An Act to Amend the Law Governing Stabilization of Property
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 1481
Committee: Taxation
Sponsors: PARRY
Amends: 36 MRSA §6281

Legislative Document
No. 1481
H.P. 973
House of Representatives, April 3, 2025
An Act to Amend the Law Governing Stabilization of Property 
Taxes on Homesteads of Individuals 65 Years of Age or Older
Reference to the Committee on Taxation suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative PARRY of Arundel.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  36 MRSA §6281, first ¶, as enacted by PL 2023, c. 412, Pt. S, §10, is 
amended to read:
This chapter applies only to the property tax year beginning April 1, 2023 and to 
property tax years beginning on or after April 1, 2025.
Sec. 2.  36 MRSA §6281, sub-§1, ¶B, as amended by PL 2023, c. 441, Pt. D, §1, 
is further amended to read:
B.  "Eligible individual" means an individual who, on April 1 1st of the property tax 
year for which the individual is requesting stabilization:
(1)  Is 65 years of age or older; and
(2)  Is a permanent resident of the State as defined in section 681, subsection 4 and 
has owned a homestead in the State for at least 10 20 years.; and
(3)  Has federal adjusted gross income not exceeding $75,000.
Sec. 3.  36 MRSA §6281, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 751, §1, is amended to 
read:
2.  Application for stabilization; continuation.  An individual may apply by 
December 1st to the municipality in which the individual's homestead is located requesting 
that the municipality stabilize the property tax assessed on that individual's homestead for 
the property tax year beginning on April 1st following the submission of the application.  
A new application is required for each year for which stabilization is requested. If an 
individual whose property tax is stabilized for a homestead pursuant to this chapter wants 
the stabilization to continue, that individual shall file, for each subsequent property tax year 
for which a continuation is desired, a request, in writing, indicating that the homestead is 
still an eligible homestead.
Sec. 4.  36 MRSA §6281, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 751, §1, is amended to 
read:
4.  Transfer of eligibility.  If an eligible individual has been eligible for stabilization 
under this section and establishes a new homestead in the State, the individual continues to 
be eligible for stabilization.  If an eligible individual establishes a new homestead in a 
different municipality, at the request of the eligible individual, the municipality where 
eligibility was first established shall notify the new municipality of the eligible individual's 
previous eligibility and the amount at which the property taxes were stabilized.  The the 
new municipality shall bill the eligible individual at the stabilized amount stabilize the 
property tax assessed on that individual's homestead for the property tax year beginning on 
April 1st following the establishment of the new homestead, and the new municipality is 
eligible for state compensation under subsection 5.
Sec. 5.  Application. This Act applies to property tax years beginning on or after 
April 1, 2025.
SUMMARY
This bill amends the property tax stabilization program for senior citizens to make the 
following changes.
1. It extends the program to property tax years beginning on or after April 1, 2025.
2.  It changes the eligibility requirements to require an individual to have been a 
permanent Maine resident for at least 20 years and have a household income of no more 
than $75,000 of federal adjusted gross income.
3.  It simplifies the renewal of stabilization requirements, retaining the requirement in 
current law that a request for stabilization be done annually, but requiring only that it be a 
written statement that the household is still eligible under the program for stabilization.
4.  It removes the ability of an individual who moves from one municipality to another 
to retain the same stabilized property taxes assessed on the old property.  Instead, the 
individual's stabilized amount will be determined as of the date the individual moves to the 
new homestead.