs after April 1 is legally exposed to forfeiture on top of the unpaid tax, penalties, and interest.
If you still need to file, Maine Revenue Services handles cigarette and tobacco tax returns and payments through the Maine Tax Portal; paper filings are accepted for those who can’t use the system.7Maine Revenue Services. Maine Tax Portal FAQs Licensed distributors are required to keep records of inventory, purchases, and sales available for inspection.8Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 36 Section 4366-A – Cigarette Tax Stamps