Maine Transfer Tax: Rates, RETTD Form, and Withholding

The Maine real estate transfer tax is charged on every deed recorded in the state. For deeds recorded on or after November 1, 2025, the rate is $2.20 per $500 of value on the first $1,000,000, and $6.00 per $500 on any value above $1,000,000. The tax is split evenly between buyer and seller by default, though the purchase contract can shift the burden to one side.

What You Will Pay

The two-tier structure took effect November 1, 2025. The first $1,000,000 of value is taxed at $2.20 per $500. Anything above that is taxed at $6.00 per $500, which is the base $2.20 plus an added $3.80.¹

Worked examples:

A $250,000 home: 500 units of $500, times $2.20, equals $1,100 total. Buyer and seller each pay $550.
A $500,000 home: 1,000 units times $2.20 equals $2,200 total. Each side pays $1,100.
A $1,500,000 home: the first $1,000,000 generates $4,400, and the next $500,000 at the higher rate generates $6,000, for $10,400 total. Each side pays $5,200.

The statute splits the tax equally between the grantor and grantee.² Buyers and sellers can agree in writing to a different split. The state only requires that the full amount is paid before the deed is recorded.

How Value Is Determined

For a sale, value is the total consideration paid or to be paid, including any mortgage or lien the buyer assumes. Buy a $300,000 property with $200,000 cash and assume a $100,000 existing mortgage, and the tax is calculated on the full $300,000.³

When the transfer is not a sale, such as a gift or a transfer where consideration cannot be determined, the tax is based on fair market value instead. That rule stops people from avoiding the tax by papering a deed for one dollar.

Exemptions

Certain transfers are exempt under 36 M.R.S. § 4641-C. Even so, the parties must still file the declaration form and note the applicable exemption code. The commonly used categories include:

Deeds to or from the United States, the State of Maine, or any of their agencies and subdivisions.
Deeds between spouses, parent and child, or grandparent and grandchild when no actual consideration is paid.
Deeds between spouses in divorce proceedings.
Mortgage deeds, discharges, partial releases, foreclosure deeds, and deeds in lieu of foreclosure.
Deeds between a family corporation, partnership, or LLC and its owners during organization, dissolution, or liquidation, when no consideration other than ownership interests or debt securities is exchanged.

⁴

The family-member exemption catches people out more than any other. It applies only when there is no actual consideration, meaning a true gift. If a parent sells a house to a child at a discounted price, the sale is not fully exempt because real money changed hands, and the tax applies to the consideration paid.

The RETTD Form

Every deed recorded in Maine must be accompanied by a Real Estate Transfer Tax Declaration, known as Form RETTD. There are no exceptions. Fully exempt transfers still need the form. The register of deeds uses what is on the form to compute the tax.⁵

The form collects:

Full legal names and mailing addresses for both buyer and seller.
The town or city where the property is located.
The actual consideration paid, with no deductions.
A property type code (residential, commercial, or another category).
An exemption code, if the transfer qualifies.

One point of confusion worth clearing up: the filer does not supply the book and page number of the prior deed. That field is marked “Registry Use Only” and is filled in by the register of deeds office.⁵ The current form lives on the Maine Revenue Services website.

The completed form and payment go to the register of deeds in the county where the property sits, at the same time the deed is presented for recording.⁶ Most closing attorneys and title companies prepare the form and pay the tax as part of settlement, so buyers and sellers rarely deal with the register directly.

Penalties if You Get It Wrong

Maine’s general tax penalty rules apply to the transfer tax, and the stakes rise with the nature of the problem:

Late payment: 1% of the unpaid tax per month, capped at 25% of the amount owed.
Failure to file the declaration: $25 or 10% of the tax due, whichever is greater, if filed within 60 days of a formal demand. After that window, it jumps to $25 or 25% of the tax due.
Negligent underpayment: $25 or 25% of the underpaid portion, whichever is greater.
Fraudulent underpayment: $75 or 75% of the underpaid portion, whichever is greater.

⁷

Understating the sale price on the RETTD form is the fastest way into trouble. Maine Revenue Services pulls from local assessment data, comparable sales, and the transfer tax database to spot declared values that look too low.

Controlling Interest Transfers

The tax reaches past standard deed recordings. When someone acquires a controlling interest in an entity, such as an LLC or corporation, that owns Maine real estate, the same tiered rates apply: $2.20 per $500 up to $1,000,000 of property value, and $6.00 per $500 above that.¹

Any transfer or acquisition of a controlling interest within a 12-month period counts. The cost is split between transferor and transferee. One trap that does not exist with ordinary deeds: if the parties do not report the transaction to the register of deeds and pay the tax within 30 days of completion, both sides become jointly and severally liable for the full amount.¹

Nonresident Seller Withholding

Sellers who are not Maine residents face a separate cost at closing. The buyer is required to withhold 2.5% of the total consideration as a prepayment toward the seller’s Maine income tax.⁸ This is in addition to the transfer tax, not part of it.

For a nonresident selling a $400,000 property, the withholding is $10,000, taken from the seller’s proceeds at closing and remitted to Maine Revenue Services. The seller can recover any overpayment by filing a Maine income tax return for the year of sale. Some transactions, like foreclosure sales, are excluded, and the RETTD form has a section covering the withholding.

Federal Tax Treatment

Transfer taxes paid in Maine are not deductible as real estate taxes on your federal income tax return.⁹ The IRS handles them differently depending on which side you are on. Buyers add the transfer tax to the property’s cost basis, which reduces the taxable gain when they eventually sell. Sellers treat it as a selling expense that reduces the amount realized on the sale.

When property moves between family members without full consideration, federal gift tax rules can also come into play. The annual gift tax exclusion for 2026 is $19,000 per recipient.¹⁰ A parent transferring a $300,000 property to a child for nothing has made a gift above the annual exclusion and needs to file IRS Form 709, though no tax is owed until lifetime gifts exceed the $15,000,000 lifetime exemption.

Transfers between spouses or former spouses incident to divorce get special federal treatment. No gain or loss is recognized, and the receiving spouse takes over the transferor’s cost basis.¹¹ A transfer qualifies as incident to divorce if it happens within one year of the marriage ending or is related to the end of the marriage.

1
Maine Legislature. Maine Code 36 Section 4641-A – Rate of Tax; Liability for Tax
2
Maine Revenue Services. Transfer Tax
3
Maine Revenue Services. Property Tax Bulletin No. 31 – Real Estate Transfer Tax
4
Maine Legislature. Maine Code Title 36 Section 4641-C – Exemptions
5
Maine Revenue Services. Maine Real Estate Transfer Tax Declaration Form Instructions
6
Maine Legislature. Maine Code 36 Section 4641-B – Collection
7
Maine State Legislature. Maine Code 36 Section 187-B – Penalties
8
Maine Legislature. Maine Code 36 Section 5250-A – Withholding on Sales of Real Estate
9
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 530, Tax Information for Homeowners
10
Internal Revenue Service. Gifts and Inheritances
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 1041 – Transfers of Property Between Spouses or Incident to Divorce