Property taxes have been with us since colonial times when a person's wealth could be measured in the amount of property he owned. Although it is our oldest form of taxation in Maine, the property tax still remains widely misunderstood and has become a highly regressive tax because it is no longer based on a person's wealth or ability to pay. Since home furnishings are largely exempt from personal property taxes, for most Maine homeowners your property tax bill is based on the value of your house. This means that if you own property that is taxable on April 1, then you must pay those taxes to your municipality. Determining the market value of property is no easy task.
Local assessors use three basic methods to determine a property's worth.
The first way is by comparing the selling price of similar types of property. The second way is to determine how much it would take at the current price of materials and labor to replace a building, after subtracting out how much the building has depreciated. And, the third way is to evaluate how much income the property would produce if it were rented, like an apartment house, store or factory. One, two or all three of these methods might be used to help the assessor determine the fair market value of your property. It is also important to note that land and buildings are valued separately.